The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning, Mem bers. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES [Minutes of 27 April 2018]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers, the Minutes of the sitting of April 27 have been circulated. Are there any amendments or corrections required? There are none; the Minutes have been confirmed as printed. [Minutes of 27 April 2018 confirmed] MESSAGES FROM THE GOVERNOR
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE SPEAKER OR MEMBER PRESIDING
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, good morning, Members. I have a few announcements that we would like to make this morning. 24 TH CONFERENCE OF SPEAKERS AND PRESIDING OFFICERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH—REPORT
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe first is that the report of the 24th Conference of the Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth, which the Speaker and the President of the Senate att ended in January of this year , has been tabled. I have the report which we have tabled, and it will …
The first is that the report of the 24th Conference of the Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth, which the Speaker and the President of the Senate att ended in January of this year , has been tabled. I have the report which we have tabled, and it will be circulated electronically. So, you will receive a full copy of that report.
APOLOGIES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSecondly, I would like to announce t oday that there are . . . Members, a little quiet, please. Thank you. We would like to announce that we have been informed that three Members will be absent today, that being the MP Michael Scott, MP Neville Tyrrell , and MP …
Secondly, I would like to announce t oday that there are . . . Members, a little quiet, please. Thank you. We would like to announce that we have been informed that three Members will be absent today, that being the MP Michael Scott, MP Neville Tyrrell , and MP Pat Gordon- Pamplin. All have sent notice tha t they will be absent today.
YOUTH PARLIAMENT REWARDS RECEPTION
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAlso, I would like to announce that the Youth Parliament session for this year will close on this coming Wednesday, with a final debate and a r ewards reception. All Members are invited to attend. It will be here at 4:15, with a slight reception afterwards during the awards ceremony. …
Also, I would like to announce that the Youth Parliament session for this year will close on this coming Wednesday, with a final debate and a r ewards reception. All Members are invited to attend. It will be here at 4:15, with a slight reception afterwards during the awards ceremony. Feel free to come and support the Youth Parliament.
50 th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BERMUDA CONSTITUTION ORDER— SPECIAL SITTING
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThirdly, you have on your desks an invitation from the Government in regard to a rece ption that is going to take place on the 22nd of May. Let me lead into that to say that the 22nd of May will be the 50th anniversary of the 1968 election. And …
Thirdly, you have on your desks an invitation from the Government in regard to a rece ption that is going to take place on the 22nd of May. Let me lead into that to say that the 22nd of May will be the 50th anniversary of the 1968 election. And we are using that occasion to recognise that day with the rece ption, which you have got the invitation for, but also to start that day with a special sitting in this House. It is a Tuesday morning. We will have a sitting at 10:15, where we will be inviting the current Members of both Houses, plus Members from the Class of ’68 who were elected in that election. And we will have a brief sitting here to commemorate that election in recognising that, again, it is the anniversary of the Bermuda Constitution Order 1968 and the 50th anniversary of the universal adult suffrage in Bermuda. There will be a tree- planting ceremony as well, and, again, all Members will be invited, including those former Members from that time period. So put marker s in your calendars, and a further reminder will be given next week when we sit, as well.
HOUSE VISITORS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerLastly, I would l ike to acknowledge in the Gallery that we have visiting with us today the (I believe) grade 8, or year 8, students from Bermuda BHS, Bermuda High School. 1972 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly [Desk thumpi ng]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAnd they have with them, I believe [they are] under the guidance of Ms. Rose, Mr. Cornish, and Mr. Higson. Good. Welcome. And I trust that your students will enjoy their time here this morning. Thank you. I would also like to acknowledge in the G allery, in the Chambers, …
And they have with them, I believe [they are] under the guidance of Ms. Rose, Mr. Cornish, and Mr. Higson. Good. Welcome. And I trust that your students will enjoy their time here this morning. Thank you. I would also like to acknowledge in the G allery, in the Chambers, visiting with us this morning, former Member of Parliament, Mr. Walter Roberts.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Roberts ( I was about to say ) was actually a M ember of that class of ’68 who were elec ted—b ut he was actua lly elected in ’63. So he is a member of the 1963 class. But he will be present as part of the 1968 …
Mr. Roberts ( I was about to say ) was actually a M ember of that class of ’68 who were elec ted—b ut he was actua lly elected in ’63. So he is a member of the 1963 class. But he will be present as part of the 1968 class, as well. Thank you for joining us this morning.
[Desk thumping]
[Inaudible interjection]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. PAPERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS TO THE HOUSE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe have one paper. That will be pr esented this morning in the name of the Honourable Minister Foggo. Minister Foggo, you have the floor. 2016 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS RE PORT Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit …
We have one paper. That will be pr esented this morning in the name of the Honourable Minister Foggo. Minister Foggo, you have the floor.
2016 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS RE PORT
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 2016 Population and Housing Census Report, and that report will be provided electronicall y to Members. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. PETITIONS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS AND JUNIOR MINISTERS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe have seven Statements this mor ning. And first . . . actually from the Premier will be the first two. Premier, would you like to present your Statement? Hon. E. David Burt: Good morning, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning. UK ACTION ON BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members will, by now, be aware of the action taken by the House of Commons in London on Tuesday. In the knowledge that an amendment to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill could not be defeated, …
Good morning.
UK ACTION ON BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members will, by now, be aware of the action taken by the House of Commons in London on Tuesday. In the knowledge that an amendment to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill could not be defeated, the UK Government conceded a position that has caused considerable angst in th e Overseas Territories. Mr. Speaker, the amendment to the Bill is i ntended to impose on the Overseas Territories a r equirement to implement a public register of beneficial ownership . This action is imposed in the absence of any applicable international standard and can only be viewed as a direct assault on the conduct of legal business in the Overseas Territories. Successive governments of Bermuda have made the case on behalf of Bermuda over many years. Successive Finance Ministers have addressed the issue of beneficial ownership at home and abroad. There is not a day of the week that the business conducted in Overseas Territories is not under the attack from the wi lfully uni nformed that sit in the U nited Kingdom Parliament. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members and the public could easily be forgiven for feeling frustrated at the refusal of London and other jurisdictions to heed basic facts about the manner in which Bermuda has effectively regulated business over several decades. Mr. Speaker, of greater concern to the Go vernment and the people of Bermuda is the wider issue of the U nited Kingdom Parliament’s wanton disregard for the unique constitutional position of Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, Bermuda’s 50 -year-old Constit ution is 45 years beyond its intended shelf life. It co ntains unique features of self -government that were meant to lay the foundation for i ndependence within five years of the Order’s passage. Among those fea-tures, we say, is the inability of the British Parliament to legislate for Bermuda from London. Quite simply, Mr. Speaker, London’s actions on Tuesday are an egregious breach of well -established constitutional conventions. Mr. Speaker, Alan Duncan, the Foreign Office Minister leading Tuesday’s debate on behalf of the UK Government , told the House of Commons that a consensual approach to working with the Overseas Terr itories would have been preferred by the UK Gover nment. He fur ther stated (and I quote), “We do not want
Bermuda House of Assembly to legislate directly for them, nor do we want to risk damaging our long- standing constitutional arrangements which respect their autonomy.” Mr. Speaker, these comments are especially telling because they speak to the very point to be made in this entire di splay of UK internal politics run amuck. The constitutional position of Bermuda is founded in entrenched conventions that any legislative power sought to be exercised by the UK Parliament over Bermuda can only be done with the consent of the Bermuda Legislature. Mr. Speaker, there is no case in which legisl ation from England has been imposed on Bermuda. Some Honourable Members will recall that , even in the case of the abolition of capital punishment, the integrity of Bermuda’s self -government was recognised by the UK’s Parliament. Contrary to the other Overseas Territories, no order was made to force Berm uda to act; instead, the UK Government at that time stated that the y hoped (and I quote) “that the Government of Bermuda will decide to follow thi s example as soon as possible.” Mr. Speaker, there is some irony in that language as it mirrors the language used in the wake of Tuesday’s debate to justify the fact that the action of the UK Parliament has not been applied to the Crown Dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey , and the Isle of Man. Bermuda’s C onstitution has not materially changed since 1991 and the comments on capital punishment, and so it seems clear that the action of the UK Parliament is one designed for the Caribbean and Bermuda only. Mr. Speaker, this is one of those issues that bridges the partisan divide. I can advise Honourable Members that even the former Honourable Member and former Minister of Finance, the Hon. E. T. “Bob” Richards , reached out to me to express his well -stated views on what he considers an undue act of aggres-sion by the British. Mr. Speaker, in closing, allow me to use a phrase that was often uttered by another former Member of this House, the late Julian Hall , “Let me be pellucidly clear . . . there will be no public register of Beneficial Ownership in Bermuda until this Honour able House, elected by the people of Bermuda, votes to implement one! ”
[Desk thumping]
Hon. E. David Burt: This Government rejects the r egressive colonial mind -set which some in London hold that a parliament 3,000 miles away can impose an ything on Bermuda that does not fall under the ar eas of Defence, Internal Security, the Judiciary , and External Affairs. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. I believe the second Statement is yours, as well. You can continue on. MOU SIGNINGS IN FINTECH DEVELOPMENT Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my second Stat ement is in r egard to an update on the Memorandums of Understanding that were …
Thank you, Mr. Premier. I believe the second Statement is yours, as well. You can continue on.
MOU SIGNINGS IN FINTECH DEVELOPMENT Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my second Stat ement is in r egard to an update on the Memorandums of Understanding that were signed by the Government of Bermuda for FinTech development. Mr. Speaker, this Government promised to create an environment in which Bermudian busines ses can thrive, opportunities for Bermudians can be created and in which capable, qualified Bermudians can earn opportunities to work, train, and succeed at every level. We undertook to create new economic pillars in Bermuda, identify new opportunities for ec onomic diversification , and to seek local and overseas investment to develop new local industries to create jobs in Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, t he pace at which technological innovation moves in today’s world has challenged the established norms of doing business. The new normal demands those who would participate in this evolving space are equally as innovative, flexible, and immediately responsi ve to the requirements of doing bus iness. This Government promised to usher in an era of business development that, at its core, would diversify the Bermudian economy and provide opportunities for Bermudians to be more than spectators to economic success. A key element of our vision is to partner with those investors who share our goal of using the development of their business interests as a means by which to provide that economic success to Bermudians who have, for too long, been sidelined. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members will recall that last week the Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Binance Holdings Limited, the parent company of the Binance Group. Mr. Speaker, the Binance Group is the world’s largest digital asset exchange and is an international organi sation leading in the area of the development of digital asset exchanges. Through the Binance Charity Foundation, the group is committed to improving ed ucation and creating awareness in the development and use of blockchain technology; and, through B inance Labs, the group invests in companies that use blockchain technology. Mr. Speaker, the Government of Bermuda and Binance Holdings Limited have agreed to give effect to the mutual undertakings set out in the signed MOU, to further the diversification of Bermuda’s eco nomy, and to empower and equip Bermudians to fully benefit from the development of new streams of ec onomic growth. Mr. Speaker, the relevant terms of the MOU are as follows. Under the MOU, Binance Holdings Limited will accomplish the following: 1974 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly 1. develop its global compliance base in Berm uda; 2. facilitate the compliance base through the creation of at least 40 jobs in Bermuda; 3. sponsor university -level training for Bermudians in blockchain technology development and in regul atory c ompliance, in an amount up to US $10 million ;
[Desk thumping]
4. through Binance Labs , make available up to US$5 million for investments in new Bermudabased blockchain companies; 5. as soon as practicable, de velop a Digital A sset Exchange in Bermuda, subject to all r equired legal and regulatory processes; and 6. work collaboratively with the Government of Bermuda and all necessary oversight agen-cies in the development and improvement of a robust legal and regulatory framework. In turn, Mr. Speaker, the Government of Bermuda has committed to the following: 1. provide high- level dedicated concierge services to further the investment of Binance Holdings Limited , as set out in this Memorandum of Understanding; 2. through the Department of Workforce Deve lopment , support the training of Bermudians in blockchain technology and regulatory compl iance; 3. give priority consideration to all applications in accordance with all relevant laws and appl icable policies; and 4. work collaboratively with Binance Holdings Limited in the f urtherance of the mutual goals and objectives set out herein. Mr. Speaker, the Binance Group has decided that their goals are a fit with this Government’s aims and object ives to provide a leading well -regulated j urisdic tion ideally suited to the growth of the FinTech industry. Mr. Speaker, my constituents would have heard me say many times, and I have often said, that the segment of society most affected by the changes in our economy are middle -aged women who used to work in the banking industry. Many had long tenures at our banks, but due to outsourcing and other chan ges, many have been made redundant and have had a difficult time re -entering the workforce, as they get labelled with the dreaded title of “overqualified. ” Mr. Speaker, their skills are eas ily transferrable to the compliance field, and those are precisely the jobs that Binance will create in Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, this G overnment is not wasting time, and I can confirm that a list of Bermudians who are currently unemployed, but are looking f or work in the compliance field, was provided to the Binance Group by the Department of Workforce Development. Those Bermudians can look forward to interviews in the near future as this G overnment delivers on its promise to create jobs for Bermudians.
[Desk thumping]
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, the passage of last week’s Bill on ini tial coin offerings [ ICOs ] has sparked a flurry of interest in Bermuda as a jurisdiction commi tted to effectively regulating this emerging industry. Hard on the heels of the Binance M emorandum of Understanding, I was pleased to also sign a similar document with Medici Ventures LLC and its CEO , Dr. Patrick Byrne. Mr. Speaker, Overstock.com was one of the first major enterprises in the world to accept b itcoin. And as an expression of its early belief that blockchain will create a new age in technological advancement, its subsidiary , Medici Ventures , was formed to inc ubate, launch, and invest in blockchain investments in the most fundamental processes. These include blockch ain meets land titling, blockchain meets central banking, blockchain meets capital markets, blockchain meets votin g, and blockchain meets healthcare. Mr. Speaker, the possibilities seem endless. Under the MOU signed with the Government of Bermuda, Medici Ventures, LLC , will: 1. make Bermuda its laboratory for the most leading-edge blockchain innovations coming out of its stable of a dozen block chain firms; 2. create at least 30 jobs in Bermuda over three years; 3. as soon as practicable, de velop a security t oken tr ading platform in Bermuda, subject to all required legal and regulatory proc esses; 4. focus its social contribution in Bermuda on nurturing a proper pipeline for creating basic, intermediate , and advanced software deve lopment engineers; and 5. work collaborative ly with the Government of Bermuda, and all necessary oversight age ncies, in the development and improvement of a robust legal and regula tory framework. In turn, Mr. Speaker, the Government of Bermuda will : 1. provide high- level dedicated concierge services to further the investment of Medici Ventures, LLC , as set out in this Memorandum of Under standing; 2. through the Department of Workforce Deve lopment , support the training of Bermudians in blockchain technology and software develop-ment; and 3. give priority consi deration to all applications in accordance with all relevant laws and appl icable regulations. Mr. Speaker, in closing, th e work in which this Government is engaged in requires courage. Berm uda has been an Island of twin economic pillars for
Bermuda House of Assembly decades , and t he creation of other avenues of ec onomic growth may cause exist ing vested interests and their defenders some unease. There is nothing to fear from diversifying this economy , and there is ever ything to gain by pursuing growth that is not constrained by anti quated business models and restricted in its economic impact. It is time for us to do things differently and to empower those of our citizens who have, historically , been left out. We committed to building a better and fairer Bermuda, and, so, at every turn, Mr. Speaker, all of our efforts will be devoted to achieving that goal. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. We have the next Statement , which will be that in the name of the Honourable Minister Brown. Honourable Minister Brown, you have the floor. NEW IMMIGRATION POLICY FOR FINTECH COMPANIES Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, further to the approval in this …
Thank you, Mr. Premier. We have the next Statement , which will be that in the name of the Honourable Minister Brown. Honourable Minister Brown, you have the floor.
NEW IMMIGRATION POLICY FOR FINTECH COMPANIES Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, further to the approval in this House on Friday, April 27, 2018, of legislation to reg ulate Initial Coin Offerin gs and the expectation to pass legislation respecting digital assets to be tabled soon, I stand today to announce a new Immigration policy for FinTech companies desirous of setting up bus inesses in Bermuda. The policy, which is titled the FinTech Business Work Permit Policy, is aided by an application form under the same name. Key aspects of the policy are as follows, Mr.
SpeakerThe SpeakerThe FinTech Business Work Permit Policy, which almost mirrors Immigration’s New Business Work Permit Policy, allows a FinTech company that is new to Bermuda to receive immediate approval of five work permits within the first si x months of obtaining the first FinTech Business Work Permit. Jobs which are deemed …
The FinTech Business Work Permit Policy, which almost mirrors Immigration’s New Business Work Permit Policy, allows a FinTech company that is new to Bermuda to receive immediate approval of five work permits within the first si x months of obtaining the first FinTech Business Work Permit. Jobs which are deemed to be closed, or r estricted positions —such as a front office receptionist — or which are entry level, graduate, or trainee positions cannot be applied for as a FinTech Business Work Permit. For a FinTech business to be eligible for automatic approvals under this policy, they must also present plans for the hiring, training, and development of Bermudians in entry -level or trainee positions. Mr. Speaker, a FinTech Business Work Permit may be issued for at least one year, but not more than five years. To qualify for a FinTech Business Work Permit, employers must provide a certificate of incorpor ation for the new FinTech company. Where the first day of operation is not the same a s the date of incorporation, employers must state the date the company expects to commence operating in Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, once the initial term of the FinTech Business Work Permit expires, and if an employer wishes for the employee to remain in Bermuda, the position must first be advertised. And if no suitably qualified Bermudians, spouses of Bermudians, or Permanent Resident Certificate holders apply for the position, an application for a Standard Work Permit must be completed and submitted to the Department of Immigration. A decision on this application will be rendered in accordance with the normal processing timelines published by the Department of Immigration. Mr. Speaker, the Government is entering this industry not only to encourage investment i n Berm uda’s economy, but also to encourage an investment in creating jobs for Bermudians. This strategy has a lready borne fruit. Honourable Members will be aware that the Premier signed a Memorandum of Understanding last week with Medici Ventures, a subsid iary of Overstock.com. Medici Ventures have promised at least 30 jobs in Bermuda over the next three years. To borrow a quote from the Honourable Premier (and I quote, Mr. Speaker), “We look forward to working with Medici to ensure that the commitments made in this MOU are realised. Bermuda is at the forefront of the fintech industry creating an environment in which Bermudian businesses can thrive, opportunities for Bermudians can be created and in which capable, qualified Bermudians can benefit from oppor tunities to train, work, and succeed at every le vel.” Mr. Speaker, through the Department of Workforce Development and the Bermuda College, we will be offering various courses, both via online and on- campus presentations, to enable Bermudians to achieve c ertificates in various blockchain technol ogy areas. The intent is to offer educational offerings that range from basic understanding of blockchain technology to more advanced programming certific ations. In two weeks we will host a global training company in Bermuda to discuss the potential to set up training facilities here in Bermuda, as well as the var ious courses that can be in place to benefit Bermuda from as early as high school age to those who may be looking to jumpstart a new career path. Providin g opportunities for Bermudians to take advantage of these exciting new technologies is of paramount importance to us. Mr. Speaker, the new policy and application form will be accessible in due course. For questions and/or concerns about the application pr ocess, e mployers may contact their respective industry/customer service representative at the Department of Immigration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. 1976 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly The next Minister we have up for Statements this morning is the Honourable Minister of Health. Honourable Minister Wilson, you have the floor. MAKING HEALTH CARE AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank …
Thank you, Minister. 1976 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The next Minister we have up for Statements this morning is the Honourable Minister of Health. Honourable Minister Wilson, you have the floor.
MAKING HEALTH CARE AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to remind us all of the num ber-one priority f or the Minis try of Health, namely, making health care affordable and accessible for all . This week is an opportune t ime to consider this matter , given the theme chosen for the May 1st International Workers’ Day observance by the Bermuda Trade Union Congress. Their theme was “A ffordable and Accessible Healthcare in Bermuda for All.” (quote/unquote) Mr. Speaker, and as you can imagine, that theme was simply music to my ears. The theme reflects the most fundamental goal of my Ministry and of our national health plan, which is now entitled the Bermuda Health Strategy. The mi ssion of the health strategy is, To provide affordable and sustainable health care for all Bermuda residents , and I am determined that we will achieve that under this Government. Mr. Speaker, in the past week, I have met with over 140 health system partners and stakeholders to update them on the progress made to date and the next steps under the health plan. And one of the things that makes me hopeful and excited about the plan is that it enjoys bipartisan support. As you may recall, Mr. Speaker , a great deal of work was done on the National Health Plan by the last PLP Administration. When the Government changed, after a brief period of abeyance, the plan was re- crafted and re- launched under the banner of the Bermuda Health Strategy. The two are, as we say in legal circles, Mr. Speaker, strikingly similar . And this gave me solace that the overall aims of the h ealth plan had continued to advance under the OBA A dministration. That is great news for everyone, first, because it means that we have continued to move closer to achieving more equity, quality , and sustainability in our health system ; but also because we can now continue to work to get us over the finish line to make health care affordable and accessible for all. Mr. Speaker, t he past week’s meetings with stakeholders enabled me to update our partners on the progress made to date and the priorities coming. I stressed to everyone that affordable and accessible health care for all is the number -one priority for me, and we will bring about the reforms needed to make this happen. As the World Health Organization has stated, Mr. Speaker , “Promoting and protecting health is essential to human welfare and sustained economic and social development .” I could not agree more. We can talk about economic growth or recessions , or about crime or prosperity , or about our future or where we have come from. But, Mr. Speaker , without our health, we will go nowhere but to an early grave. Health is one of the most fundamental things we have to treasure in life. Without good health, our children cannot learn or thrive or grow to their full potential. Unhealthy adults canno t be fully productive, effective members of society. And without health, we age without quality of life, and in pain or distress, and feeling like a burden on those around us. Health is , literally , our [lifeblood] , Mr. Speaker . We cannot take it for granted any longer. Furthermore, I believe that health care is a universal human right. I believe that , as a society , we will be measured by the way we treat our weakest members. And I believe with all my hear t that inequitable access to health care is a despicable shame on a wealthy society like ours. But, sadly, Mr. Speaker , inequitable access is exactly what we have. And that inequity impacts us all negatively , because rest assured that we pay for it dearly. We pay for care that comes too late when it is most expensive. And we pay in societal costs when a family is left without a breadwinner who succumbs to a treatable illness because they lacked insurance. We pay for years of productive lives lost due to unma naged chronic diseases that lead to amputation, per-manent disability , or daily reliance on complex, costly technologies like dialysis. We pay in unnecessary pain and suffering for children who lose parents, and for invasive, futile, and undignified inter ventions at the end of life. We pay, Mr. Speaker . We always pay. So I say to anyone who asks what the price of equity is, What is the price of inequity? But I can tell you that price. It is a $700 million health care system for 63,000 people. It is $11, 000 per person per year on per capita health spending. Mr. Speaker, it i s the second most expensive health system in the developed world. That is the price we pay. But we are putting an end to this. I know ev eryone in this country wants to see health cost s come down. And I have not yet met anyone who does not agree that health care should be affordable and accessible for all. So, in that goal , we are united. Mr. Speaker, w e are united across the floor of this Honourable House. And we are united throughout the Bermuda I love that is caring and compassionate, t he Bermuda where we truly are our brother’s keeper. I believe in us, Mr. Speaker . In my discussions with our partners , I heard clearly that they too want everyone to have access to preventive health care to avoid problems and resolve issues before they escalate. I know we want people to be safe if a cat astrophic, unexpected illness befalls our neighbour, colleague, or school friend. But we can’t keep funding these tragic cases with bake sales and community fundraisers. We need
Bermuda House of Assembly proper health financing that will make better use of our health care dollars , to make sure everyone has what they need— though I stress that this is quite different from giving everyone what they want. Mr. Speaker, as we start the new fiscal year, we are pressing ahead with bringing forward pr oposals for financing reform developed under the N ational Health Plan task groups. This is a goal under the Bermuda Health Strategy , and this work will en able us to consider costed options and make informed decisions about our future health financing. I am very excited about this work, Mr. Speaker , and I am looking forward to sharing more about this over the coming months. Health care should never be a privilege, Mr. Speaker . A civilis ed socie ty needs a healthy popul ation to thrive. So, having access to affordable health care is vital to Bermuda’s prosperity. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. The next Minister we have on order for a Statement this morning is the Honour able Minister Foggo. Honourable Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to all.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning. 2016 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS REPORT Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Speaker, I rise to share with the Members of this Honourable House and the people of Bermuda additional information regarding the recently released 2016 Population and Housing Census Report . Mr. Speaker, while the 2016 Census Report …
Good morning.
2016 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS REPORT Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Mr. Speaker, I rise to share with the Members of this Honourable House and the people of Bermuda additional information regarding the recently released 2016 Population and Housing Census Report . Mr. Speaker, while the 2016 Census Report contains a vast array of information, it is not feasible to include every possible combination of questions and variations of response options to these questions in tables in a census repo rt. Data users are encouraged to review the census questionnaire in Appe ndix B of the report as a guide to the information avai lable from the 2016 Census. Customis ed tabulation requests can be fulfilled by the Department of Stati stics to better meet users’ needs. Mr. Speaker, the 2016 Census data can be used in a variety of ways. For example, the data can be used to substantiate claims made in research papers and reports, provide facts for general education, and fac ilitate evidence- based decision- making. M ore specific possible uses include the following: assessing current and future resources to meet the needs of an ageing popu lation; determining an ideal location to start a business based on an area’s demographics ; and identifying high- paying occupations held by large numbers of non- Bermudians , as a guide to possible opportunities for qualified Bermudians. By no means are these examples exhaustive , but they illustrate just some of the ways that the 2016 Census data can be a valuable resource. Mr. Speaker, the information contained within the report’s Technical Note is important in order to fully understand the data sets of the most recent two censuses. Additionally, users should note that , since the 1980 Census, the inter censal period has been irregular , with intervals of 11 years, 9 years, 10 years , and 6 years, respectively. Users should take this into account when comparing census trends historically. Mr. Speaker, I have submitted an electronic copy of the 2016 Population and Housing Census R eport for di stribution to Honourable Members , and i nvite Members to review the report and refer questions and/or information requests to technical officers at the Department of Statistics. Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to extend thanks to the entire team at the department, led by Director, Ms. Melinda Williams , for the timely delivery of this so -valuable r eport , Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. I believe that the next Statement is yours, as well. Continue on. THE GOVERNMENT E- GAZETTE INITIATIVE Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I rise to inform this Honourable House that, as highlighted in the 2018/19 National Budget Statement, the Ministry for the Cabinet Office …
Thank you, Minister. I believe that the next Statement is yours, as well. Continue on.
THE GOVERNMENT E- GAZETTE INITIATIVE
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I rise to inform this Honourable House that, as highlighted in the 2018/19 National Budget Statement, the Ministry for the Cabinet Office with responsibility for Government Reform will establish a n e-Gazette . That is, the Government will move the official Gazette from the new spaper to an online platform that will be available on the Government’s own portal, www.gov.bm. Honourable Members will know that there is a legal requirement to publish statutory instruments and other official notices. The publishing of these notices is an important means for ensuring that the public is kept informed of specific government actions and d ecisions. Mr. Speaker, the publication of these notices in the newspaper originates from a bygone era when printed text in a newspaper, or notices posted within the public square, was the key source of information. Visit our World Heritage Site, the Old Town of St. George’s, and you will find such a notice board on King’s Square. Today, however, given advances in technol ogy, the way information is consumed has changed dramatically. Website traffic to www.gov.bm has i ncreased significantly in recent years. The community is demonstrating that they require direct, easy, and convenient access to government information, through their use of technology. 1978 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, technology is an excellent means of creating greater efficiencies. An e- Gazette will benefit both government and the public. Benefits will include time savings; easy access to and retrieval of information; and, notwithstanding that a small por-tion is recouped in some instances, cost savings of in excess of $300,000 a year. Mr. Speaker, whilst the Interpretation Amendment Act 2018, which will be tabled in this Honourable House today, seeks to make provisions to designate alternative media as the offici al Gazette , it is not expected that the transition to a new online off icial Gazette will occur until at least the third quarter of this year. Mr Speaker, my aim today is to advise this Honourable House, and by extension the general pu blic, of the planned change and to invite views on the functional requirements of the platform and transition plans. Whilst some members of the community use official notices for information only, other members of the community may have a business need, and ther efore may clip and file notices for client use, and/or off icial notices may be used to trigger other business processes. The Government is therefore seeking feedback on the functionality that various segments of the community require so that we can ensure that the new o nline Gazette meets the needs for all of the stakeholders. Also, Mr. Speaker, recognising that not all members of the community have access to computers, following the transition to the new online official Gazette , “some” official notices will continue to be published “ for information” in other media. The Go vernment is seeking input on which notices should continue to appear in other media “ for information, ” follo wing the launch of the e- Gazette platform. Mr. Speaker, a short questionnaire is now availabl e on www.gov.bm. Honourable Members and the general public are invited to provide input into the development of the site to ensure that it meets the needs of all segments of the community. Mr. Speaker, the Government is taking the necessary steps to provi de modern, innovative digital tools to fulfil its responsibilities efficiently and effectively. The aim, Mr. Speaker, is a future- forward government for the people of Bermuda. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. There is one final M inisterial Statement left this morning. That is in the name of the Minister of Education. Minister. THE BERMUDA PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM: YOUTH EMPOWERMENT SUMMIT AND 2018 MALE OUTSTANDING TEEN AWARD WINNERS Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good …
Thank you, Minister. There is one final M inisterial Statement left this morning. That is in the name of the Minister of Education. Minister.
THE BERMUDA PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM: YOUTH EMPOWERMENT SUMMIT AND 2018 MALE OUTSTANDING TEEN AWARD WINNERS Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning, colleagues. Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak to, specifically, the Bermuda Public School System, and the first annual Youth Empowerment Summit and the 2018 Male Outstanding Teen Award winners. Mr. Speaker, the vision of the Bermuda Public School System is to educate all students to lead per-sonally and professionally, to compete locally, and to contribute globally. This morning, it gives me tremendous pleasure to share with my honourable col-leagues about the Bermuda Public School System’ s recent Youth Empowerment Summit and its 2018 Male Outstanding Teen Awardees, which is a test ament of the leaders whom we are developing in the Bermuda Public School System. Mr. Speaker, on March 27 th, the Ministry of Education and Workforce Development held its first Youth Empowerment Summit, or what we refer to as Y.E.S. This event was attended by over 80 students, close to 200 parents, and school principals. The vision of Y.E.S. was to recognise all student leaders —the head student and the deputy head student leaders —in every primary, middle, and senior school in the public school system. Mr. Speaker, we applaud our students for their willingness to stand as leaders in their respective schools, which we know, at times, can mean signif icant personal sac rifice. Students were reminded that it was their conduct, their attitude, their achievements, how they serve other students, and how they demonstrated selfless leadership that positioned them to be selected as leaders in their schools. These are the leader ship characteristics which can be found in all great leaders. These are leadership characteristics that align with our Plan 2022 vision for public school students. Mr. Speaker, in these current times of social challenge, it is critically important to remi nd our st udents of the potential that lies within them. It is our intention to do this not just once, but continuously throughout their education experience in public school. It is a known fact that repetition helps one to internalise. As such, this is what we endeavour to do—constantly remind our students that they are leaders and they have the potential to be great lea ders! Mr. Speaker, let me now shift and bring to the attention of my honourable colleagues and the Ber-muda community six exceptional S4 male students in our public school system who won Outstanding Teen Awards at the March 2018 Outstanding Teen Awards Ceremony. Mr. Speaker, although these six young men are diverse in their talents and achievements, they hold in common the ability to meet high standards and to achieve excellence. Their achievements speak with one voice and send to our community a very loud and resounding reminder that young male students in the public school system are engaged in
Bermuda House of Assembly positive pursuits and that they can, and do, ac hieve excellence. Mr. Speaker, student Sekai Wainwright, the 2018 Outstanding Teen Awardee for the Vocational and Technical Arts category, was recommended to represent CedarBridge Academy. He has completed his NCCER Core Curriculum with a grade of A and mechanics courses with grades of B. Presently, Sekai is on the President’s List at Bermuda College with a GPA of 3.36. He has excelled and thrived in many of the technical courses, gaining A grades. After gradu-ating from the Dual Enrolment Applied Technolog y programme in May 2018 with both his high school diploma and a certificate in Applied Sciences and Tec hnology from the Bermuda College, Sekai will further his studies at the New England Institute of Technol ogy, where he has gained acceptance for the fall term to earn qualifications for becoming a diesel mechanic. Mr. Speaker, CedarBridge student Kenji Robinson won the 2018 Outstanding Teen Award for Per-severance. Despite dire family issues caused by grave social problems, our winner kept his eyes f ocused on upward mobility and his future goals. He possesses all of the intellectual acumen and skills that are required to make it academically, and to achieve his aspiration of becoming an actuary. Kenji entered high school having already earned IGCEs. He took several IGCSEs in his S1 year, completing the twoyear course of study in one year. He has A -Level courses in addition to Advanced Placement courses. He has achieved passes in five IGCSEs —English, Math, Physics, Physical Education, French, and AS Physics. He also took home the award for Excellence in GCSE Math and received subject prize awards for French III, AS Mathematics II, and Citizenship. He is a Principal’s Honours Student who has maintained an overall average of over 90 per cent for the duration of his time at CedarBridge Academy. Despite his ci rcumstances, Kenji has persevered and excelled ac ademically and athletically as one of the top 10 st udents in his year. Mr. Speaker, Berkeley Institute student George Frost won the 2018 Outstanding Teen Award for Most Progress. It was an initial experience with failure, combined with a challenge given to him from one of his teachers, that caused him to change his personal philosophy about academic achievement. George was singled out for having an overall avera ge of 92 per cent and for being a student who sets goals and competes against himself. His efforts have enabled him to maintain Principal’s Honours through hard work, dedication, and his commitment to excel. Mr. Speaker, the 2018 Outstanding Teen Leadership Award was won by Yasser Baia. Yasser is a Berkeley Institute student who holds several leadership roles, inclusive of Grade 12 Representative, Head Male Student, and chief officer in a virtual bus iness run within the school. Yasser has played a pivot-al role in competitive debating tournaments on the local and global circuit, resulting in much success and notable accomplishments. Yasser has had the distinct pleasure of representing Bermuda at the 42 nd Regional Commonwealth Youth Parliament Summit to pass a motion with respect to the new US immigration policy. This young leader has also participated in the Global Young Leaders’ Conference and Presidential Inaug uration Delegation for Change in 2016 and 2017. He has developed his creative capacity through the establishment of a fledgling clothing company, Lit Gala, which has enabled him to develop an impactful medi-um through which he can convey bold messages. Mr. Speaker, one of our most talented performing artists, Berkeley Institute student Angelis Hunt, won the 2018 Outstanding Teen Award for Performing Arts. Angelis was a runner -up for the Berm uda Idol competition. He was also given the distinct privilege of being the opening act for the 2013 NatWest Games hosted in Bermuda. He won Troika Bermuda’s Best Ne w Male Artist Award in 2015, and, under the wings of Troika, Angelis took on an ensemble role in the 2016 and 2017 production of The Color Purple: The Musical . Later that year, Angelis received a partial scholarship to attend camp with “[Camp] Up With People” in Virginia, over the summer, where he was a member of Cast B 2017. In the fall of 2017, A ngelis secured the role of the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz under the organisation of Gilbert and Sullivan, Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, Berkeley Institute student Jay - Quan Dill won the 2018 Outstanding Teen Award for Academics. Jay -Quan is one of the first students on the Island to be invited to the Stanford University High School Summer College Chemistry course in the summer of 2017, and he completed the course with a B- grade. Currently, his GPA stands at 3.89, one of the highest in the school, while being enrolled in A dvanced Placement courses. At the age of 14, while still in middle school, Jay -Quan took on the extended IGCSE examination in Mathematics, two years before his designated time, and earned a grade A. He is also the youngest student at the school to write AP Calc ulus and earn a grade 4. At the end of his S3 year, he took the AS and A -Level Mathematics examinations and earned a B and D, respectively. He currently holds nine IGCSE Certificates, with three A*’s, four A’s, one B, and one C, and he completed seven of these IGCSEs in one year. His SAT score is over 1300, making him a well -sought -after candidate for established learning institutions. He is Head Boy and a Bronze Award member of the Duke of Edinburgh Society. Mr. Speaker, these accomplishments should reassure parents and the community that we have male students who do achieve at high levels in the Bermuda public school system and that our senior schools provide opportunities for our male students to grow, develop, thrive, and achieve in their areas of strength. 1980 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, I take my hat off to their parents, principals, teachers, and to all staff for their commi tment, the hard work, the contributions , and the su pport provided to our young male students. Let me extend my heartfelt congratulations to Sekai Wainwright, Kenji Robinson, George Frost, Yasser Baia, Angelis Hunt, and Jay -Quan Dill. Well done! We anticipate hearing about great accomplishments from each of you and extend best wishes for your successful future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. No more Statements. We will move on. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe have one report that will be tabled this morning. It is the report from the Public Accounts Committee. And the Honourable Member Simons will present the report this morning. PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE REPORT
Mr. N. H. Cole Sim onsUnder the provisions of Standing Order 34(3) of the House of Assembly, and on behalf of the Chair, Pat Gordon- Pamplin, I hereby present for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly a report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee [PAC] on the Public Accounts regarding the committee’s visits to …
Under the provisions of Standing Order 34(3) of the House of Assembly, and on behalf of the Chair, Pat Gordon- Pamplin, I hereby present for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly a report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee [PAC] on the Public Accounts regarding the committee’s visits to the National Assembly for Wales, and to Westminster, in January 2018. On Monday, January 29 th, the entire Public Accounts Committee attended the Welsh National Assembly in Cardiff and were introduced to the Chair, the Clerk, the Deputy Clerk of the Welsh Public A ccounts Committee, in the persons of Nick Ramsay, Fay Bowen, and Meriel Singleton. Your committee comprised Honourable Members Cole Simons, Michael Weeks, Renee Ming, S usan Jackson, Dennis Lis ter III, and Neville Tyrrell, with Pat Gordon- Pamplin as Chair and Clarke Sumner as Clerk. We were accompanied throughout the visit by Felicity Herrmann of the CPA [Commonwealth Parli amentary Association] UK Branch. The Welsh Public Accounts Committee com prises seven members. It is a statutory committee, and it is chaired by an Oppos ition Member. The work of the Public Accounts Committee was explained by Fay Bowen, Clerk to the Pu blic Accounts Committee in Wales. We were apprised of their standards and ser vices available to the effective working of their PAC, which included an allocated clerk, committee services, research, communications, legal, and translation services. The Welsh National Assembly also has a centralised Business Committee, whose responsibi lities include the scheduling of all parliamentary committee meetings. The chair and clerk advised that they have a fully stocked library and have access to scoping documents with terms of references and potential wi tnesses, as well as services for compili ng key issues, papers, draft reports, gathering evidence and social media interactions. The chair advised that the Auditor General of Wales sat in on all committee meetings, whether they were in respect of reports produced by the auditor or inquiries initi ated by committees. The committee issues invitations to the Auditor General to attend their meetings, and the AG obliges. The Auditor General was unavailable during our visit. However, the Assistant Auditor General, A nthony Barrett, spent time with us. He outlined some of the committee- led inquiries that had been conducted by their PAC, such as senior management pay, Air Link with Wales, and children in care. Advice was offered for the PAC to be effective. It must be seen as constructive, consensual, i ndependent, and reassuring for witnesses. And it should look for solutions and constructive recommendations. Mr. Speaker, as an effective way forward, members must state what issues or concerns they would like to discuss. Members should try to ensure that out comes are clear and that the Public Accounts Committee focuses on value propositions and not just policy matters. It is also good to have regular meetings with the department heads to develop a level of trust with the PAC. In response to a general question to the staff, it was revealed that members’ interest registers are always kept up to date. Following the meetings throughout the day, we departed via rail to London Paddington, where we were met and transported to our hotel Monday night. Day 2, January 30 th. Your PAC members were welcomed to Westminster by John Davies the CEO of the CPA UK Branch. We then met with Sir Geoffrey Clifton- Brown, the UK PAC Vice Chair, e ngaged with the Business Department on Brexit; Dom inic Stockbridge, the Second Clerk; and Ha nnah Went worth, the Chair Liaison. Geoffrey Clifton- Brown, followed by Dominic Stockbridge, highlighted that he and the UK PAC work closely with the National Aud itor’s Office and accept recommendations from them for questions to be put to witnesses. A hear ing will usually result in recommendations to the relevant departments. Investigations by the PAC are not usually prospective, but investigations may be initiated on matters that have not yet hit the National Audit Office or the Auditor General’s O ffice. A s an example, the collapse of Carillion and its impact on the economy was undertaken by the PAC. But they were mindful not to question policy. They also relied on the National Audit Office for individual expertise where it is available. Geoffrey Clifton- Brown
Bermuda House of Assembly highlighted the planning process for investigation wherein Tuesdays and Wednesdays were set aside for briefing by the National Audit Office, with a half - hour pre- brief set on Monday afternoons. Evidence sessions are scheduled for two to three hours on a Thursday or Friday. Following Geoffrey Clifton- Brown and his team, we met with Linda Mills of the National Audit Office. She underscored that the National Audit Office provides for the PAC, and she stressed the key point that, whereas the PAC can enforce accountability, the National Audit Office cannot. The National Audit Office assists the PAC with its report preparation, briefing prior to witness sessions, suggests questions for wi tnesses that may have been gleaned from work that they have done on a par ticular subject, and makes recommendations on who may be appropriate wi tnesses. It was also pointed out that the PAC may r equest information from the National Audit Office. We also met with Paul Wright -Anderson, National Audit Office; Kyle Garrett , Foreign and Commonwealth O ffice; Rachael Adkins, Americas, Caribbean, Europe, and UK Overseas Territory Programme Manager of the CPA UK Branch; Callum Forster, UK OT Project Manager, CPA UK Branch, all of whom underscored the importance of the working relationshi p between the PAC and the National Audit Office. Lunch was arranged with members of the Britain –Bermuda All -Party Parliamentary Group, i ncluding Sir David Amess, Lord Tope, Andrew Rosi ndell, Sir David Crausby, Mark Menzies, and Baroness Hooper. During lunc h, amongst other things, we were able to discuss with them the challenges respecting the new passport issue, the Bermuda passport issue, and obtained from them a commitment that, if we put the issue in writing, they were prepared to advance the discussions with the appropriate minister. Next, we met with Jessica Bridges -Palmer and Natasha Hallett of the Media and Public Engagement Department, who spoke of the role of media and outreach in building trust with the public. Jessica Bridges[ -Palmer] is the Media Officer and spoke to the importance of initiating press releases, inquiry notific ations, public awareness through Twitter, and ensuring that there were video clippings of evidence given at the sessions that can be shared with the public. She advised that it is important for the public to be aware of who the committee is, how it works, and provides details on subjects of inquiry and assisting in gaining the public trust. Natasha’s area is in public engagement, and she apprised us of their responsibilities t o work with the PAC to build understanding, set an agenda, and hold the people to account. She spoke of ensuring that the engagement events are accessible, relying on community outreach teams. They encouraged openspace events and also reimbursing people f or their time in coming in to give evidence. Kevin Foster spoke of his role in ensuring that the PAC delve into practical applications rather than policy. He also indicated that the subject matter expertise is important for the rapporteur. Finally, we met with Aruni Muthumala, an economist who hails from the Scrutiny Unit, which had been newly set up in 2002. The Scrutiny Unit supports the work of the PAC and other selected committees, and provides special expertise, particularly on fina ncial matters. They liaise with the finance and legal teams, and examine annual reports and estimates. She reiterated that the PAC does not examine policy, but, rather, the effectiveness of funds being spent. From the annual reports, the Scrutiny Unit can write to various departments on main estimates and suppl ements in order to get a better understanding of the allocations. The Audit Office has both external and internal auditors, and the internal auditors report to senior management. Day 3. We commenced with a tour of the Palace of Westminster. Your committee then had briefings with the Rt. Hon. John Spellar and Luke Pollard, MP, around the process in effect for the Prime Mini ster’s Questions, before having the opportunity to wi tness from the public gallery the actual questions of the day. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister was travelling, but was represented by her Deputy, and ques-tions provided a lively and spirited debate. Following Prime Minister’s Questions, we had lunch at the Portcullis House with Sir Geoffrey Clifton - Brown, Helen Goodman, Chris Bryant, and then had the opportunity to witness a PAC evidence session with the topic under review being Research and D evelopment Funding Across Government and Impl ementing an EU Exit Strategy. The day ended with feedback sessions initiated by Felicity Herrmann, Project Assistant, our hos tess for the entire experience. And each member had the opportunity to record video testimonials to be uploaded, with our impressions of the event. The overall consensus of the committee was that t he visit was very informative. Hopefully, the information gathered will assist in formulating an effective approach to our own PAC and that the groups’ recommendations will be used to provide an overall vision for future PACs. Mr. Speaker, subsequent to our return to Bermuda, the Chair arranged a courtesy visit with the Auditor General to discuss the interactions of the PAC with the Auditor General. Further meetings will be arranged with the entire committee so that we can plan an effective way forward. In addition, the committee welcomed [MP] Scott Simmons in replacement of the Honourable Michael Weeks, who had been appointed to the Cabinet. Mr. Speaker, the repeated highlight of the visit served to underscore the necessity of trust between the PAC members and the need to remove partisanship from all PAC deliberations. Your committee 1982 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly members have been invited to consider those matters, or issues, of concern, that they would like the commi ttee to delve into so that the real work of the PAC can begin. The comm ittee is appreciative of the assistance of the Clerk, Clarke Sumner, and the Office of the CPA UK, and the support of the House, enabling this learning experience for members to embark on an effective and meaningful PAC. Some recommendations advanced by yo ur committee members are as follows: 1. ensure appropriate involvement of the Office of the Auditor General in the PAC; 2. define a mandate for the PAC that can be shared publicly; 3. broaden the library of information and scoping documents for PAC and other House commi ttees; 4. consider televising meetings of the PAC for matters of public importance. The PAC will deliberate on recommendations 1 and 2, expeditiously. We will request that recommendations 3 and 4 be taken under advisement by the respective House commit tees and that the impl ementation thereof may be considered as a matter of priority. There were other issues that were also advanced for consideration. And the contents thereof will be further discussed by the committee and presented in a future report, al l of which is respectfully submitted by Pat Gordon- Pamplin, the Chair; myself; Neville Ty rrell; Dennis Lister III; Michael Weeks; Susan Jackson; Renee Ming; and Scott Simmons. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. And let me just add a little comment to that. I would say that I really appreciate the fact that the entire committee was able to go overseas and do that workshop. And I trust that it will be beneficial to the entire proceedings in this …
Thank you, Honourable Member. And let me just add a little comment to that. I would say that I really appreciate the fact that the entire committee was able to go overseas and do that workshop. And I trust that it will be beneficial to the entire proceedings in this House when you deliberate around your committee meetings. Thank you.
QUESTION PERIOD
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe now are at the Question Period. There are no written questions today, so the questions will come from the Statements that were delivered this morning by respective Ministers. And Ministers, we have three Members who have indicated that they have questions. The first is for the Honourable Premier in …
We now are at the Question Period. There are no written questions today, so the questions will come from the Statements that were delivered this morning by respective Ministers. And Ministers, we have three Members who have indicated that they have questions. The first is for the Honourable Premier in reference to his second Statement, and that is from the Honourable Member Simons from constituency 8, who just took his seat. Honourabl e Member, you have the floor again. QUESTION 1: MOU SIGNINGS IN FINTECH DEVELOPMENT
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regard to the Memorandum of Understanding for FinTech development, I just want to say that, quite frankly, we on this side support our examining these initiatives, and we will lend support wherever possible. Now, in regard to Binance, I salute them for the …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, in regard to the Memorandum of Understanding for FinTech development, I just want to say that, quite frankly, we on this side support our examining these initiatives, and we will lend support wherever possible. Now, in regard to Binance, I salute them for the work that they hope to do in Bermuda. And I would commend the Premier for the work that he has done already. Having said that, I do have concerns based on media articles that I have drawn from Bloomberg, Mr. Speaker .
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberQuestion? Media!
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberWhat is the question?
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsMy question is this, Mr. Speaker. This new company which started, was founded last year in Hong Kong, has moved to doing business in Japan [and] Singapore. And they have built up an interesting reputation.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberWhat is the question?
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsMr. Speaker, the Japanese regulatory authority, finance and service agency, has asked them to cease doing business in Japan. My question to the Finance Minister is, How was this information addressed during the vetting process?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Minister. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, though it was a very long stat ement by the Honourable Member, I am happy to a ddress his very simple question. [Inaudible i nterjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHe was building the stage for his question. Hon. E. David Burt: Well, Mr. Speaker, you sit in the Chair and you make the rules of the House, so I will not comment. I will just answer the question as it was posed. Bermuda House of Assembly He asked how …
He was building the stage for his question. Hon. E. David Burt: Well, Mr. Speaker, you sit in the Chair and you make the rules of the House, so I will not comment. I will just answer the question as it was posed.
Bermuda House of Assembly He asked how it was done at the vetting pr ocess. It was done at the vetting process as we do for all. We consider all the relevant facts which exist. The relevant facts are that we are not going to put Berm uda’s economy at risk. There was an extensive session that was held with Binance with the Bermuda Mon etary Authority. And that is the nature of the way in which we address these particular items. But what I would also remind Honourable Members is that there are many different types of st ories which would occur. Here are the facts: The facts are that, just like the company started last year, there are very . . . actually, there are no countries in the world that have actual law and legislation to govern these new types of industries. So there are many countries that are grappling with this particular issue. Where we are going to position Bermuda, and the hard work of which we are doing, is to become the first. And so, there are jurisdictions, this company, the Honourable Member mentioned, that the company started last year. The company was formed four days —it started trading four days before the landslide election of 2017, four days prior to July 14, 2017, and in a mere nine months has managed to amass ––to become the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange and is also going to set up operation in Bermuda, Mr. Speaker. When things move quickly, governments must respond and move quickly. To quote the founder of Binance, Small ships turn quickly, Mr. Speaker. What I would say is Japan’s loss will more than likely be Bermuda’s gain.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Honourable Member, do you have a suppl ementary or a new question?
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsHe was quoting the CEO’s comments about the organisation. I read an article that said the CEO indicated that the company had no legal headquarters. Can the Minister speak to where the base is for this company? And could he also speak to the comments wherein the CEO indicated that, …
He was quoting the CEO’s comments about the organisation. I read an article that said the CEO indicated that the company had no legal headquarters. Can the Minister speak to where the base is for this company? And could he also speak to the comments wherein the CEO indicated that, We are okay with doing things very creatively to avoid unnecessary regulations ? So, my concern is, you know, they are moving around and they are avoiding regulations. They have been to J a-pan, Bermuda, Singapore . . . can the Minister tell us where the company’s headquarters are?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: It is very interesting that the Honourable Member asked the same question that was asked by members of the media at the press conference. And I believe that Mr. Changpeng Zhao answered that question. But here is what I can tell you. …
Thank you, Member. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: It is very interesting that the Honourable Member asked the same question that was asked by members of the media at the press conference. And I believe that Mr. Changpeng Zhao answered that question. But here is what I can tell you. Mr. Speaker, the company has submitted an applic ation to incorporate in Bermuda, and we look forward to that incorporation process.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. Any further questions? No further questions, no supplementary. Thank you, Member. We now move on to the next Ministerial Statement that the Members indicated that they wished to ask a ques tion about. And, Minister Foggo, you have a question that the Honourable Member from constituency …
Thank you, Mr. Premier. Any further questions? No further questions, no supplementary. Thank you, Member. We now move on to the next Ministerial Statement that the Members indicated that they wished to ask a ques tion about. And, Minister Foggo, you have a question that the Honourable Member from constituency 10 would like to ask. Honourable Member Dunkley, would you like to have the floor?
QUESTION 1: 2016 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS REPORT
Hon. Michael H. Du nkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to you and colleagues. To the Honourable Minister in regard to the Statement on the 2016 Population and Housing Ce nsus—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAh! Ah! Ah! Oh, I am sorry. [Laughter]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. Ministe r Foggo, I had you in my mind that time. Go ahead with your question, Honourable Member. Go ahead. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, when you were going, Ah! Ah! Ah!, I thought you were referring to me.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. You are quite all right then, sir. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: No, I am not going to be as long as my colleague . . . with setting up the question; you can be sure of that.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. Go ahead. 1984 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, back to the 2016 Population and Housing Census, the Honour able Minister, in the Statement given in early February, said that the cost for the census to date was …
Go ahead. Go ahead.
1984 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, back to the 2016 Population and Housing Census, the Honour able Minister, in the Statement given in early February, said that the cost for the census to date was $575,000 and it was 34 per cent of budget. Has the final cost been counted yet, and how much under budget is it?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Minister. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you. The costs remain the same. So, it was under budget, especially due to the assistance of technology in carrying out the census.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Member, supplementary or new question? Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, new question, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Continue. QUESTION 2: 2016 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS REPORT Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes. I would be remiss if I did not thank the department for the excellent work that they have done. And we are pleased to see that technology has helped in such a great way. Mr. …
Okay. Continue.
QUESTION 2: 2016 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS REPORT Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes. I would be remiss if I did not thank the department for the excellent work that they have done. And we are pleased to see that technology has helped in such a great way. Mr. Speaker, the Minister in the Statement does not give any further elucidation on the coverage rate. Has the pre- imputation rate of 98 per cent changed? And have there been any changes made to the prior census as far as updates or corrections on the website?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Minister. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Regarding the Census of 2010 . . . I think that is what your question was pertaining to? Yes. There were . . . the Honourable Member, Mr. Speaker, as you would know, Pat GordonPamplin did ask that very question. And the …
Thank you, Member. Minister. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Regarding the Census of 2010 . . . I think that is what your question was pertaining to? Yes. There were . . . the Honourable Member, Mr. Speaker, as you would know, Pat GordonPamplin did ask that very question. And the results were passed on to this House to disseminate to her. And there were many corrections, and they were changed in t he 2010 Census.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Minister. Honourable Member? QUESTION 3: 2016 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS REPORT Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back to the earlier part of that question, the pre-imputation rate f or the 2016 Census was 98 per cent. The rate for the 2010 Census was much …
QUESTION 3: 2016 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS REPORT Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Back to the earlier part of that question, the pre-imputation rate f or the 2016 Census was 98 per cent. The rate for the 2010 Census was much lower. Does the Honourable Minister believe that this is down to typically just the use of technology? Or were there other challenges that made the huge difference?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you for that question. Basically, the use of technology did help them to get more information, so the percentage rate was definitely higher with that as a means for them gather-ing data.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Supplementary or — Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Supplementary, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Obviously, as the Honourable Minister said, and we agree with her 100 per cent, the information gleaned in the census is very important for many different areas. And planning is critical to it. So the completion rate, the pre- imputation rate and the …
Go ahead.
SUPPLEMENTARIES
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Obviously, as the Honourable Minister said, and we agree with her 100 per cent, the information gleaned in the census is very important for many different areas. And planning is critical to it. So the completion rate, the pre- imputation rate and the accuracy are very critical. Going forward, does the Minister believe, now that we have a better use of tec hnology, that the acc uracy of the census will be enhanced such as the 2016 Census has shown?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Minister. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Certainly, that would be the hope. And, of course, it is always relying on people participating and passing on the relevant information.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. New question or supplementary? Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Supplementary, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSecond supplementary. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, Mr . Speaker. And before I get to it, the Director and her staff had done a great job, initially, when we were going out to get people to fill online, publicising that. And so, that is a good approach—even, in fact, reaching …
Second supplementary.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, Mr . Speaker. And before I get to it, the Director and her staff had done a great job, initially, when we were going out to get people to fill online, publicising that. And so, that is a good approach—even, in fact, reaching out to seniors and helping senior s do what they have to do, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my final supplementary question. Is the Honourable Minister able to confirm if the next census be held five years from this point, or five
Bermuda House of Assembly years from 2015? Because you will recall, Mr. Speaker, this census was pushed back one year.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Minister. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: What I can say is that the 2002 Act provides that census reports be done from time to time, but no less often than every 10 years. So we will undertake to ens ure that it is done in a timely manner.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. No further questions? We will move on to the next Statement. And, Minister Foggo, the next question is actually for your second Statement. And that is from the Leader of the Opposi tion. Honourable Member, you have the floor. QUESTION 1: THE GOVERNMENT E- GAZETTE INITIATIVE Hon. …
Thank you, Minister. No further questions? We will move on to the next Statement. And, Minister Foggo, the next question is actually for your second Statement. And that is from the Leader of the Opposi tion. Honourable Member, you have the floor.
QUESTION 1: THE GOVERNMENT E- GAZETTE INITIATIVE Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. With respect, if the Minister could answer this question for me. I noted from the Statement that the transition is expected to occur in the third quarter of this year. So that means that there is some opportun ity for information gathering. Could the Minister ind icate . . . the Statement says that the Government is seeking input on what notices should continue to appear in other media. Could the Minister indicate what method is going to be used to get feedback from those people who might not have computers to ac-cess the www.gov.bm website?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Minister. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Well, other media would r emain as media, like print media. You have other electronic means —radio airwaves. So they will use what they deem is the best medium to try and ensure that we get response from the public, or that …
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Well, other media would r emain as media, like print media. You have other electronic means —radio airwaves. So they will use what they deem is the best medium to try and ensure that we get response from the public, or that the public becomes aware. Especially of anyt hing urgent, you always have TV. So there are all sorts of media that are available which notices can be put on.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Supplementary or new question? Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Supplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue. SUPPLEMENT ARY Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: And perhaps I was not clear enough. The Statement indicates that the Go vernment is seeking input on which notices should con-tinue to appear in other media. So I want to know, how is the Minister or the Government going to get this …
Continue.
SUPPLEMENT ARY
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: And perhaps I was not clear enough. The Statement indicates that the Go vernment is seeking input on which notices should con-tinue to appear in other media. So I want to know, how is the Minister or the Government going to get this [input]? Because those people, obviously, are not going to use the www.gov.bm to provide input; they have to use some other method. And I just want to know how they are going to get that.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Minister. Hon. Lovitta F. Fo ggo: With current partners that we went out to garner information from, they have been given information directly. Information has been sent to various corporate partners, the legal division —we have reached out to all of the entities which are affected. And …
Thank you, Member. Minister.
Hon. Lovitta F. Fo ggo: With current partners that we went out to garner information from, they have been given information directly. Information has been sent to various corporate partners, the legal division —we have reached out to all of the entities which are affected. And while there remains a survey online, people can respond directly to that as well.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: And there have been ads out there.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Supplementary or new question? Hon. Jeann e J. Atherden: New question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. QUESTION 2: THE GOVERNMENT E- GAZETTE INITIATIVE Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Would the Minister co nsider that in trying to get a questionnaire utilising the www.gov.bm , perhaps a questionnaire inserted in the traditional media —i.e., the Gazette —might be useful because then you would get it to those …
Okay.
QUESTION 2: THE GOVERNMENT E- GAZETTE INITIATIVE
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Would the Minister co nsider that in trying to get a questionnaire utilising the www.gov.bm , perhaps a questionnaire inserted in the traditional media —i.e., the Gazette —might be useful because then you would get it to those people who use the Gazette as their means of getting information? Would the Minister consider that a questionnaire placed in that medium might also give her some feedback from those people who are not what I call in the technology arena?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Minister. Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: What I will say is that the questionnaire is already out there in circulation. And we are currently gathering data from those question-naires.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. No further questions? That brings us to the end of the Question P eriod. 1986 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly CONGRATULATORY AND/OR OBITUARY SPEECHES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerDoes any Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member De Silva. Honourable Member De Silva, you have the floor. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like the whole House to send out a big hearty congratulations to G …
Does any Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member De Silva. Honourable Member De Silva, you have the floor.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like the whole House to send out a big hearty congratulations to G lenda Todd, who lives in Sunnyside Park. And t he reason I wish to send congratulations out to her is because her dear mother turned 103 years old this week.
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, Mr. Speaker. So, whilst —
[Desk thumping]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: And being the f amily that they are, of course, they did not want a whole lot of fanfare. Did not want any Premiers, did not want any opposite; they did not want anybody, just wanted to celebrate it with the family in a nice, quiet way. But the family did give me permission to come to the House and to acknowledge their mother, Mayo Lo uise Carr , on her 103rd birthday this week. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Member . . . I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 10. Honour able Member Dunkley, you have the floor. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to take these three minutes on the co ngratulations period of the House …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Member . . . I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 10. Honour able Member Dunkley, you have the floor.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I wish to take these three minutes on the co ngratulations period of the House of Assembly to extend congratulations to Flora Duffy and everyone who compe ted in the International Triathlon that was held last Saturday under sketchy conditions; but it turned out well. Certainly, I think everybody in Bermuda got what we wished for, for our champion to win on home soil. And Ms. Duffy did it in convincing fashion. I was one of those who was at the top of Corkscrew Hill. And I saw the first climb and the pull -away. And I stayed there for the whole time, and I watched the lead just grow, from 6 seconds to 15 seconds to 30 seconds. It just kept growing. So, congrat ulations to Flora Duffy. What a tremendous achievement! And how thrilled everyone is about it, Bermuda. So it just goes to show that hard work, perseverance, and sacrifice pay off. Mr. Speaker, I think I would be remiss if I stood to congratulate Ms. Duff y on her excellent accomplishment on winning on home soil ––and I think the whole House wants to be associated–– but, Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to congratulate all those who made it happen. Mr. Speaker, the genesis of this actually took place back in December 2016 when Phil Schmidt actually approached the Bermuda Tourism Authority, and the Government at that time, the OBA Government, and the Triathlon Association of Berm uda, to put in a bid for the Triathlon World Championship Event. That is the culmination of all of those [efforts]. And so, we sent a delegation to Madrid, I b elieve it was in mid -December 2016, led by Minister Fahy, Mr. Schmidt, Christ ian Tozey , who is from Ge rmany, Pat Phillip -Fairn from the BTA, Flora Duffy, and Patty Petty. They were successful in getting the event to Bermuda for the three years running. And so, the genesis of this, we should thank those who worked so hard to make it happen. And, Mr. Speaker, I do think we also have to thank all of those on the ground who made i t happen— Mr. Schmidt and his organising team, and, obv iously, the BTA for getting involved in the Triathlon Association. And we should not forget the volunteers and all those officials involved, because it takes a great deal of organisation. Roads were closed. We had the police involved. We had the Corporation of Hamilton, we had the Ministry of Works. And all of those played a very important part in making this tr emendous event the success that it was. And the host hotel, the Hamilton Princess, did a great job, as well. So, Mr. Speaker, it is clear that Bermuda shone very brightly on the world stage. And this is what happens when we all work together, from the former Government, the OBA, to the current Gover nment, the PLP. We shone bright on the world stage, and we have another two years to look forward to. I cannot wait to see not only Ms. Duffy competing, but the hundreds of Bermudians who now are involved in triathlon. This has got to be good for Bermuda, and it has got to be good for our health, as well . Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member . . . We recognise the Honourable Member, the Minister of Tourism. Minister, you have the floor. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I have to echo the remarks of the former Premier, who just took his seat. …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member . . . We recognise the Honourable Member, the Minister of Tourism. Minister, you have the floor.
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I have to echo the remarks of the former Premier, who just took his seat. I think that we, all of Bermuda, came together as one people behind the achiev ements of Ms. Duffy, and with the achievements and success of all of the stakeholders pulling together to pull off this event. And like the former Premier, the Honourable Member, I look forward to the next few years, and I also look forward to other great things coming ahead in the events space in tourism. Mr. Speaker, while I am on my feet, I would like to acknowledge the passing of Mr. Everest Mello.
Bermuda House of Assembly He was a taxi driver for over 50 years. And I think most of us will agree that those who chose this pr ofession, who have been ambassadors on the front line, should be commended. They are the unsung, among the many unsung, heroes of the tourism industry. And Mr. Mello was interesting, because in 1998, I am made to understand, he prominently displayed a PLP banner on his taxi as he traversed the country and did his part to help achieve that historic victory i n 1998. And with those brief remarks, Mr. Speaker, I will take my seat. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Leader of the O pposition. Honourable Member, you have the floor. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have two what I call good things to talk about today. First …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Leader of the O pposition. Honourable Member, you have the floor.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have two what I call good things to talk about today. First of all, I want to make sure that, in the House, we actually recognise the r etirement of Dr. Grant Gibbons. We did not have the opportunity on Friday to talk about all of the years of service that Dr. Gibbons had given to the House and to the community. And I just wanted to make sure that we recognise that Dr. Gibbons stood here and, for many years, talked about things t hat were important to Bermuda not only from the educational perspective, but also from the economic development perspective. And I think it is important for Bermuda to know that, when Dr. Gibbons stood here, he took all the barbs that were thrown at him because he happened to have a family connection. And he always withstood any of the conflicts that were raised and never descended into what I call the type of petty personal type of things which I believe now we have stopped doing. And if we continue to st op doing that, then this House will be setting some very good examples. But I just want to say that Dr. Gibbons, in terms of things with respect, whether it was to finance, whether it was to health . . . I remember when I first met Dr. Gibbons, which was working on a joint select committee with respect to education. And he brought the knowledge and the interest, and actually his com-mitment, to trying to improve things in Bermuda. So, I say to him, Well done, Dr. Gibbons! And we hope that you will continue to support us, in the background, and Bermuda, specifically. My second comment, I just wanted to say and I hope I am not going to steal anybody’s thunder. But I was so pleased to be up at the ribbon- cutting for the Family Centre, because the Family Centr e is one of those organisations that has been in Bermuda, gro wing from just the Learning Centre into the Family Ce ntre. And it has grown in terms of the commitment and the areas that it has evolved in as it relates to the family. But more importantly, I think what was also signif i-cant was being there to see how two NGOs [nongovernment organisations] got together to make sure that Bermuda benefited. The fact that we were standing at the former Sunshine League building facility was so important, because it just said that, once again, NGOs understand that governments cannot do everything. And therefore, and sometimes, it is better that gover nments do not do everything, because NGOs can do more things. They are more nimble, and they can a ddress issues, and mor e people can get behind them. And then, the public can make donations. And I think there was one comment that was made, and I would just throw it out here, the fact that the Family Centre is always looking for donations. And I would like to think that people would consider reac hing out to them in some of their initiatives. Thank you,
Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member, the Mi nister for Sport. Minister Weeks, you have the floor. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to you. Mr. Speaker, I would like to be associated with …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member, the Mi nister for Sport. Minister Weeks, you have the floor.
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to you. Mr. Speaker, I would like to be associated with the remarks on last weekend’s Triathlon. If ever there was seen a time when we had the opportunity to heal that perception of Two Bermudas, it was last Fr iday and Saturday. The Island came out as a unified force to support our own Flora Duffy. And we cheered her on during the whole route. So, I want to associate my remarks with that. Mr. Speaker, I would also say, while we are talking about the Triathlon this past weekend, on Monday we had a motorcade. And we had a motorcade, Mr. Speaker, to honour Flora Duffy and to somehow try to right a wrong of the past. And for those who do not understand, that is why I have d ecided to honour also Clarence “Nicky” Saunders. [Desk thumping]
Hon. Michael A. Weeks: Thank you. And I thank my colleagues. And I would like to associate the remarks for Clarence “Nicky” Saunders with everyone, because he was so appreciative, aft er 28 years of having achieved that feat. When I asked my tactical team to call him and have him come home, he was over the moon. But, Mr. Speaker, before I take my seat, I also would like to acknowledge our very own Sergeant -atArms, Sergeant Major Allen. He had a tournament and grading and promotion on Saturday. And myself, MP Tyrrell, and MP Famous all attended, and it was well attended. There were almost 100 parents and friends there. And I take my hat off to Sergeant Major. 1988 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly It has made me understand n ow, more and more, when he tells us something, sit down or whatever, you have got to listen to him, everybody. All right? What I saw on Saturday, I am just giving you some advice. All right?
[Laughter] Hon. Michael A. Weeks: But also, Mr. Speaker, I am going to send congratulations to the Family Centre. They have opened up the Family Centre up at the Sunshine League House. I was there with my Honourable Deputy, from constituency 15. And the Leader of the Opposition was there. And I hope I do not miss anyone. But there were a few of us there. And the MP from constituency 30 was also there, Mr. Speaker. So, what they are doing up at the Sunshine League House is excellent and exemplary. And it is staying within the spirit, Mr. Speaker, of the purpose and re ason that Sunshine League was established in the first place. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. I recognise the Deputy Premier. Deputy, you have the floor. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to, of cours e, be associated with the comments already given on the Family Centre. I would also like to be associated with the comments given …
Thank you, Minister. I recognise the Deputy Premier. Deputy, you have the floor. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to, of cours e, be associated with the comments already given on the Family Centre. I would also like to be associated with the comments given to the recognition of our two fine athletes who did well over these decades in the Commonwealth Games, who were recognised by the country earlier, late last week. I would also like to ask that we make a congratulatory note for West Pembroke School. Yester-day, myself and the Minister for Economic Development and Tourism visited those who were running a STEAM programme for the students. We were very impressed with what they do, and we hope that all of our schools are doing similar programmes to advance the learning of our students. Very pleased to see what we saw there. I would also like to give a congratulatory note for Francis P atton School, who yesterday had a Leadership Day. And I would like to associate the Honourable Junior Finance Minister Wayne Furbert, and also the Junior Minister for Disabilities, with my comments, as they were also there. If I am missing any other Parliamentarians, I do apologise. But those were the two that I recognised were there. It was an amazing pr ogramme. In the morning, students were participating and giving us presentations. They also had us tour the school and see the classes at work. And then, t here was a roundtable discussion, where students actually participated in a panel discussion with parents, with their teachers, giving contributions, giving feedback. It was an amazing programme, and hats off to the team at Francis Patton, who are advancing our children in that way. I would also like to pass on a congratulatory message for Grace Methodist Church, who celebrated 118 years of existence, this past week, and had a ser-vice last Sunday to commemorate that, which I attended. I would also like to give recognition to the Dellwood School, which I had the opportunity to visit and give recognition to their students and teachers who are helping them in the area of knowledge of the environment. They are doing a programme at Greenrock to eliminate the use of single -use plastics in their environment, which, as we know from international reports, is polluting our oceans in a serious way, kil ling fish, killing sea life and, ultimately, affecting the ecology. So, these are the groups locally that I believe need recognition for so much that they are doing—our schools and, certainly, organisations that are trying to make a difference and helping our work, perhaps, to be just a little bit lighter in this House. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Deputy. I now recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 1. Honourable Member, you have the floor.
Mrs. Renee MingGood morning, Mr. Speaker, and listening audience. I rise today with some good news. First of all, I would like to send congratulations to Richard Allen AME Church Dance Ministry. They did an absolutely wonderful, fantastic show last weekend. It was 21 years in the Dance Ministry. And they actually …
Good morning, Mr. Speaker, and listening audience. I rise today with some good news. First of all, I would like to send congratulations to Richard Allen AME Church Dance Ministry. They did an absolutely wonderful, fantastic show last weekend. It was 21 years in the Dance Ministry. And they actually brought in some of the dancers from Bethel Church in the United States, who actually assis ted them in starting their dance ministry. So, I tell you, it was an awesome night, Mr. Speaker. I kid you not. Also, Shekinah Worship Centre for their high tea and hat show on Saturday. I would like to assoc iate Minister Foggo and also Junior Minister Furbert with that, as well. And also, Mr. Speaker, East End Primary School had a Family Math Night last evening. Normally it is not a way you want to bring some fam ilies together, but it was actually well put together and well organised. It had me stopping t o think a little bit myself, Mr. Speaker. And I would also like to say Happy Birthday to one 89- year-old, Mr. Sa m Paynter , “Mr . P.” as he is commonly known around St. George’s and the St. David’s area.
Mrs. Renee MingAnd 79 years would be, Happy 79 th birthday! She celebrated on the 29th, and that would be Dorothy Penist on, better known to the people of St. George’s as Nana, and would be my grandmother. Bermuda House of Assembly And I just want to also take one minute to …
And 79 years would be, Happy 79 th birthday! She celebrated on the 29th, and that would be Dorothy Penist on, better known to the people of St. George’s as Nana, and would be my grandmother.
Bermuda House of Assembly And I just want to also take one minute to congratulate Flora Duffy, because as a woman, I think she inspires me as a woman, but also those younger women who may have some dream or some hope of a triathlon in their future. So, even if it is not a triat hlon, just the fact that if you dream it, you can do it. So I just want to congr atulate her for all that she stands for and how she continues to inspire our up- and-coming young women. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. I now recognise the Honourable Member S imons, from constituency 8.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate myself with the comments made in regard to the Family Centre, Nicky Saunders, and Flora Duffy. These are trai lblazers for Bermuda and the sports of tri -athletics and jumping. Dr. Grant Gibbons, as you k now, was in …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate myself with the comments made in regard to the Family Centre, Nicky Saunders, and Flora Duffy. These are trai lblazers for Bermuda and the sports of tri -athletics and jumping. Dr. Grant Gibbons, as you k now, was in this House for 25 years, Mr. Speaker. And I do not think I could have found a person who worked as hard as he. He was a dedicated worker. He gave his life to pol itics. And I mean, like you said, he sacrificed some of the things that he should h ave done with his family to politics. I salute him for the work that he did on the base transitions, the America’s Cup, in education, and his stint as the Finance Minister. He was a true ser vant of Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, I would like to also send congratul atory remarks to the Pembroke Rotary Club. I would like to commend them for their commitment to Bermuda in addressing some of the social issues therein. More recently, they held a fair, in March, a children’s fair, which raised over $83,000. And they donat ed that $83,000 to about 12 of our primary schools. That is our commitment to education. Further research, Mr. Speaker, revealed that the club also— it has been in place since 1996—has donated over $1.5 million to government primary schools.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsMr. Speaker, this is the community working together, philanthropy working together. And it just shows that, working together, we can achieve great things in the social space, in the academic space. And the product will be what is best for Bermuda. So, again, to the Hamilton Rotary Club, I commend …
Mr. Speaker, this is the community working together, philanthropy working together. And it just shows that, working together, we can achieve great things in the social space, in the academic space. And the product will be what is best for Bermuda. So, again, to the Hamilton Rotary Club, I commend you for your contributions over the past 35 years. Keep up the good work! Your work has not gone unnoticed, and it will bear fruit that you cannot imagine. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. I recognise the Honourable Member Commi ssiong. Honourable Member, you have the floor.
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongMr. Speaker, I would like to associate with the comments, expression of commendation, given by the Minis ter for Sports, with respect to Flora Duffy. I would also like to commend the Minister in question for having the presence of mind and the co nsciousness to ensure that a historical …
Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate with the comments, expression of commendation, given by the Minis ter for Sports, with respect to Flora Duffy. I would also like to commend the Minister in question for having the presence of mind and the co nsciousness to ensure that a historical wrong, that being the lack of appreciation for the achievement achieved by athlete Mr. Nicky Saunders at the Commonwealth Games decades ago, was remedied. Of course, we saw the same thing with respect to, Mr. Speaker, if I may say so, Mr. Clarence Hill. So, again, the Minister did the right thing, and I think it has happened at the right occasion. Historically, the achiev ements, the contributions of African Bermudians in this society have always been marginalised and dow nplayed in every area of this society. And this Gover nment is determined to rectify that. Thank you, Mr. Speak er.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. I recognise the Honourable Whip, Gover nment Whip. You have the floor.
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottThank you, Mr. Speaker. I just wanted to rise and just hope that I would be associated with the comments regardi ng the Sergeant -at-Arms. I feel as though I need to declare my interest, as he is my sensei outside of the House. So, therefore, something —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSo he gets to beat you up a bit?
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottHe does, he does, even though the only black belt I wear right now is around my waist with my suits. But I would like to commend the work that he is doing in the community. And he does it just giving out of love and not for money. He …
He does, he does, even though the only black belt I wear right now is around my waist with my suits. But I would like to commend the work that he is doing in the community. And he does it just giving out of love and not for money. He actually gives lessons for free. So, anybody out there who would li ke to get involved, make yourself known to him. I would also like to transition over to another gentleman who is in this Honourable House right now, who has given of his time to the community, which is Minister Diallo Rabain, who was recognised and is now in the Alpha Hall of Fame. I think that this is a very laudable and commendable and respectable recognition for all of his work with Alpha. And he act ually is helping the Bermuda tourism market by helping secure the Alpha 2020 Regional. So, right now we have got Alphas who are in the House, leading the country. We have Alphas who are leading in football, as my other Honourable Member would know.
[Laughter]
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottAnd just to let you know that I am the goalkeeper for the Alphas. So, ther efore, that would mean that they did not get anything by me. And 1990 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly I just want to make sure that I would associate …
And just to let you know that I am the goalkeeper for the Alphas. So, ther efore, that would mean that they did not get anything by me. And 1990 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly I just want to make sure that I would associate all of the Alphas in the House. So, therefore, I just want us to know that black and gold are the colours outside of red and blue. So, thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, you almost lost me until you brought the red and blue back in. So, you saved yourself in that one. Thank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 4. Ah, ah, Mr. Commissiong. Watch it. Sit back, sit back. Thank …
Mrs. Tinee FurbertThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I also just want to elaborate and give congratulations and elaborate on the Leadership Day that Francis Patton, as well, that Minister Roban had mentioned. The event actually brought tears to my eyes, because many times we do not hear about the good things …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I also just want to elaborate and give congratulations and elaborate on the Leadership Day that Francis Patton, as well, that Minister Roban had mentioned. The event actually brought tears to my eyes, because many times we do not hear about the good things that our schools are doing. And it was a good depiction and a great depiction of what we are doing in our schools. The students looked like they thoroughly enjoyed themselves, thoroughly enjoyed the lessons that were being taught at the school. And I believe that the students of Francis Patton will be d oing great things and will become great leaders. I just also wanted to highlight a piece of incl usion that happened, as well, because when we talk about students with special needs being included in our education system, a period that did bring tears to my eyes was a student who is included i n the Francis Patton School and she was able to recite a whole p oem all by herself. So it was very, very gratifying and awesome to see.
Mrs. Tinee FurbertAlso, I would just like to give congratulations to Patrice Frith Hayward. I do not know if anyone had the opportunity to see the play Grown Folk Talk by Hasana Productions. But it was a great production. A lot of hard work went into that pr oduction. And I would …
Also, I would just like to give congratulations to Patrice Frith Hayward. I do not know if anyone had the opportunity to see the play Grown Folk Talk by Hasana Productions. But it was a great production. A lot of hard work went into that pr oduction. And I would just like to congratulate Patrice Frith Hayward and her team. For those of you who did not get to see it, they actually are bringing it back by popular demand and will be having some more shows in the month of July. Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge April as being Autism Month. There were lots of activities that occurred in the month of April, including a fair by Tomorrow’s Voices, lots of seminars —or one seminar in particular by the assoc iation, BASE [Bermuda Autism Support & Education]. [Inaudible interjection]
Mrs. Tinee FurbertAnd just, also, I want ed to share an acronym —AUTISM meaning always unique, totally interesting, sometimes mysterious. And it just gives us an opportunity to give awareness to our community in regard to those persons with autism. So, I just want to say thank you to all of those …
And just, also, I want ed to share an acronym —AUTISM meaning always unique, totally interesting, sometimes mysterious. And it just gives us an opportunity to give awareness to our community in regard to those persons with autism. So, I just want to say thank you to all of those people who work with children with autism, and adults with autism, who do a fabulous job, and also giving kudos to the parents, as well. And also, I did want to give kudos to the No Limits Sailing Programme, Endeavour Programme, who run an excellent progr amme for the students with autism. And they have a great time. They learn so much, and they have an opportunity to be out on the water, enjoying all of the activities of sailing. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 2. Honourable Member Swan, you have the floor.
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanYes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like to be associated with the congratulations offered to Ms. Flora Duffy on an outstanding win, both in Bermuda and globally. [Gavel] [Inaudible interjections ]
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanI take that that you concur with those remarks, Mr. Speaker. I also would like to be associated with the congratulations offered to the Minister of Sport for recognising the contribution of Mr. Clarence Nicky Saunders, his feat, and the fact that it was not recognised as it should have …
I take that that you concur with those remarks, Mr. Speaker. I also would like to be associated with the congratulations offered to the Minister of Sport for recognising the contribution of Mr. Clarence Nicky Saunders, his feat, and the fact that it was not recognised as it should have been. And I would just like to also say that there are many, many, many Bermudians who fall into that category, who pav ed the way for the great sporting legacy that we enjoy in Bermuda. And I certainly would hope that we can go back and honour those many, 50 and 60 years [old], and [some] in their graves. But the real reason that I stood today was that, as I looked at the obituaries, I noticed the pas sing of Mr. Denis Wayne Collins, and I know that name. I know that name, Mr. Speaker, because I knew Denis Wayne Collins as both a tennis pro and a lover of the game of golf. I associate the Honourable Member Zane De Silva, and as well, the Opposition Leader, with those comments. I knew him from Castle Harbour days back in the early 1980s, where he played a lot of golf, where he taught tennis, as well, at Grotto Bay. But he also was an entrepreneur at the Wharf Tavern in St. George’s. But beforehand, he and his partner, Richa rd Miller , were operators of the Wharf Tavern, and then
Bermuda House of Assembly he came up to St. George’s Golf Club in 1985 and became our first concessionaire for the new gover nment -owned golf course that I was the general manager of, the quango that I managed there. And he did a fine job for us. He loved sport. And he was one of those e ntrepreneurs who had a concession, but also played the sports that he enjoyed. And he brought tennis, shared the love of tennis, to many persons , and the love of golf to many persons and with many persons. And I am sure that, at his funeral service and beyond, there will be many a story told about Denis Collins. And I know that I associate all of my golfing colleagues from the Castle Harbour St. G eorge’s days and the Grotto Bay days, as well, who I am sure join me to wish his family well on his passing.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Any other Honourable Member? Honourable Premier. I recognise you. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, of course, there were many Honourable Members who have recognised the achievements of Bermuda’s own Flora Duffy, but I would just like to let the record show …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Any other Honourable Member? Honourable Premier. I recognise you. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, of course, there were many Honourable Members who have recognised the achievements of Bermuda’s own Flora Duffy, but I would just like to let the record show that I would like to be associated with those remarks. But the tributes which have been given already, and of course, what we did at the Cabinet Office, have given that acclaim. But I want to be associated with those remarks. What I do want to rise on is on a sad note, Mr. Speaker, because, as you well know that as we re present people in the constituency, knock on the doors and see familiar faces of which we are used to seeing every time you go on a particular street, unfortunately, there is a face that I will no longer get to see. And that is of Ms. Mildred Dyer, who unfortunat ely passed away and will be memorialised tomorrow. She was a constituent of mine. She was also the aunt to the former Premier, Ms. Paula Cox.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. E. David Burt: Yes, yes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. E. David Burt: And she was alw ays a wonderful and kind soul. Ms. Mildred Dyer would always tell me a very funny story. I would look forward to seeing her at our annual Seniors Teas. Always a pleasure, too. I would make sure that I would personally …
Yes.
Hon. E. David Burt: And she was alw ays a wonderful and kind soul. Ms. Mildred Dyer would always tell me a very funny story. I would look forward to seeing her at our annual Seniors Teas. Always a pleasure, too. I would make sure that I would personally deliver her gift basket at Christmas. If it was not a single house that I went to, that myself with the other members of my branch assisting me, I would make sure to stop by Ms. Dyer and ask how she was doing. She always asked how my children were. She always asked how my wife was. She was a v ery kind soul. She lost her husband a few years ago. And now she has gone on to glory. And I want to give a tribute to her life, her kindness, and also to ask this House to send condolences to her family, and esp ecially to the former Premier, on the passi ng of her aunt. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. No other Members? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 11. Honourable Member Famous, you caught my eye at the last minute.
Mr. Christopher FamousGood morning, Mr. Speaker. I want to give condolences to the family of one of my constituents, Ms. Sheila Jones, of Devonshire, but originally of your parish, Somerset.
Mr. Christopher FamousAnd I want to thank the Minister for Government Reform for inviting me to a meeting yesterday with the postal workers of Berm uda. I want to say, categorically, that we need to give the postal workers of Bermuda a great round of applause, because they have been working under …
And I want to thank the Minister for Government Reform for inviting me to a meeting yesterday with the postal workers of Berm uda. I want to say, categorically, that we need to give the postal workers of Bermuda a great round of applause, because they have been working under ex-tenuating circumstances for the l ast four and a half years. And they are now transitioning the post office to be a more modern forward- thinking . . .
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberInstitution.
Mr. Christopher FamousInstitution. And I just want to give thanks to the postal workers of Bermuda. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. No other Honourable Members? That brings us to a close for the condolences and congratulations. We now move on to—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou sat down, you know! I turned and you looked at me. I was going to acknowledge you. Then you called on a higher power. [Laughter]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI recognise the higher power, not necessarily you, you see. [Laughter ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYour calling on the higher power got my attention that time. 1992 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly So, in light of the fact that you called on the higher power, I will rescind what I was about to do. [Crosstalk]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead, Minister. [Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Speaker, I know that you, last week, paid tribute to Mr. Ira Philip, so I would just like to be associated with those remarks and condolences to his family.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchI would [like to] be associated with those. I would like to be associated with the congratulations to the Sergeant -at-Arms, Flora Duffy, and Clarence Saunders. Mr. Speaker, I would also like a letter of congratulations to be sent to Rev. Nicholas Tweed on his fifth pastoral anniversary, which was …
I would [like to] be associated with those. I would like to be associated with the congratulations to the Sergeant -at-Arms, Flora Duffy, and Clarence Saunders. Mr. Speaker, I would also like a letter of congratulations to be sent to Rev. Nicholas Tweed on his fifth pastoral anniversary, which was held on the 23 rd of March. And I would also like a letter of congratul ations to be send to Professor Eddie Ming, who held a Rhythms from La Center Place on Thursday at Del lwood Middle School, honouring Dr. Shangri -La Durham -Thompson and Pastor [sic] Dale Butler.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchI have had the good fortune, this year, of having seen them perform on three different occasions over three months. And the improvements —and I am talking about young people in the primary school level —it is just completely r emarkable. And so, I would like a letter of congratul …
I have had the good fortune, this year, of having seen them perform on three different occasions over three months. And the improvements —and I am talking about young people in the primary school level —it is just completely r emarkable. And so, I would like a letter of congratul ations to be sent to hi m. And I would also like to join the MP for constituency 4, who asked that congratulations be sent to Hasana Productions, Grown Folk Talk. Mr. Speaker, I am going to go to the next one too because, I mean, it was so entertaining that I am sure I missed a lot of the punch lines. So you really have to go more than once in order to be able to get it. But the amount of talent not only from the writing and the performance was quite remarkable. And considering what we do on a daily basis, it was a tremendous a nd pleasant respite from the normal course of activities. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. You are welcome, Minister. Now we can now move on to the other items on the Order Paper today. MATTERS OF PRIVILEGE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. PERS ONAL 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 Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: I believe we might have one B ill today to be introduced. And that is in the name of the Honourable Minister Foggo. Honourable Minister Foggo, would you like to have the floor? FIRST READING INTERPRETATION …
There are none.
INTRODUCTION OF BILLS
GOVERNMENT BILLS
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: I believe we might have one B ill today to be introduced. And that is in the name of the Honourable Minister Foggo. Honourable Minister Foggo, would you like to have the floor?
FIRST READING
INTERPRETATION AMENDMENT ACT 2018
Hon. Lovitta F. Foggo: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speak er, I am introducing the following Bill for its first reading so that it may be placed on the Order Paper for the next day of meeting: the Interpr etation Amendment Act 2018. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. There are no further Bills to be introduced. ORDERS OF THE DAY
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe are now on the Orders of the Day. And the understanding is that we have one item to be dealt with today. And that item is the first item on the Order Paper, which is the Appropriations Amendment Act 2018. And the Honourable Premier, would you like to lead …
We are now on the Orders of the Day. And the understanding is that we have one item to be dealt with today. And that item is the first item on the Order Paper, which is the Appropriations Amendment Act 2018. And the Honourable Premier, would you like to lead us on that one?
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, with the Governor’s recommendation, I move that the Bill entitled the A ppropriation Amendment Act 2018 be now read the second time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue on, Premier. BILL SECOND READING APPROPRIATION AMENDMENT ACT 2018 Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Bill now before the House is the Appropriation Amendment Act 2018. The purpose of this Bill is to make retrospective amendments to the Appropriation Act 2018 that …
Continue on, Premier.
BILL
SECOND READING
APPROPRIATION AMENDMENT ACT 2018 Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Bill now before the House is the Appropriation Amendment Act 2018. The purpose of this Bill is to make retrospective amendments to the Appropriation Act 2018 that was passed in this Honourable House during the recent Budget session. Honourable Members are aware that, in accordance with se ction 96 of the Constitution, the Minister of F inance is required to prepare and submit to the House of Assembly as soon as practicable before the begi n-ning of each fiscal year estimates of revenues and expenditures for the upcoming year. This is the Annual Budget. The estimates of expenditure are debated and approved in the House of Assembly. After the est imates are approved, the Appropriation Act is intr oduced in the House, which provides for the initial authority to pay funds from the Consolidated Fund for the upcoming fiscal year. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, March 12, 2018, the Appropriation Act 2018 was passed in the House of Assembly, and this Bill provided the authority to spend $1,117,356,397 on Current Account expenses, and $62,209,079 on Capital Account expenses from the Consolidated Fund for the year ending March 31, 2019. Mr. Speaker, to enhance the delivery of services and programmes, governments must be flexible. Following the passage of the Appropriation Act, the structure of government was changed and certain government departments were transferred from one ministry to another, via the Ministers (Change of R esponsibilities and Style) Order 2018. This Order pr ovided for the following changes: • the Department of Communications was transferred from the Cabinet Office depar tments to the Ministry of Economic Develo pment; • the Department of Information and Digital Technologies was transferred from the Cabinet Office departments to the Ministry of N ational Security; • the Business Development Unit and the Business Development Agency Grant was trans-ferred from the Ministry of Economic Development to the Cabinet Office. Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, the funding a pproved in the 2018/19 Budget for the above - mentioned entities has been transferred to the respective ministries and is reflected in the Appropriation Amendment Act 2018 now before this Honourable House. It should be noted that, while some of the mi nistry totals have changed for Current Account expend itures, the total appropriation of $1,117,356,397 remai ns the same. Mr. Speaker, this is not the first time that r estructuring has occurred after the Budget has been approved, and on those occasions the Ministry deci ded not to amend the Appropriation Act and prepared the budget -related schedules in the Financial Stat ements, as provided for in the appropriations as orig inally approved in the House. Since this restructuring has occurred at the beginning of this fiscal year, the Ministry proposes to amend the Appropriation Act 2018, as provided for in the Amendment now before this Honourable House. This will ensure the consistency in the comparison of 1994 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly budgeted and actual expenditures, as provided for in the Financial Statements of the Consolidated Fund. As you will be aware, Mr. Speaker, from these introductor y remarks, this is a mere housekeeping amendment. And I now read for the second time the Bill entitled the Appropriation Act 2018. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Premier. Does any other Member wish to speak? No other? Okay. We recogni se the Honourable Member, the Opposition Leader. Honourable Member, you have the floor. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated directly to the Minister of Finance, the Premier, we understood these changes. …
Thank you, Premier. Does any other Member wish to speak? No other? Okay. We recogni se the Honourable Member, the Opposition Leader. Honourable Member, you have the floor. Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Speaker, as I have indicated directly to the Minister of Finance, the Premier, we understood these changes. It was just, as I told him, th at it would have been nice to sort of have the Explanatory Memorandum behind it, because then I would not have had to go and do all of the to- ing and fro-ing and subtracting and adding.
[Inaudible interjections ] Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: But he did tell me that if I had asked, he would have told me. But I have to r emind him that he normally would have given me his brief, which he did not do this time. But, Mr. Speaker, we understand the changes, and I am just giving stick. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Laughter]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Any other Member wish to speak? No other Member. Mr. Premier, you have the floor. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I move that the Bill be commi tted.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. We now have a motion that the Bill be committed. Deputy . . . Mr. Commissiong, you are on the Chair panel, maybe you could take the Chair for a moment. Thank you. House in Committee at 12:07 pm [Mr. Rolfe Commissiong, Chairman] COMMITTEE ON BILL APPROPRI ATION …
The ChairmanChairmanMembers, just one . . . oh, you are . . . okay. Good. [Pause] [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Chairman]
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Members, we are now in Committee of the whole House for further consider ation of the Bill enti tled the Appropriation Amendment Act 2018 . Premier, you have the floor. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I would like to move all of …
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to moving clauses 1 through 3? There appear to be none; continue. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Clause 1 is t he citation. Clause 2 repeals Schedules A, B, and C of the Appropriation Act 2018, and replaces them with Schedules A, B, …
Any objections to moving clauses 1 through 3? There appear to be none; continue.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Clause 1 is t he citation. Clause 2 repeals Schedules A, B, and C of the Appropriation Act 2018, and replaces them with Schedules A, B, and C, as enclosed in the Appropri ation Amendment Act. And clause 3 is for commencement. And that is to say that the Act is deemed to have come into operation on the 1 st of April 2018, which, of course, Mr. Chairman, was the first day of the fiscal year.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? There appear to be none; continue, Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move that clauses 1, 2, and 3 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanAre there any objections to clauses 1 through 3 being approved? There appear to be none. Approved. [Motion carried: Clauses 1, 2, and 3 passed.] Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you. 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 very much, Mr. Chairman. I move that the Bill be reported to the House as print ed. Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Are there any objections to the Bill being …
Any objections to the preamble being approved? There appear to be none. Approved. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I move that the Bill be reported to the House as print ed.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Are there any objections to the Bill being reported to the House as printed? There appear to be none. The Bill will be r eported to the House.
[Motion carried: The Appropriation Amendment Act 2018 was considered by a Committee of the wh ole House and passed without amendment.]
House resumed at 12:10 pm
[Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair]
REPORT OF COMMITTEE
APPROPRIATION AMENDMENT ACT 2018
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMembers , are there any objections to the Bill entitled the Appropriation Amendment Act 2018 being reported to the House as printed? No objections; so moved. That now brings us to the end . . . well. The Clerk: Orders 2, 3, and 4.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOrders 2, 3, and 4 have now been carried over. Premier, would you like t o do your third rea ding? 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 …
Orders 2, 3, and 4 have now been carried over. Premier, would you like t o do your third rea ding?
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 ent itled the Appropriation Amendment Act 2018 be no w read the third time by its title only.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue, Premier. [Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING APPROPRIATION AMENDMENT ACT 2018 Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move that the Bill entitled the Appropriation Amendment Act 2018 be now read a third time by its title only and passed.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Any objections to that? No objections; so passed. [Motion carried: The Appropriation Amendment Act 2018 was read for the third time and passed.]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Premier, would you like to take the floor again? ADJOURNMENT Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn until Monday, May —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMonday? Hon. E. David Burt: No, sorry.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerFriday, May the 11 th. Hon. E. David Burt: Friday, May the 11 th.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. E. David Burt: I am going to have to get a note so that I do not mess up the adjournment dates every week. The Speake r: No problem. Your Members might want to come back on a Monday. Does any other Member wish to speak? Oh, Mr. …
Yes. Hon. E. David Burt: I am going to have to get a note so that I do not mess up the adjournment dates every week.
The Speake r: No problem. Your Members might want to come back on a Monday. Does any other Member wish to speak? Oh, Mr. Brown, I did not know you would leave early on. I thought you were getting up to leave that time. But I see you are staying behind the micr ophon e.
[Laughter]
Hon. Walton Brown: Yes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSo, we will give you the floor. UK ACTION ON BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, early this week there was a most egregious act undertaken in the UK Parliam ent, an act that has duly outraged many people in this country. It is a …
So, we will give you the floor.
UK ACTION ON BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP
Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, early this week there was a most egregious act undertaken in the UK Parliam ent, an act that has duly outraged many people in this country. It is a breach of protocol, a breach of the inherent rights that we have in this country. For the UK Parliament to pass a piece of legislation regarding beneficial ownership, which they had no business to pass . . . Mr. Speaker, everyone in this country should be outraged by that decision. It is part and parcel of a long - standing practice within the UK to devolve power back to the UK. And we cannot allow that to happen. If you go back to the Partnership for Progress and Prosperity White Paper of 1999, where the UK talked about working together, they did nothing of the sort. They continued to take power back away from 1996 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly us. You will recall, because we spoke about it earlier in Parliament today, Mr. Speaker, that the UK insisted that we outlaw the death penalty. We were happy to do it, because the party was very much in favour of it. But it was, nevertheless, an imposition of the UK on us, on our sovereignty. We cannot allow that to tra nspire, Mr. Sp eaker. Since that White Paper was published, there has been a gradual devolution of power back to the UK in a number of areas. And we have to stand firmly against it. We cannot tolerate UK intervention along these lines.
BERMUDA PASSPORTS
Hon. Walton Br own: We have also seen, Mr. Speaker, the question regarding the power of Bermuda Government to issue their own passports. That power was taken away from us, as well.
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersYes, yes. Hon. Walton Brown: That was taken away from us, Mr. Speaker , a practice that we had for decades, pr oducing our own passports. The UK Government r ationale was that it was for security purposes. But, you know, Mr. Speaker, we never once lost a passport. We …
Yes, yes.
Hon. Walton Brown: That was taken away from us, Mr. Speaker , a practice that we had for decades, pr oducing our own passports. The UK Government r ationale was that it was for security purposes. But, you know, Mr. Speaker, we never once lost a passport. We never once lost a passport. There could be no security breac h. In fact, in contrast, the UK Gover nment lost a whole truckload of British passports. So, the question about there being the need for the pas sports to be taken away from us for security reasons holds no water. It is part and parcel of this attempt to devolve power back to the UK. So, we need to wrestle with these issues. We need to wrestle with the issue of the devolution of power. We need to wake up and explain and understand what this means. It is something that we all need to resist, Mr. Speaker. Our Constitution is very clear. Our Constitution says that we have internal self - government. We have self -government over all matters, save for internal security, defence, and external affairs. But the UK, through their actions, have been taking that power in a number of areas, and we need to resist. Mr. Speaker, it remains an outrageous deve lopment which we have to countenance today, and I hope that more and more people will recognise that this needs to be addressed. We need to figure out a solution for this breach of practice, breach of protocol, and we need to act accordingly. Mr. Speaker, this is something that is very dear to me, this whole notion of UK intervention in our domestic affairs. We cannot allow this to happen. We cannot allow this to stand. So, Mr. Speaker, I call on the Bermudian public to raise questions about what this means, for us to consider and reflect on what it means for the country, that the UK Government can, through an Act of Parliament, take back some of the power that has been gra nted to us over the decades. We cannot allow this to continue, Mr. Speaker. And on that note, I will take my seat. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Does any other Member . . . We recognise the Honourable Member Dunkley. Honourable Member D unkley, you have the floor. BERMUDA PASSPORTS Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am sure that the Opposition Leader will have more to say on the matter that …
Thank you, Minister. Does any other Member . . . We recognise the Honourable Member Dunkley. Honourable Member D unkley, you have the floor.
BERMUDA PASSPORTS Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am sure that the Opposition Leader will have more to say on the matter that the Honourable Mini ster has raised. And we do share the concerns from the Government benches. Just before I speak on the subject that I was interested in speaking on today, I thank the Honour able Minister for those comments. And I just would like, and I am sure all Members of this House and Mem-bers who sit in other places, and people of the public would like to know any update on the passport issue and what we have done to address that. That has been an issue that we are all concerned about. I know that there have been initiatives, too, and I know it has probably been a stumbling bloc k between this Go vernment . . . it was a stumbling block with the last Government in Government House. And I would ask the Honourable Minister for an update when he gets a chance.
MOU WITH BINANCE
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, over the past week , we have seen the passage of Companies and Limited Liability Company (Initial Coin Offering) Amendment Act 2018 . It was full of last -minute amendments, as we discussed, that the Opposition had little time to vet. We have seen two announc ements about MOUs —yesterday, the news that Bitt will advise on digital currency, and a Ministerial Statement today from the Honourable Premier on this matter. Mr. Speaker, it is not my intention here this afternoon to debate again what happened last week. But it is just to go over the train of events that have taken place in the last week. First, Mr. Speaker, there was an announcement about the same time as the debate was going on last week on the Bill that I just referred to last Friday, that Binance, as the Premier has s aid on numerous occ asions, are the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The Premier said in his Statement today, and he said in the media release last week after the press conference, and I will quote directly from those, Mr. Speaker, that “Binance [wi ll] develop its global compliance base here in Bermuda . . . [s]ponsor univers ity-level training for Bermudians in blockchain technolBermuda House of Assembly ogy development and in regulatory compliance . . .” and “[t]hrough Binance Labs, make up to US $5 mi llion available for inv estments in new Bermuda- based blockchain companies . . .” It goes on to say, “As soon as practicable, d evelop a Digital Asset Exchange in Bermuda subject to all required legal and regulatory processes . . .” And, finally, “Work collaboratively with the Government of Bermuda and all necessary oversight agencies in the development and improvement of a robust legal and regulatory framework.” The train of events goes on, Mr. Speaker. Earlier this week, the Premier signs an MOU with Medici Ventures. And in thi s, there is a commitment, Mr. Speaker, and I quote directly from various press releases and the Statement by the Honourable Premier in this House today: “Make Bermuda its laboratory for the most leading edge blockchain innovations . . . [c]reate . . .30 jobs in Bermuda over three years; [a]s soon as practicable, develop a Security Token Trading Platform in Bermuda . . . [develop] basic, interm ediate and advanced software development engineers; and [w]ork collaboratively with the Government of Bermuda and al l necessary oversight agencies in the development and improvement of a robust legal and regulatory framework.” And yesterday, Mr. Speaker, the train of events went on. It was made public that Bitt and a gentleman by the name of Gabriel Abed will provide advice and expertise to the Government of Bermuda on digital assets and blockchain technology. Even better, Mr. Speaker, in the Premier’s view, is that this advice will be at no cost to the taxpayer. Mr. Speaker, all of this seems like great opportunity, ev en if most of the people in this country have very little knowledge or understanding of bloc kchain, bitcoin, or cryptocurrency. And, Mr. Speaker, even though I, at this point, share some of the scept icism, I will say very clearly here this afternoon that w e should all work towards making this opportunity a reality. But in the real world we should do it without promising that whole world. So, Mr. Speaker, I have some comments and questions in the short period of time I have on this motion to adjourn that I t hink are appropriate to this matter. Mr. Speaker, Binance has committed to d eveloping its global compliance base in Bermuda. Well, Mr. Speaker, as my honourable colleague, the MP from constituency 8, has said, there are reports that claim that Binance left China ahead of a government ban on cryptocurrency trading. It had challenges in Japan after being questioned in regard to the need for stricter regulations, perhaps, Mr. Speaker, leading to its announcement that they will open an office in Malta just this past March. So, Mr. Speaker, I say it is perhaps wise and prudent not to hold our breath with the fact that B inance has committed to have a global compliance base in Bermuda. It is clear that Binance appears to be seeking anyplace— China, Japan, Malta —who will welcome them to do business.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberSingapore. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: My honourable colleague has said Singapore . . . who will welcome them on their terms, Mr. Speaker. And their track record in these jurisdictions shows that to be the case. Because if they were so keen to set up a proper regulatory environment, perhaps …
Singapore.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: My honourable colleague has said Singapore . . . who will welcome them on their terms, Mr. Speaker. And their track record in these jurisdictions shows that to be the case. Because if they were so keen to set up a proper regulatory environment, perhaps the Honourable Premier and his colleague can say what was done in those jurisdictions so that they left quite quickly. The company has been in operation only about nine m onths. So, Mr. Speaker, I move on to a question. The MOU says that Binance will develop a digital asset exchange in Bermuda, subject to the legal and regul atory process. But hold on just one second, Mr. Speak-er. Here is a company that has a questionable r ecord of wanting a sound regulatory environment, because if they did, they would not [have left] those places so quickly. And secondly, it is also being asked to work with the Government of Bermuda to develop that legal and regulatory framework. Now, yes, we always want to work with industry to make sure that we have a sound policy in place. But in my humble opinion, it would be best to cast the net just a little bit wider and take advice from other people. Mr. Speaker, one must question, really, is this exclusivity the best way to —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAh! Point of order. POINT OF ORDER
Mr. Dennis Lister IIIYes, Mr. Speaker. I sit here and have to question. Is this the same Leader of the former Government that went ahead with the airport deal and the questionability of Aecon? But yet, they are questioning us when we are doing our due diligence with the cryptocurrency, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Okay. All right. Hon. Micha el H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, I take the Honourable Member’s comments, and I will say we are here debating it today, and the gates to the House of Assembly are not blocked.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberWhat? Huh? 1998 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, last week, we rush ed through legislation with a myriad of last - minute amendments and announced the MOU on the exact same day. Now, Mr. Speaker, I believe this is …
What? Huh?
1998 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, last week, we rush ed through legislation with a myriad of last - minute amendments and announced the MOU on the exact same day. Now, Mr. Speaker, I believe this is very close for comfort and, seemingly, could be a po-tential conflict of interest or a cloud forming on the horiz on about our good reputation. Mr. Speaker, furthermore, the Premier is pi ctured on some social media wearing a Binance sweatshirt with principals of the company. Now, while social media is fun, and we all have a good time with it from time to time. —
An H on. Member: Yes, we do.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberSome more than others. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Seriously, Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Finance is a critical part of the regulat ory regime. And thus, I believe it makes [the pictures] inappropriate, and it is only appropriate to maintain a healthy distance and independence.
Mr. Christopher FamousPoint of order, Mr. Speaker. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: This type of picture, Mr. Speaker, creates too cosy —
Mr. Christopher FamousPoint of order, Mr. Speaker. The Sp eaker: Point of order. We will take your point of order. [Inaudible interjection] POINT OF ORDER
Mr. Christopher FamousThank you. Thank you, Member from constituency 2. Did the Premier not put on Oracle clothes and go out on the boat last year? [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGet to your point of order. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Member is correct. But that was after legislation came to this House. And that was after the event was announced to be in Bermuda, and during the time of the event, Mr. Speaker. So, you grasp …
Get to your point of order. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Member is correct. But that was after legislation came to this House. And that was after the event was announced to be in Bermuda, and during the time of the event, Mr. Speaker. So, you grasp at straws and sometimes you come up with air. Moving on, Mr. Speaker, earlier this week there was an announcement of an MOU, as I referred to earlier, by Medici, saying that they will help deve lop, again develop that same robust legal and regul atory framework. So, Mr. Speaker, we have another company who wants to conduct business in Bermuda, and we are pleased to see that approach. But they are in on developing that regulatory framework. Mr. Speaker, in regard to this, I would like to know from the Honourable Premier, or any of the col-leagues, what is the cost to Bermuda for this MOU? Why did we not cast that net wi der to see if there are others who might want to be in on this opportunity? Obviously, Mr. Speaker, the more we attract to Bermuda, the better. So, the wider we cast our net, Mr. Speaker, I think the better it would be. And then, yesterday, Mr. Speaker, it was a nnounced that there was a free consultancy by Bitt and
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAnother point of order. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongMr. Speaker, the Member, perhaps inadvertently, is misleading the House. The fact that you had these one and two companies now indicate that they want to do business in Bermuda does not mean that there are not more lining up to do the same. And so, the net is fairly …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue on, Member. Thank you for your comments, Member. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look for the honourable colleague to provide some more clarity to that when he stands up, and what MOUs have also been signed in other areas . Mr. Speaker, yesterday I referred …
Continue on, Member. Thank you for your comments, Member.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I look for the honourable colleague to provide some more clarity to that when he stands up, and what MOUs have also been signed in other areas . Mr. Speaker, yesterday I referred to the free consultancy by Bitt and Mr. Abed, which I note, inter-estingly enough, was not mentioned in the Ministerial Statement provided by the Honourable Premier this morning. And that in itself is an interesting omis sion. Mr. Speaker, I was told and taught for many years that nothing in life is free. And as qualified as our Premier says this gentleman is —
Mr. Dennis Lister IIIPoint of order, Mr. Speaker. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: —I cannot fathom —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint of order. POINT OF ORDER Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Dennis Lister III: I find this very funny that the Honourable Member stands up and says all this. But we were told that the Aecon project was free to Bermuda. So how are you going to live in a …
Point of order.
POINT OF ORDER
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Dennis Lister III: I find this very funny that the Honourable Member stands up and says all this. But we were told that the Aecon project was free to Bermuda. So how are you going to live in a glass house and throw stones, Mr. Speaker? I find it very funny that he says all this, the same thing his Government said to the people of Bermuda, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAll right. I am going to encourage Members to save their points for whe n they rise on their feet. Let the Member finish. He has almost fi nished up his time. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like the Honourable Member to look …
All right. I am going to encourage Members to save their points for whe n they rise on their feet. Let the Member finish. He has almost fi nished up his time.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I would like the Honourable Member to look back in the Hansard and say where anyone said the Aecon project was free. Mr. Speaker, nothing in life is free. I cannot fathom, myself, that the honourable gentleman that I referred to would do this out of his love for the Island. Yes, we are a wonderful people and a beautiful Island. But doing it out of love for the Island, or friendship with the Premier or anyone else in this Island . . . I find it hard to believe that would be the fact. But, wait a second, Mr. Speaker. What is i nteresting is that we learned that Medici is also an owner of Bitt and actually increased its ownership in the company just this past March, with $3 million ad ded to its investment. This is the second investment that I am aware of, with the first investment earlier of $4 million in 2016. So, no wonder, Mr. Speaker, that we have now a no- charge consultancy, as the parent company (my words) needs a regulatory and legal framework that it actually agrees with. And perhaps, Mr. Speaker, Bitt can help influence that, and at the same time, at the very same time, support its ownership, which it has to do or the plug could get pulled. Mr. Speaker, I say this not to dampen the enthusiasm for opportunity. But it all appears too cosy, does not pass the initial test of scrutiny, certainly, Mr. Speaker, does not bode well for the future potential of this initiative, nor does it support our reputation as a first-rate, open, and transparent place to do business. Mr. Speaker, let it be clear that we on this side want growth, opportunity, and jobs just like everyone else on that side. And we will support the Government of Bermuda with any initiatives that have the potential to do just that. But, Mr. Speaker, in spite of points of order, we will never hesitate to ask questions and raise questions and concerns where appropriate. Mr. Speaker, in closing, as som eone said to me on the street just a couple of days ago, None of this is to say that there isn’t potential business here for Bermuda. But the hype has outpaced substantive, sober discussion. Mr. Speaker, in this case, there are many questions that need to be asked and answered. Much more information on this subject must see the light of day or it will never build to the hype surrounding it by this Government. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? No other Member? Oh. Oh. Now I recognise the Deputy Speaker. You jumped and then you sat back, I wasn’t sure, Deputy. I thought you wanted to go for lunch or something that time. Would you like to have …
Thank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? No other Member? Oh. Oh. Now I recognise the Deputy Speaker. You jumped and then you sat back, I wasn’t sure, Deputy. I thought you wanted to go for lunch or something that time. Would you like to have the floor now?
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Mr. Speaker, I was just wondering, being that it is almost 12:30, should we take a lunch and come back?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNo, no. We are going to go straight through. We are going straight through. EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Okay. No problem. No problem, Mr. Speaker. You are in charge. Mr. Speaker, what really concerns me right now is the blatant discrimination that is levied at pe ople …
No, no. We are going to go straight through. We are going straight through.
EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Okay. No problem. No problem, Mr. Speaker. You are in charge. Mr. Speaker, what really concerns me right now is the blatant discrimination that is levied at pe ople nearing the age of 65. I had a fellow Bermudian apply for a job at one of the establishments i n Berm uda. And they interviewed him, but they started the i nterview to say that, You know, we have a mandatory retirement age of 65. And they said, We could see by your application that you graduated from high school in 1972, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I a m not going to say much on that. But, Mr. Speaker, I think the harshest penalties for the perpetrators should be saved for them. In fact, many females are the recipients of this behaviour, particularly when they have lost their job, particularly those who are 55 and up. It is very difficult for them to get re- employed. So, Mr. Speaker, I just hope that all will take note of that.
GOVERNOR’S APPOINTMENT OF NEW CHIEF JUSTICE
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Mr. Speaker, I agreed with the Premier of this countr y when he made the statements that the decision of the Governor in appointing the chief justice is an affront to the people of this country. Mr. Speaker, this is akin to what the Governor has done, and I have to use his name because—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou know I am going to caution you on that one. So, I advise you to be — Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Well, the occupant —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou are skilled enough to know how to say your point without getting in hot water on that. 2000 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes. The occupant of the largest house on Langton Hill made that appointment, Mr. Speaker. [Laughter] …
You are skilled enough to know how to say your point without getting in hot water on that.
2000 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes. The occupant of the largest house on Langton Hill made that appointment, Mr. Speaker.
[Laughter] Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Mr. Speaker, it is akin to when the Governor in the 1920s, Willcocks, came to Bermuda. (And I will make the point. You may not see it now.) When he first arrived on the Island, he said he considered the police force unreliable, because blacks comprised most of the constables. He said it caused him a great deal of concern. Then he said black dominance of the police force, at least as far as the Governor was concerned, would not be tolerated again, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it seems to us that the repr esentatives that are sent out here by the FCO [Foreign and Commonwealth Office] use their power when it is convenient. Mr. Speaker, the reason why I say that is because I can recall when Buck and Larry were sentenced to death. Britain did not use their power to stop it. In fact, they left it to the Government of Bermuda, because they said that is the decision of the Gover nment of Bermuda, even though the Government of Bermuda at that time blamed the British Government. And, Mr. Speaker, I say that because this was written by one William Cox. He said that. He said that the UBP (slash the OBA) were responsible for carrying out the death penalty on Buck and Larry. So, Mr. Speaker, what I am saying is the Bri tish use their power —
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Burgess, you have a point of order. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: —when they think it is convenient. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint of order. Point of order. We will take your point of order. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Yes. He, I suspect deliberat ely, is misleading the House. I am sure that William Cox—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, well, I would not say deliberately. You would not want to imply improper motives against a Member. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Well, he could explain that. But I do not think Mr. William Cox said anything about the OBA. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou said your point. Continue on. [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAh! Ah! Ah! Ah! We are not going to have that back -and-forth. Continue on, Deputy. Hon. Derrick V. Bu rgess, Sr.: Let me make it quite clear, Mr. Speaker. I said the UBP slash OBA. Same group, just a different label. All right? So I am not mi sleading …
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! We are not going to have that back -and-forth. Continue on, Deputy.
Hon. Derrick V. Bu rgess, Sr.: Let me make it quite clear, Mr. Speaker. I said the UBP slash OBA. Same group, just a different label. All right? So I am not mi sleading the House; I am telling you a fact.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Well, you were quoting. You were quoting from William Cox.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: No, I did not. You need to listen. I was —
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Read the Hansard.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: No.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAh, ah, ah, ah! That is not taking place across the floor! Point of order you can do, or you can speak when your turn comes. Continue on, Deputy. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: One thing I note in this country. There never will be three consecutive black commissioners of …
Ah, ah, ah, ah! That is not taking place across the floor! Point of order you can do, or you can speak when your turn comes. Continue on, Deputy.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: One thing I note in this country. There never will be three consecutive black commissioners of police. There will never be consec utive heads of the army, nor consecutive black chief justices in this country as long as we are under this system and we have that representative from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who lives in the bi ggest house on Langton Hill, in charge. Just by what they have done this week i n the UK Parliament, trying to . . . and I say trying to exert their power on little Bermuda. And as the Premier made it quite clear, we will not have any of that, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you know, during the tenure of Premier Alex Scott, there was an opening for a chief justice. And a Bermudian applied for the job and did not get it. At that time, the Governor was Vereker. And, Mr. Speaker, at a social gathering honouring Countess Peel, that is, Winston Churchill’s granddaughter, the Governor was there, Vereker. And he was asked to comment on his years in Bermuda. He said a definite highlight of his stay in Bermuda was the occasion when he and former Premier
Bermuda House of Assembly Scott had argued both publicly and privately about Justice Norma Wade- Miller’s application for t he post of chief justice. The Governor said he knew that Justice Wade- Miller was well qualified professionally for the post. And she had the required experience. Ho wever, he said that there were some important cases that he wished for Sir Richard Ground to hear. And, consequently, Richard Ground got the job. You see, Mr. Speaker, this looks like deliberate interference, to me, that the Governor can pick his choice to be chief justice because he wants a certain punishment, or persons to be brought in guilty and punished, in his opinion, properly. So he will put his person there. That should not be accepted. And I am wondering if this is the same thing, Mr. Speaker. When will blacks be qualified for the job? It appears that black folks in Bermuda have to be a pprenticed before they can get the real jobs, Mr. Speaker. You know, it was during the . . . and I am not going to say the word that they used for 1834. When Bermuda was supposed to be free in 1834, they wanted to bring and put in place the law that we needed to have slaves apprenticed for four years. B ecause, you know, you have got to learn how to be a good citizen. So that would have really delayed the so-called freedom until 1838, Mr. Speaker. And what did Britain do? They paid the slave master off because he was losing his slaves. The end result of that, Mr. Speaker, is that the slaves were now in a worse condition than before when they were slaves —because they had nothing, and they had nothing to go to. So they had to go back to the master and say, Master, take me back. I have nothing. That penny you were giving me before, I’ll take a halfpenny. It put them in a worse condition. And so, Britain’s reign of error in this country, it seems to want to be continued. Mr. Speaker, because, you know, I could r ecall when one year they wanted . . . in fact, the office of the Commanding Chief of the Regiment was open. And Bermudians had applied for that post. One such Bermudian was told that in the test that was taken, passing interviews, they were well above the rest. But, Mr. Speaker, when it came down to the appointment of the Chief of the Regiment, the Governor then told this person, You’re a young fellow. You’ve got many years. You hang on. And consequently, they put a white in charge of the Regiment. I guess the most uncomfortable days for the Governor was when Col. Burch was the Commanding Officer. You have got a black Commissioner of Police and a black Fire Chief. I guess those were some uncomfortable times for them, and I guess they said, We will not toler ate it again. Those are the words of Will Cox. So, we have what we have today, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, then we have the appointment of Hargun as the chief justice, a fellow who violated the rules of the Commission of Inquiry. Mr. Speaker, let me read it because I do not want people thinking I am just getting up and just spouting my mouth. There was a Procedural Statement that came out for the Commissi on of Inquiry on the 13th of June 2016. And if I may, Mr. Speaker, can I read these two paragraphs, small paragraphs?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue on, Deputy. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: It says, “The Commi ssion is an inquisitorial and not an adversarial proc ess. It will gather in the relevant documents, obtain witness statements and decide” on oral evidence. And it says, “ . . . it obtains witness statements or hears …
Continue on, Deputy.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: It says, “The Commi ssion is an inquisitorial and not an adversarial proc ess. It will gather in the relevant documents, obtain witness statements and decide” on oral evidence. And it says, “ . . . it obtains witness statements or hears evidence as parties in an adversarial contest or trial.” And it goes on to say, Mr. Speaker , “There will be no general right to examine or cross -examine wi tnesses . . .” Mr. Speaker, you know what happened there. Witnesses were cross -examined. Mr. Speaker, if that person had the quality to be a chief justice, he would have called the chairman out when he made the statement, without even calling a witness, just reading documents to assert on one particular instance that this is outright fraud. If that was a court case, that particular person would have been removed from that bench. But he was all owed to go on —allowed to go on, never called this person once, but put his name out there like he has no family or nowhere to stay. And so, that is what they think they can do to us. They did that to us as slaves. You know, slaves had to be good boys ; particularly, a young man had to be a good boy. Because there were penalties put in place. If you disrespected a slave . . . if you disr espected the master, that is, Mr. Speaker, there was a law in Bermuda once, in 1760, that if you disrespected your master, you could be castrated. They soon r emoved that clause. But they still beat us, lynched us, whipped us , like they did Sally Bassett. They marched her from Southampton, and every 100 paces they stopped and gave her 30 straps across her back. So she had to be half -dead by the time she got here to be burned. And [they] burned her, based on circumstantial evidence, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, there was one witness who was called to the stand. (He can laugh. He will be before the court, shortly.) There was one witness who was summoned to go to the Commission of Inquiry. And he wrote an email to the just -appointed chief justice. And he reminded that person of his past illicit behav-iour. Mr. Speaker, when that person appeared on the stand, that particular chief justic e was not there to question him. Mr. Speaker, you know, the [previous] Go vernment wanted to investigate us on everything. In fact, they are still investigating Dr. Brown; it has been over eight years. Based on a comment that was made, they are inves tigating him ; just on a comment, 2002 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, spending the taxpayers’ money —over $4 million —when we have got people out of their homes and needing food and cannot buy their pr escription drugs, Mr. Speaker. But there was no investigation on the $16 mi llion that went missing that was not paid in by law firms, based on the Auditor’s report of 1998. In fact, Mr. Speaker, if you look in that book, there was not even a word to say, Well, it was corrupt, mismanag ement, or anything of that sort. No investigation! This is in the Auditor’s report. Nobody was reprimanded, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, you had an overspend of 25 per cent, $6 million on a job, not even a year contract job, in the improvements of Heritage Wharf. No special audit, Mr. Speaker! The completion of Berkeley, Mr. Speaker . . . those are always criticised by the present Opposition about what it cost to finish Berkeley. Yes, Mr. Speaker, when the black contractors were terminated, they took on Som ers Construction, a white construction company, Mr. Speaker. And they signed a contract for just over $32 million to complete, Mr. Speaker. But they did not finish. It finished $10 million over budget. You heard no commentary in the Royal Gazette. There were no special audits —$10 million overspent. They did not have to dig any foundations. The school was built. It was just to finish, Mr. Speaker. But that is okay, Mr. Speaker. We had drugs coming in out of a container! And the MP’s name was called. But the Governor of the day stopped the investigation, Mr. Speaker! Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Speaker, point of order.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint of order? A point of order? Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Yes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe Honourable Member. POINT OF ORDER [Imputing improper motives and misleading] Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The Member is obviously — both imputing improper motives and misleading the House. He has wandered far and wide. You have gi ven him an enormous amount of leeway to — Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, …
The Honourable Member.
POINT OF ORDER [Imputing improper motives and misleading]
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The Member is obviously — both imputing improper motives and misleading the House. He has wandered far and wide. You have gi ven him an enormous amount of leeway to —
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: That’s not a point of order.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: —depreciate everybody. Well, he is talking about the Governor stopping an investigation. But it never happened. I mean, there is no evidence that this ever happened. He is just making things up as he goes along.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerIt is motion to adjourn. The Member has latitude to speak, and — Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Mr. Speaker —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAnd, provided he is not making i mproper motives towards any Member, I will allow the latitude. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Mr. Speaker, it is obv ious where that Member’s thought is. The investigation was stopped. You can see that on YouTube. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: That is rubbish. …
And, provided he is not making i mproper motives towards any Member, I will allow the latitude.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Mr. Speaker, it is obv ious where that Member’s thought is. The investigation was stopped. You can see that on YouTube.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: That is rubbish.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: He calls it rubbish. You know what it is, Mr. Speaker? I am glad you spoke, because it is quite obvious. White people are not investigated in Bermuda, particularly if they belong to the other party. But it is only black people and whites in this party who are investigated. That is what he is espousing, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we had a Bill passed in this House on the land grab, a Bill passed in this House. Democracy. And what did the Governor do? Not sign the Bill! Why? Because people went up there and talked to him, said, So-and-so talked to the fellow who lives in the largest house on Langton Hill. You can’t sign this Bill. And what did he do? He did not sign it. The Governor and all those previous folks who lived on Langton Hill, the largest house, they do not socia lise with Ms. Smith down at the Smith house. We know where they socialise. And that is where deci sions are talked about. When they go in their social gatherings, they are not saying nice things about Derrick Burgess or Zane De Silva, you know. Oh, no! Oh, no. They are not going to do that, Mr. Speaker. The same UK Government that stopped the airport deal . . . where was it? In Cayman?
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: In Cayman ; the Ca yman Islands. But they do not stop the deal in Berm uda. Why? I guess we all know why. We all know why, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the legacy of the oc cupants on the largest house in Langton …
Yes.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: In Cayman ; the Ca yman Islands. But they do not stop the deal in Berm uda. Why? I guess we all know why. We all know why, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the legacy of the oc cupants on the largest house in Langton Hill continues, from Will Cox and, I guess, others before him, because they tend to just get involved when they want to and not when they should. And, Mr. Speaker, I contend that it is they, the representatives from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who keep racism alive in Ber-muda. Because for racism to be . . . I will not say eradicated. I think it is almost too late to be eradicated in Bermuda. [Timer beeps] Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Is that for me?
Bermuda House of Assembly The S peaker: Yes, Deputy. Okay. We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 12, Honourable Member Cannonier.
RACIAL PROFILING BY POLICE SERVICE
Mr. L. Craig CannonierThank you, Mr. Speaker. On a slightly different note, I wanted to open up first by saying that one of my stations was robbed, unfortunately, by youth, in the wee hours of the mor ning. And so, we are still dealing with that. But it points to a concern that …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. On a slightly different note, I wanted to open up first by saying that one of my stations was robbed, unfortunately, by youth, in the wee hours of the mor ning. And so, we are still dealing with that. But it points to a concern that I have had for some time now, that we have a challenge with many of our youth. A nd we have got to figure some way of dealing with it. And I wanted to bring up this matter before, but now is an opportune time. Let me use an example. A week ago, my son was pulled over by three police bikes. And, you know, my son is taller than me. He i s a big boy, a big fellow, big man. And the three officers never once asked him for ID. I am shocked at that. They did not even ask him for ID. But they proceeded to ask him w here he was sleeping the night before and w ho he was with. [They asked him] w hat was he doing at such- andsuch a time. On and on and on. And never, throug hout the whole ordeal, did they ask for his ID. Now, he is a pretty docile fellow. A big giant — he is a giant of a man, actually. He is huge. And he has never really had any issues wi th authority. But it kind of caused me to reflect back when I was young, trying to put myself through school, you know, [while my mother was single]. And I was getting pulled over at 6:45 in the morning. Most people are still asleep. I am heading for work so I can pay for school, and was repeatedly getting pulled over. And I got pretty anxious, but held my cool at the frustration of my just tr ying to put myself and my sister through school, when I could very easily have turned angry. So, it was not so bad that he was pulled over and then drilled with these questions. But never once did they ask him for his ID. This went on for quite a bit until, finally . . . as I said, three police officers, three bikes, pulled him over. The fourth bike was a Berm udian pol ice officer. And immediately . . . I do not know if he recognised who he was, but quickly said, No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Leave him alone. So, my son, through asking questions through this ordeal, [ascertained] that the only reason that they pulled h im over was because he was riding a red bike. [Inaudible interjection]
Mr. L. Craig CannonierYes, we will get there. But it was a red bike. And they were looking for somebody on a red bike. I am like, Well, if they are looking for som ebody on a red bike, then why are they talking about where were you yesterday and where did you …
Yes, we will get there. But it was a red bike. And they were looking for somebody on a red bike. I am like, Well, if they are looking for som ebody on a red bike, then why are they talking about where were you yesterday and where did you sleep? I mean, very personal questions. First of all, you should know who you are talking to. So, we have a challenge here. And I am hoping that the Minister —I did speak with him about it — that we can start finding out what is happening out there. I do not know. Maybe something was going on, and I am not aware of it. But they certainly did not let this six -foot-four giant know. So, I can only imagine that when he pulled off his helmet, and he has got these long locks on, as well, it exacerbated the situ ation. And like I said, he is a very docile dude. But this is not the kind of guy that you want to get angry! No apology. Nothing, Nothing, just . . . and he was two minutes from me; he was meeting me. He was coming to meet me. And they just dispatched him and said, You can go. No apology. Nothing. Nothing at all. So, it would not have been so bad, because, you know, he was still wrestling with this. He called me immediately, and I could tell that he was angry. I know his personality. So I am calming him down, trying to keep him calm. And many of you in here know he has got a blog. He is very opinionated and will say what he feels, what is on his mind. So, we calmed him down, onl y to have him, two days later, pulled over again for speeding. Now, I know my son. The guy does not go more than . . . you know, the father defending his son. He does not go more than 25 kilometres. His sister has even teased him since he was 16 about the fact that he just cannot ride. And he is a nerd. I have no problem with saying he is a nerd. He is a six -foot guy with locks, and he is a nerd. You know, nerds come with locks nowadays. And they pulled him over. And my son is like, I’m going to tell you, Officer, I’m only going like about 22 kilometres. It couldn’t possibly be me. The officer does not even want to hear from him, not one word! Writes the ticket up. And so my son says, Well, look. I am going to go to the guy with the radar. The officer proceeds to say, Well, no, no! No, no. You cannot talk to him. So, he exercises some of his size on the officer and pushes his way. Now, I am getting a little timid about what he is telling me now, timid about the fact that he pushed his way towards the radar g uy. When he gets to the radar guy, the radar guy immediately says, This is not the man you’re su pposed to pull over! So now, imagine what he is thinking. You’re profiling me now. So, I am trying to keep a youth there . . . but he is not a youth now, he is 24. But I am trying to keep a young black male calm because he is feeling a certain way. And I said, you know, Well, I’ll talk to the Minister of National Security and maybe we’ll talk to the police and try to find out what is going on. And I would be ver y curious. Maybe something is happening out there that we are not aware of. But at least ask the young man for his ID! And then to pull him over for speeding and he is not speeding, and the officer still gives him a ticket! And, of course, my son throws th e ticket. 2004 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly And now, I am really concerned, because now he has taken the ticket . . . he is mad. He is angry. And that could be seen as, potentially, a problem, because he threw the ticket. So, I get to this point here. And the point is that we are looking at some pretty irresponsible behaviour out there on the street when it comes to the streets and riding and driving and the like. And I was asked a question when I was sitting with my son and some of his buddies, you know, about what I felt about it. And I said, Well, to me, this just seems like a ge neral attitude towards authority figures. And that att itude is negative. So that could be part of the problem. But somehow, some way, we have got to get the message across to our young people, after having . . . and my stations have been through several robberies, and they are always young men who are looking, for whatever reason, you know, for money or whatever the case may be. Somehow, we have got to get a message across to our young men that they need to keep their cool and that everyone in this room, both the Gov-ernment and the Opposition, are seeking opportunities to relieve some of the stresses that they may have. Now, I could go into a whole lot of things about how our young people are stressed. But our authority figures need to act with some responsibility and some respect, as well. And if the procedure is not to ask for ID, then I think we have a challenge on our hands. I cannot imagine that this is the case, so I am hoping that the Minister . . . even t he Opposition Leader, she has mentioned that she would like to ask some questions as to what is going on. But I would hate to think that our youth are continuing, in 2018, to be profiled because of how they look. And my son and I have been through this for many years now, where I have said to him, Listen, when you go to the airport you have to dress up, dude. You just can’t walk around like, you know, you would like to, because you are going to get profiled, just based merely on the way that you look. So he has experienced that with me through the airports. He gets it. But this is a case that could have turned very ugly very easily. And I have seen it happen. Many of us on both sides of the floor have seen where these kinds of situations turn ugly. So I am looking for some answers. And I believe that, co llectively as a Government, we can find a way. But we have got to change the attitudes, not just of our young people, but of our authorities and their approach to our young men and our young women who are ou t there just simply trying to make a living, and [we must] recognise that this is important. So I thank you for this time, but I do believe that we have an opportunity to address some of these things. And I think we can do it effectively. I am sure that my son is listening because he is following politics very closely. He is probably a bit embarrassed right now (I will probably get a call from him), but this is a serious, serious problem that we do have and it has been going on for too long, Mr. Speaker, just too long. And I am looking for answers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Minister. Minister Caines, you have the floor. MOU WITH BINANCE Hon. Wayne Caines: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was quite close by and I heard the former Premier of Bermuda, the now Shadow Mi nister …
Thank you. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Minister. Minister Caines, you have the floor.
MOU WITH BINANCE
Hon. Wayne Caines: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was quite close by and I heard the former Premier of Bermuda, the now Shadow Mi nister of National Security, speak about the FinTech space. Just before this legislation was passed, we wanted to make sure that we did this in a consultative process. So the normal criticism would have been (and I said this on the last occasion, Mr. Speaker) that [in this] process we did not talk to people, and we did not consult with people, so [this time] we went to a consultative process. We had people from the private sector, we had people from the public sector, we had all manner of people that we consulted on this matter. We consulted with the Opposition.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberNo, you didn’t.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberCouldn’t have. Hon. Wayne Caines: We consulted with the Oppos ition. They came to our office and it was . . . actually, it was an enlightening space.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHow? Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Dunkley was in that room.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberNo, no. Hon. Wayne Caines: He had the opportunity to ask questions. He said nothing! [Inaudible interjections ] Hon. Wayne Caines: He had the opportunity to di scuss nuances, he had the opportunity to challenge us, he had the opportunity to put things to us, and he now comes to …
No, no.
Hon. Wayne Caines: He had the opportunity to ask questions. He said nothing!
[Inaudible interjections ]
Hon. Wayne Caines: He had the opportunity to di scuss nuances, he had the opportunity to challenge us, he had the opportunity to put things to us, and he now comes to this House to thump his ches t and to self - aggrandise, when he had the opportunity —like the rest of his colleagues —to have the meaningful di scourse.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberWow! Hon. Wayne Caines: And this is the meaning less . . . so we have a further opportunity when we come to the House. And in the House we have meaningful debate. Bermuda House of Assembly As a matter of fact, [Dr.] Gibbons was in the House and he …
Wow! Hon. Wayne Caines: And this is the meaning less . . . so we have a further opportunity when we come to the House. And in the House we have meaningful debate.
Bermuda House of Assembly As a matter of fact, [Dr.] Gibbons was in the House and he put forth some very strong concerns. But in his concerns, it was done in such a way where we can rebut his concerns in the right and appropriate manner . In the meeting we heard from the Opposition Leader. She put forth her questions. We heard from a number of people. My colleague opposite, the Oppos ition Whip, had concerns, and she put them in the right place. The Member, Ms. Scott, the Senator, all of them had concerns, and the legitimate opportunity was in that place. And what did they do? They had the right interest of Bermuda at heart. They did not wait for Facebook, like the former leader of our country now uses as his watering hole, where he tries his imposition of his role. Last week when we were in the House he had the opportunity to do so. He said not hing. Mr. Speaker, in New York yesterday . . . in New York on Wednesday . . . on Thursday . . . on Wednesday, Mr. Speaker, we had a significant e lement of our country in reinsurance, international bus iness, and in finance. They went to New York to di scuss reinsurance in Bermuda. They talked about the strength of our country and it was . . . some people came from the private sector, reinsurance companies, international businesses. And all of them were in the room lauding what we do in Bermuda. It was an opportunity for Bermuda Inc. to thump its chest. I sat in the room and I listened to the captains and the titans of industry speak. And they spoke of years of doing business in Bermuda. I listened to Mr. Brian Duperreault’s address. He recalled that in 9/11 he and Brian O’Hara, being called directly thereafter by President Bush. And President Bush said to them, Listen, there have been some major atrocities that have been exacted on this nation. I want to bring the biggest insurance companies in the world that have policies that underwrite our country, specifically New York, and we want to make sure that you are able to honour these policies. All of the businesses in the world and two Bermuda businesses were in that room. Two Berm uda CEOs were in that room. And I sat back and I thought of how Bermuda had always punched above its weight. A gentleman from England was in the room, and he drew me to his s ide. He said, Mr. Caines, do you know out of every 10 cars that are on the road, 3 of them are insured through Bermudian companies? I started to hear of how well regarded and well respected Bermuda was at this conference. These are things that we all knew, and I reflected that this was not by happenstance. This is not by happenstance; this country has always prided itself on being prudent with insurance, being prudent with business. Many companies have arbitration clauses and reinsurance and litigation clauses that actually take place in Bermuda. My point? Brian Duperreault and Brian O’Hara . . . Brian O’Hara said to me at the end of the evening, Mr. Caines . . . because during the presentation that we made I highlighted that we are standing on both Br ians’ shoulders as a country —they were innovative, they went against the grain, they took risks, and now it is one of the biggest pillars in our country. And afterwards one of these giants of reinsurance came over to me and said, Bermuda is going in the right d irection. What I am seeing in this FinTech space r eminds me of what we were doing in the reinsurance space. He said to me that we have to make sure that we push, and that we bring the innovation, and we have the right legislation and regulatory elements i n place, but this is the right direction. After these events, we had to hold court for over two hours of events. Our diaries are packed for the next three weeks with companies that are flooding Bermuda. Now, what are the challenges here? The challenge is that we have to make sure that the education around FinTech is correct, that the legal elements around it are correct. But the Shadow Minister of N ational Security now wants to start in his unique fas hion, speaking for whomever he does, trying to cast aspersions on a space and on a Government that is making sure that we keep this Government and this country going in the right direction. He had the opportunity to do it; he thought it was a whistle and he blew it. Now we are going forward. Binance has said th at they are going to bring 40 jobs to Bermuda, 30 of which will be local Berm udian jobs. We have already connected with the Mini ster of Workforce Development and said, Let’s put t ogether a plan that is transparent so everybody that is in the compliance field can have the opportunity to find work. What does this former Premier of Bermuda do? He is now trying to unravel, dismantle, undermine, undercut the very work that this Government is doing to stabilise this country. That is the manner of the man that we are dealing with. Regardless of the aspersions online, in this House, this Government will continue to work. We will continue to put our first and our best foot forward.
RACIAL PROFILING BY POLICE SERVICE Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, the mainstay of this country is opportunity. I listened to the next former Premier of Bermuda, Mr. Cannonier, and it is a story that most of us in this room have experienced. It is a concept —especially when it is your son—that we understand. I give an undertaking that I w ill speak with Mr. Cannonier’s son. He is a friend of mine who is a good man, who has an audie nce and could have taken this online. He has 4,000 to 5,000 people who li sten and hang on every word he says on social media. I will meet with him personally. And I give MP Ca nnonier an undertaking that I will speak with him and I will speak with the police officers responsible and 2006 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly have a full update and undertaking of what transpired in that matter. I am not only concerned about your son; I am concerned about all of our sons and our daughters. And when people are arrested there have to be sp ecific codes of conduct. The law states specific reasons why a person [may] be stopped. If it is for an alcohol - related offence we know the rules. There are rules and laws. The eyes must be bloodshot. Their speech must be slurred. Their breath must smell strongly of intoxicants. There are specific ways that you stop a person. You just cannot do it willy -nilly. The law has specific things that you must ask for. So we must follow t hat up —which allows me, Mr. Speaker, to just go further. This week through the press I learned of some very significant allegations in the Bermuda P olice Service. Let me say from the start we have to have the . . . as people, as organisations, as quangos, as people in different departments there are mechanisms in place where we raise issues. For me to hear of such significant and potentially damning events on the seven o’clock news . . . well, that is not how things [should] go in the disciplined services. The disciplined services have specific mechanisms for police officers who have a specific function where they follow that mechanism to bring complaints to the front. We cannot expect our officers who are charged with upholding the law to go, when they hav e an issue, to the press for resolution. I was disappointed to hear about this thing and the manner in which we did. But, Mr. Speaker, this is something that we will look into as a priority.
HIRING OF POLICE COMMISSIONER
Hon. Wayne Caines: With referenc e to the hiring of the Police Commissioner, we all have our personal views. We all understand how this country is structured. There is a mechanism for changing it all. And we all know what that mechanism is. But as things stand right now, this is the Gover nor’s bulwark. The Governor has indicated that the process is in train, that there has been a shortlist, and we should, in the not too distant future, be able [to hear] the Governor make an announcement. So there will be no languis hing service. The Police Commissioner and I, Mr. Speaker, have been working on a plan to deal with succession planning. Let’s be honest, that is som ething that has always –– not only the Police, in the Prison, in the Customs –– that has always been som ething that we have struggled . . . you look at the pos ition for the c hief justice. This is something that as a country we have to work through, that we have to u nderstand and that is the art of succession planning. Well, the Bermuda Police Service is going through that as well. I think this is an opportunity for me to say there are a number of police officers in this country that give yeoman service. There is no oppor-tunity in this country for us to be divided on any front by race, religion, and place of work. So, Mr. Speaker, when you say that a Bermudian officer is looked at differently from a West Indian officer or a white officer, well, Mr. Speaker, we find that troubling because, guess what? I am a Bermudian of West Indian heri tage. So automatically if we have a service that is segregated in three different camps . . . well it does not bode well for Bermuda Incorporated. We have to put a system in place that is transparent, that transcends nationality. And that is something that the union that holds the Police Service has to work thr ough, Mr. Speaker.
MOU WITH BINANCE
Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, I believe that there are a number of unfortunate things that have happened this week. I pivot again back to this FinTech space. I think it is an opportunity for us to use the i nfluence that we have in a positive way. I challenge the former Premier to tell you one thing that the legislation says. Ask him in your private time, Mr. Speaker, about the White Paper. Ask him if he has gone through the legislation. I am willing to put my pension on it, that he cannot give you three points, or even one point, of the White Paper legislation without referring to his notes. And what am I saying, Mr. Speaker? I am saying that it is very easy to do that which they do, which is upset the apple cart. But guess what you are doing now. You are affecting Bermuda Incorporated!
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberThat’s right! Hon. Wayne Caines: You are affecting this country. The CEO, C.Z. [Changpeng Zhao], of Binance was asked by the reporters of ZBM what is going on with th e outstanding litigation. He dealt with that and said that the legislation had been quashed. So why would you not …
That’s right!
Hon. Wayne Caines: You are affecting this country. The CEO, C.Z. [Changpeng Zhao], of Binance was asked by the reporters of ZBM what is going on with th e outstanding litigation. He dealt with that and said that the legislation had been quashed. So why would you not focus on all of the things where B inance is around the world? We are looking at . . . we have Overstock.com, one of the biggest online com-panies and the biggest virtual coin companies on the planet , saying they want to come to Bermuda, and 30 jobs, Mr. Speaker, coming to this country. What does the former leader of this country do? He casts aspersions on the very deal that will bring opportunity to Bermuda—this, when he had the opportunity to do the very same thing that we are doing. We as a country have to decide whether we are willing for our personal machinations to destroy that which the Government is doing or whether we will do . . . and guess what, Mr. Speaker? We all get the fact that we need a good Opposition. As a matter of fact, whether it is 1, or it is 2, or it is 22, you can be next door, across the aisle, and be effective. I have seen Members of the Opposition be effective. As a matter of fact, last week in my office I saw an effective Opp osition asking diligent questions challenging the legisl aBermuda House of Assembly tion in the right places and in the right spaces and that, Mr. Speaker, is how we make this country a better place. I am not talking about the ina bility or us not wanting to ask questions. That is not the point. No one is scared of the questions, or of the accountability. We are saying that when you have the opportunity to do so, as Mr. Dunkley did, do it. Do not hide behind Twi tter, do not hide behind the House. He has the opportunity in this House to be an effective speaker, and be an effective advocate for his community. He must do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Does any other Member wish to speak ? I recognise the Honourable Member De Silva. Honourable Member, you have the floor. MOU WITH BINANCE Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we all know that we need, all governments need, a good …
Thank you, Minister. Does any other Member wish to speak ? I recognise the Honourable Member De Silva. Honourable Member, you have the floor.
MOU WITH BINANCE Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we all know that we need, all governments need, a good Opposition. What we do not need is incompetent Opposition. Mr. Speaker, the former Premier, Mr. Dunkley, when he stood on his feet today, has to be . . . well, it is the most disappointing thing we have experienced in this House since we had a change of Government in July last year. I could not believe my ears when Minister Caines revealed to this House that this Ho nourable Member was invited to meetings prior to legi slation coming to this House and said nothing.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberAnd never said a word.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberNot one word. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Now, I found that astoun ding, Mr. Speaker. And of course, I find his comments today even more astounding because I was part of the debate on this legislation. And that Honourable Member did not say a word in that debate. …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe will take your point of order. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I believe that the Honourable Member and a previous Member are misleading the House. The questions raised by my Member do not relate to the legislation, it relates to the MOUs, and whether we like …
We will take your point of order.
POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: I believe that the Honourable Member and a previous Member are misleading the House. The questions raised by my Member do not relate to the legislation, it relates to the MOUs, and whether we like it or not, that was not something that was brought up in the legislation.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Speaker, the H onour able Member is sitting in his seat. Number one, he should be able to raise his own point of order. He is still in the House. Number two, that Honourable Member who just took her …
Thank you, Honourable Member.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Speaker, the H onour able Member is sitting in his seat. Number one, he should be able to raise his own point of order. He is still in the House. Number two, that Honourable Member who just took her seat, who rose on a point of order, maybe should stay in this House a lit tle bit longer, because I heard what the Honourable Member Dunkley said.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNow, now, now, we all venture outside this Chamber now and then — Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe Speaker—I don’t like you using that as a point of order. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, Mr. Speaker, when we— Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI don’t like you using that as a point of order. POINT OF ORDER Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Point of order. I have been in the House the entire time the Member was speaking, so I don’t know where that Member was. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Well, Mr. …
I don’t like you using that as a point of order.
POINT OF ORDER
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Point of order. I have been in the House the entire time the Member was speaking, so I don’t know where that Member was.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Well, Mr. Speaker, I have too . . . the only thing I can say is that maybe the Honourable Member, when she is in the House, needs to pay attention.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, well, well, well — Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Because let me tell you—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, well, well, Honourable Member, Honourable Member, let’s keep the debate above getting into a personal level. I think you are skilled enough to be able to do that, and we can have a very meaningful debate without having to go to a personal level. Hon. Zane J. S. De …
Well, well, well, Honourable Member, Honourable Member, let’s keep the debate above getting into a personal level. I think you are skilled enough to be able to do that, and we can have a very meaningful debate without having to go to a personal level.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Member Dunkley stood up and he said, and I quote, that B inance has “a questionable record.” That is what he said. 2008 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly And for the Honourable Opposition Leader to get up and say he did not . . . that he was only questioning the MOU, this is hogwash! He said that they have, and I quote, “a questionable record.” Who would do that ? I remember when we sat on the other side of this House for a short time and we questioned Aecon. Now, you are talking about a questionable situation. Mr. Speaker, we, the PLP, have been talking about FinTech, cryptocurrency, for years. See, the differ ence between us and the former OBA Gover nment is this. And I will draw an analogy between this particular legislation and the Aecon deal. You see, even their Members did not know about the Aecon deal. They did not know about the airport deal. But the PLP h ave been talking about FinTech for years. Look back at our past Opposition Budget Statement [R eplies] and Throne Speech [Replies]. You will find that word FinTech spread all over those documents. That is going back five, six, seven years. The other thing that this Progressive Labour Party does is get out and talk to the people. No one has been more out in the public eye than Minister Caines. In fact, I believe even the Opposition last week called him “Minister of Cryptocurrency” or som ething like that, “Minister of Bitcoin.”
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberBlockchain. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: “Minister of Blockchain,” that’s a good one. Blockchain Minister. He has been out there so much so that I heard some Members opposite saying, Oh, he’s in the paper every day it seems. How much more transparency do they want? Now, I tell …
Blockchain. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: “Minister of Blockchain,” that’s a good one. Blockchain Minister. He has been out there so much so that I heard some Members opposite saying, Oh, he’s in the paper every day it seems. How much more transparency do they want? Now, I tell you what.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: No, no, no. No. What I also found astounding was that I r emember . . . in fact, the Honourable Member is not here at the moment. The Honourable Member, former Minister Sylvan Richards, sat right in this seat in front of me and this seat over here to the right (because he was the Minister, [and] then he was not a Minister), several times when we were bringing up opposition to different things ––and so did the Honourable former Premier Dunkley ––he told us on several occasions, Listen, the international business is listening. We have to be careful what we say in this House. Time and time again. Of course, I have been in this House long enough to know that when we were in Government before we used to say the same thing. Be careful, i nternational business is listening. So we have a former Premier of this country, and I use the words that Minister Caines used, undercut and undermine—I coul d add a few more like scaremongering, bogeyman. And here we have a company that has gone in nine months to become a multibillion dollar company. And they have a desire to come to Bermuda. And we get the former Premier Dunkley who says they are going everyw here in the . . . you know, they are going to Singapore, they are going to Malta, they are going all over the world to try and set up, but they figure they will come to Bermuda.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberExactly. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Unbelievable. They hav e committed $15 million to this country to the training of Bermudians. They have commi tted to 40 jobs, 30 for Bermudians. The former Premier Dunkley used to get up week in and week out saying we need to get …
Exactly.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Unbelievable. They hav e committed $15 million to this country to the training of Bermudians. They have commi tted to 40 jobs, 30 for Bermudians. The former Premier Dunkley used to get up week in and week out saying we need to get people to come to Bermuda. Bob Richards, the former Minister, used to say that we need foreign investment.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: We need foreign exchange. We heard that every week from the former Finance Minister. But yet today, we get our former Premier standing up and talki ng about he has a . . . they have a questionable record.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberHe has doubts. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: He has doubts. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Then he goes on to say that our Minister of Finance and Premier should not be this close to this situation. And it is critical that he should not. Our Finance Minister …
He has doubts.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: He has doubts. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Then he goes on to say that our Minister of Finance and Premier should not be this close to this situation. And it is critical that he should not. Our Finance Minister should not be this close and it is critical. Well, who was his Finance Mi nister? And how close was he to Aecon?
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersOh yes! Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: How critical was that?
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersOoh! Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: How critical was it? It’s funny how just a few short months ago we had a Premier of this country, an OBA Premier, talking about how good the Aecon deal was, how good that airport is for the people of this country. If …
Ooh! Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: How critical was it? It’s funny how just a few short months ago we had a Premier of this country, an OBA Premier, talking about how good the Aecon deal was, how good that airport is for the people of this country. If you reme mber, we had a Throne Speech given by that Honour able former Premier, and two weeks later the airport was announced. Two weeks after the Throne Speech. That airport was nowhere in that Throne Speech. How could that be? If you w ant to talk about transparency, how long was that deal cooking? I will yield for a point of order if he wants . . . if there is any doubt as to that timeframe. How could you have a deal that is the biggest deal in Bermuda’s
Bermuda House of Assembly history in terms of dollars spent by a Government on one project, and it is not in the Throne Speech? And then because our Premier signs an MOU with an expert, an expert in the field . . . an expert in the field, at no cost, the Honourable former Premier is throwing out red flags sayi ng nothing is free. And he went on to say that, you know, you think this man is going to do this because he loves the Island? Well, let me put a question to the former Premier. When he was Premier, we remember the America’s Cup don’t we?
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberOh-oh. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Oh-oh. Burland, Conyers & Marirea gave free work to Minister Gibbons for the America’s Cup.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberOh yes. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Did all the costings. B ecause he loved Bermuda. But who got the contract? [Desk thumping] Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: If you want to talk about love for the Island. And I told the former Member Gi bbons at the …
Oh yes.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Did all the costings. B ecause he loved Bermuda. But who got the contract? [Desk thumping]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: If you want to talk about love for the Island. And I told the former Member Gi bbons at the time, Well, if you would have told me— and I declare my interests —at Island Construction that I would give you 200 free hour s of my guesstimate and my experience, and then I get a nice little $12 million, $15 million contract later on, I’d give it too!
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Too cosy, is what the Ho nourable Member said. It does not pass the test of scrutiny. It is not open and transparent , were his words. There are questions that need to be asked. Well, we did not have one . . …
Yes.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Too cosy, is what the Ho nourable Member said. It does not pass the test of scrutiny. It is not open and transparent , were his words. There are questions that need to be asked. Well, we did not have one . . . we did not even have a question from the Honourable Member this morning to the Premier. The Premier gave a full two- page Min isterial Statement on it. We did not have one question from the Honourable Member. But he gets up on the m otion to adjourn. Maybe it is that his political consultant gave him some notes. Maybe he is not capable to do it on his own. [Inaudible interjections ] Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: What is my time like, Mr. Speaker, please?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerEight minutes. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: How much time do I have left?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerEight minutes. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Eight minutes. Okay. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if some of this concern and questions from that Honourable Member is because these people happen to be Chinese. HSBC, we did not have any questions, concerns, any of this, like . . . none …
Eight minutes. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Eight minutes. Okay. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if some of this concern and questions from that Honourable Member is because these people happen to be Chinese. HSBC, we did not have any questions, concerns, any of this, like . . . none of this angst. No undermining, no undercutting, none of that. And let us not forget one more point on the former Premier’s comments when the Honourable Member Dennis Lister III got up and did a point of order, the Honourable Member, the former Premier said, and I will quote, “we are here” discussing Binance but at least . . . what did he say? Hang on, I’ll get it for you. “The gates . . . are not b locked.” What is he insinuating? He is insinuating that maybe one time when he was the Premier and they were the Government that they could not get into this House. What i s he i nsinuating? Why could they not get into the House? Of course, it is ridiculous. Of course, it is ridiculous. But of course, that is just it. We know that a certain Member on that side hides behind Twitter and does all his talk on that area. We do not hide. We do not sneak up to this House at five o’clock in the morning under the cloak of darkness.
GOVERNOR’S APPOINTMENT OF NEW CHIEF JUSTICE
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Now, Mr. Speaker, I know my time is getting short so I want to switch channels real quick. I would like to talk about the appointment of the Chief Justine Narinder Hargun as well. I think our Premier showed his disapproval with his Statement when he said it was “an affront to the elected Government .” Mr. Speaker, like the Premier, we on this side have some challenges with this appointment. You will know in our Constitution, and I will quote, “consultation should ensure that the ind ividual chosen to lead the judiciary in this country enjoys the widest cross section of people’s support he or she is to serve.” Now, Mr. Speaker, why do we have a problem with that appointment? You will know, Mr. Speaker, that Mr. Hargun represented the Commission during what was not supposed to be cross examination and all of that stuff. I had the unfortunat e experience of watching that particular gentleman cross examine MP Burgess.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI will take your point of order. 2010 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly POINT OF ORDER Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Yes, I believe, with respect to the Comm ission of Inquiry, the work Mr. Hargun was doing on behalf of the Commission was examining witnesses. …
I will take your point of order.
2010 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly POINT OF ORDER
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Yes, I believe, with respect to the Comm ission of Inquiry, the work Mr. Hargun was doing on behalf of the Commission was examining witnesses. He was not cross examining them. Cross examining is when a third party would be asking questions. So I think what the Commission said was that other peopl e could not come forward and question them, but —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Point taken. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: —the Commission itself could examine them which is what they did.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPoint taken. Continue on, Member. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: And exami ne Mr. Burgess, he did. Examine him he did! When you have someone ask a witness the same question 20 times, maybe 40, to me that was overstepping his responsibilities for the Commission of Inquiry. And maybe …
Point taken. Continue on, Member.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: And exami ne Mr. Burgess, he did. Examine him he did! When you have someone ask a witness the same question 20 times, maybe 40, to me that was overstepping his responsibilities for the Commission of Inquiry. And maybe that Honourable Member that just took to his feet (of course [he] congratulated that ap-pointment last week) . . . maybe, maybe it is because he is trying to gain favour in case he ends up in front of him very, very soon for some shredding things that took place when he was in office, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNow, we, we, we will actually – Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Maybe that is why he is on his feet.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerTake your seat. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Okay. I will withdraw that. I will withdraw that, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerTake your seat. We will just ask the Member to keep going on in a different vein. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: I will withdraw it, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: But, you know, you have to wonder sometimes if . . . you know what the old sa ying is . Make your friends before you need them.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberMm-hmm. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: You know, Mr. Speaker, I think the deal for the c hief justice appointment was made a long time ago. I think it was before July 2017. I think the deal went something like this. Well, maybe not a “deal,” but a conversation …
Mm-hmm. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: You know, Mr. Speaker, I think the deal for the c hief justice appointment was made a long time ago. I think it was before July 2017. I think the deal went something like this. Well, maybe not a “deal,” but a conversation went something like this. You know, Mr. Hargun, you make the PLP look as bad as you can during this Commission of Inquiry, and when the OBA wins, we will make you c hief justice. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that is an entirely inappropriate comment.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe are going to let him come back. Go ahead. You can just tidy it up. We understand that this was an opinion that you gave that you can tidy up. Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, let me tidy that up a little bit, Mr. Speaker. The fact …
We are going to let him come back. Go ahead. You can just tidy it up. We understand that this was an opinion that you gave that you can tidy up.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, let me tidy that up a little bit, Mr. Speaker. The fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, that having witnessed many of the proceedings during that Commission of Inquiry, of which the former Premier Dunkley and his OBA Governm ent spent upwards of almost $2 million on, if not over $2 million, which they thought was going to really assist them in that last election. But it backfired a little bit on them, didn’t it? Yes, it sure did. It backfired, Mr. Speaker. But, Mr. Speaker, I will say this. I wonder, having experienced . . . because, you know what? If Mr. Hargun is such an upright, forthcoming, honest, reliable litigator, Mr. Speaker, and one worthy of the chief justice appointment, one would have thought that when the Commis sioner of that group— and we know who he was and where he came from —you would have thought that when he made the comment that certain actions by a certain Member were outright fraud before the Commission started and before they had interviewed anyone, if he was a man of integrity, [he] should not have represented. But maybe the money was too good. Because if he . . . if it was me, and I had a Commissioner of that Inquiry, that made that public statement —which was front page, I have a copy right here, he made that public statement — anyone worth their salt in my eyes, Mr. Speaker, would have turned down that position. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 11. Member Famous, you have the floor. MOU WITH BINANCE
Mr. Christopher FamousGood afternoon, Mr. Spea ker. Good afternoon, colleagues , and good afternoon to the listening public of Bermuda. Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, allow me to read a quote from some one near [and] dear to the hearts of Bermudians. “When it comes to politics, we are going to …
Good afternoon, Mr. Spea ker. Good afternoon, colleagues , and good afternoon to the listening public of Bermuda.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, allow me to read a quote from some one near [and] dear to the hearts of Bermudians. “When it comes to politics, we are going to educate all of our people to the power of the ballot and show them how to peacefully change things that they do not want. We have a responsibility to this countr y to act.” Dame Lois Browne- Evans, December 5 th, 1977. Now, Mr. Speaker, next month my aunt would have been 91. She did not live long enough to see the end of the UBP. But I can guarantee you that her nephew is going to live long enough to see the end of the OBA.
[Desk thumping]
Mr. Christopher FamousMr. Speaker, as you know, you recently gave me permission to go the BVI [ British Virgin Islands ]. I thank you, very much. While I was there I observed the following: Most, if not all, of the businesses were owned and operated by persons belonging to the BVI, i.e., …
Mr. Speaker, as you know, you recently gave me permission to go the BVI [ British Virgin Islands ]. I thank you, very much. While I was there I observed the following: Most, if not all, of the businesses were owned and operated by persons belonging to the BVI, i.e., people of the Caribbean; i.e, black people —car rental agencies, 50- to 100 -room hotels, real estate age ncies, and seven- story office buildings. Something we do not see in Bermuda. Why is that? Why don’t we see the majority population owning the majority businesses in Bermuda? Could it be that maybe, I don’t know, systematic racism kept black people from ownership? Could it be that when black people were trying to advance themselves, we had pol iticians in this very House putting in legislation to stop them ? Could it be? I do not know. I want to say “what if,” but we always say, Well, what if, to one Member.
[Laughter]
Mr. Christopher FamousBut anyway, Mr. Speaker, let me move on. Guess wha t else I saw when I was there? I saw a business by the name of Colonial Insurance in BVI. I wondered to myself, Now, is it a coincidence? Is somebody in BVI using the same name? So I had …
But anyway, Mr. Speaker, let me move on. Guess wha t else I saw when I was there? I saw a business by the name of Colonial Insurance in BVI. I wondered to myself, Now, is it a coincidence? Is somebody in BVI using the same name? So I had to do my due diligence. I walked around and I took my camera, and guess what I saw? Exhibit A, Mr. Speaker. The same Colonial Insurance that you have up here is down in BVI. I came to find out they are in the Bahamas, Barbados —they are all across the Cari bbean. Okay, that is fine. But let’s go back in time, Mr. Speaker. There were people in this country, in this House, in those seats , who were discouraging black Bermudians from going to the Caribbean and investing in business.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberMm-hmm. Mr. Christopher Famous: The same way that som ebody is up there discouraging black Bermudians from getting into blockchain. Now, what am I saying, Mr. Speaker? Why is it okay for them to invest their money, it is okay for them to make millions, but when we strive to …
Mm-hmm. Mr. Christopher Famous: The same way that som ebody is up there discouraging black Bermudians from getting into blockchain. Now, what am I saying, Mr. Speaker? Why is it okay for them to invest their money, it is okay for them to make millions, but when we strive to move out of poverty, when we try to move out of just working for them, it is always, No, you can’t do that. No, that guy is sketchy. No, that guy used to live in Singapore. No, that guy used to live in Hong Kong. Why is it always this constant negativity? We ain’t spent no $100 mi llion on bloc kchain.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberMm-hmm.
Mr. Christopher FamousWe ain’t going to spend $100 million on blockchain. Excuse me, my bad — $115 million on blockchain. But, no, when they want to spend that money and sacrifice seniors, sacrifice school children, it i s fine.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes. Fully justified.
Mr. Christopher FamousThat’s fine. Let’s build an Island that we are only used for six weeks.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberMoney well spent.
Mr. Christopher FamousJust spend $40 million on that. Let’s get WEDCO to front for us. Any point of order? No. So all of that is fine for the OBA to do, but the minute the black party (that they want to label the “black party”) says, Let’s go to merge with some …
Just spend $40 million on that. Let’s get WEDCO to front for us. Any point of order? No. So all of that is fine for the OBA to do, but the minute the black party (that they want to label the “black party”) says, Let’s go to merge with some other people. Let’s go make jobs for other black people, that is a problem. It is always a problem. I sat here last week listening to the Honour able Dr. Gibbons come with all his technical questions about, Oh, well, you know, got to be careful. Oh, well, you know, this is sketchy. Guess what? When we have town hall meetings on blockchain, who are the majority of people there? I am just saying, there are some of the people I knocked on their doors and [they said], No, sorry, I am voting OBA. So how is it that their people want to get into blockchain, but these people here are discouraging people? It seems like [there are] some of those ps ychological games going on. I could be wrong. You see, let me tell you something, Mr. Speaker. I heard people get up and say, Oh, we want to thank the Honourable Member for his years of service. Oh, the Honourable Member is my brother. Oh, the Honourable Member did this. The Honourable Member did what was best for his business interest.
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersYes. 2012 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Christopher Famous: Okay? I am not here to praise Caesar. I am here to bury Caesar. Right? And as of today, just understand, three o’clock, there is a PLP candidate going to be rolled out. In four …
Yes. 2012 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Christopher Famous: Okay? I am not here to praise Caesar. I am here to bury Caesar. Right? And as of today, just understand, three o’clock, there is a PLP candidate going to be rolled out. In four weeks, he will be sitting in this chair next to me. You will never get seat 25 back again. I can guarantee you that. We will give you seat 22, maybe. But you will not get seat 25. Mr. Speaker, what is the point I am getting at? In the BVI, basically business ownership [by] black people is the norm, not the exception. Here in Berm uda we champion, Oh, we have a Patrick Tannock. Oh, we have a Wendall Brown. Like that is the exception! The census just came out. Black people are the m ajority in this country. Why are we the exception when it comes to things of success?
[Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Christopher FamousThe only other p lace in the world where this happens is South Africa. We have people like Pieter Botha, right? Sitting down and sa ying, Well, we will give you the end of apartheid but let us keep our businesses. Let us keep the land we stole and killed …
The only other p lace in the world where this happens is South Africa. We have people like Pieter Botha, right? Sitting down and sa ying, Well, we will give you the end of apartheid but let us keep our businesses. Let us keep the land we stole and killed your people for. This is the mentality that we are dealing with. The Honourable Member from constituency 5 spoke earlier about systematic racism. We saw it less than one hour ago when someone who had a chance to speak up in a bipartisan manner, choose not to do it, but gets up on Twitter, Facebook, always talking bad about blockchain. Oh, this is sketchy. Oh, this is . . . don’t put your money in this. Well, how is it that the people that voted for him will put their money in it? That logic ain’t adding up. I do not see you telling them, Oh, no, don’t put your money in this. So I say to my cousin, the Honourable Member from constituency 14, another seat that we took back from them, Ride on, brother! We are not skinning up. You understand? Keep educating the people. Keep bei ng the “Minister of Blockchain.”
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberKeep the transparency. [Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Christopher FamousKeep educating the people. That is all I am going to beg you. I do not understand blockchain the way I should. Educate us, I beg you. So my other point, Mr. Speaker, the same people discouraging Bermudians from being involved in the Caribbean for decades, Oh, those people down …
Keep educating the people. That is all I am going to beg you. I do not understand blockchain the way I should. Educate us, I beg you. So my other point, Mr. Speaker, the same people discouraging Bermudians from being involved in the Caribbean for decades, Oh, those people down there are backwards. Oh, those people down there live in huts. Oh, those people down there can’t add. Well, why did they invest in business down there if those people cannot add? I have not heard a point of order. Let me move on. To the people of Bermuda, most of us will never own a hotel. Most of us will never own office buildings, like some people sitting in this House. But we have a chance to empower ourselves and our children by cryptocurrency, and other related concierge businesses. And just like some former OBA MPs who now have a contract on Aecon . . . wow, how did that happen?
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberThat’s not corruption.
Mr. Christopher FamousI won’t call any names, but they cut grass. Anyway, right? Do not listen to these people trying to discourage you. Learn all you can about cry ptocurrency. Get involved in the concierge businesses. If you got to build on to your house and rent out to people, if you …
I won’t call any names, but they cut grass. Anyway, right? Do not listen to these people trying to discourage you. Learn all you can about cry ptocurrency. Get involved in the concierge businesses. If you got to build on to your house and rent out to people, if you got to get a taxi licence, whatever you got to do to make that paper, do it. Because these people do not want you to have no paper. They want you to keep begging them for jobs. Let me move on, Mr. Speaker. As I said, my Aunt Dame Lois said we must teach our people the power of the ballot. The gentleman who lives in the biggest house on Langton Hill, dropped a writ today. We, on this side in this ever -growing corner, are e ncouraging the people of Bermuda on July 7 [sic]—
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberJune 7. UK ACTION ON BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP
Mr. Christopher FamousJune 7. Thank you, very much, Honourable Member. I have got July on my mind. On June the 7 th, to send Jack a message, vote solidly PLP. Let me move on, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we, the parliamentarians of the English -speaking Caribbean, are joined by a Wes tminster …
June 7. Thank you, very much, Honourable Member. I have got July on my mind. On June the 7 th, to send Jack a message, vote solidly PLP. Let me move on, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, we, the parliamentarians of the English -speaking Caribbean, are joined by a Wes tminster system of governance, very s imilar econ omies, tourism, financial services, which are now under attack by Britain, but somehow Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man are given a free pass. What kind of logic is that? If you are against money laundering, then why are you only attacking the black people? You see, it seems to be a pattern. Anything that black people are doing to make money legally, Oh, let’s shut that down. Only let’s give our people a free pass. Oh, let’s shut down the school because of mould, but hey, let’s go give Burla nd, Conyers & Marirea a contract . Do you see the parallels here? It happens on the macro and it happens on the micro. It happens in
Bermuda House of Assembly England and it happens here. What is the common thread here? Colonialism. Colonial mind- set. We got to break out of that, Mr. Speaker. I know you are an advocate, or I know someone spoke of advocacy of “sovereignty.”
Mr. Christopher FamousLet me use that word. The first thing to be s overeign is “sovereign- ing” your mind.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberThat’s correct!
Mr. Christopher FamousRight. If you are not “sovereign- ing” your mind . . . so we have to educate ourselves and educate our people how to wean ourselves off that tit of colonialism, because Britain ain’t got nothing for us. They do not. It took one of their own, MP David Lammy, …
Right. If you are not “sovereign- ing” your mind . . . so we have to educate ourselves and educate our people how to wean ourselves off that tit of colonialism, because Britain ain’t got nothing for us. They do not. It took one of their own, MP David Lammy, to get up and openly criticise Home Secretary Amber Rudd, how they are treating the Windrush generation people. Then it took Caribbean leaders to go up to Britain and demand a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May for her t o make a U -turn. Because they were ready to deport, a massive deportation of Cari bbean people. That is what they think of us. They en-slaved us for 300, 400 years when their country was bombed to hell by their own—not fellow, Europeans. They called for us t o come to England to rebuild their country. Now that their country is back up on their feet, Okay, we want you back in the Third World. That is the mentality that we are dealing with. Mr. Speaker, most of all we are joined by this thing we call “blood.” As we are all related, no matter which island we currently reside on. The majority of people sitting on both sides of this House are of direct (I say it again, direct) Caribbean heritage. Premier Honourable David Burt, Jamaica; Honourable Member Gordon- Pampl in, Trinidad; Honourable Deputy Leader Roban, St. Vincent; Honourable Member Cannonier, St. Kitts; Honourable Member Lawrence Scott, Jamaica; Honourable Member Dennis Lister III, and yourself, St. Kitts; Honourable Member Neville Tyrrell, N evis; Honourable Leader Atherden, the Bahamas; Honourable Member Commissiong, Trinidad; Honourable Member Michael Scott, St. Kitts . . . and I know I have left some people out, but —
[Inaudible interjection]
Mr. Christopher FamousHonourable Member Burgess, the Island of Tucker’s Town in Harris Bay. [Laughter and crosstalk ]
Mr. Christopher FamousOh, yes, my honourable cousin, “Minister of Blockchain,” let me be specific: Sherwood Forest, Portland, Jamaica— [Desk thumping and laughter ]
Mr. Christopher FamousMr. Speaker, we must r emind our people that despite our mid- Atlantic ge ographic location we are truly Caribbean by nature. Indeed, our islands now dominate global track and field and triathlon. We have a lot to learn from our Caribbean cousins because, you kno w, Mr. Speaker, when …
Mr. Speaker, we must r emind our people that despite our mid- Atlantic ge ographic location we are truly Caribbean by nature. Indeed, our islands now dominate global track and field and triathlon. We have a lot to learn from our Caribbean cousins because, you kno w, Mr. Speaker, when I walked up and down Tortola, and my cousin said, Yes, I own that building, I own that building. How many buildings do you own, cousin? I’m like, Black people don’t own no office buildings in Bermuda. He looked at me like, What?
[Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Christopher FamousYou understand, Mr. Speaker? For years they told us that we were behind the Caribbean, but if any one of us goes to the Cari bbean we are going to see that the people of the Caribbean, the black people, own t he businesses there. We are up here begging …
You understand, Mr. Speaker? For years they told us that we were behind the Caribbean, but if any one of us goes to the Cari bbean we are going to see that the people of the Caribbean, the black people, own t he businesses there. We are up here begging these people for a job. Qualified Bermudians are begging these people for a job, and if we cannot get the job, we are leaving to go to England, who does not want us either. So are we really advanced? Are our m aster’s degrees (ironically called “master’s” degree) really worth anything when we cannot get a job and we cannot buy a house and we cannot own a business? Ask yourself that, Mr. Speaker. Let us ask ourselves that. If two children went to Warwick Academy, came out with the same GPA [grade point average], went off to, let’s say, Western University, came back, one is black and one is white, same degree. Where do you think that young black man is going to have to go for a job? If it is him and Johnny competi ng for the same job, who is going to get it? That is all I am saying, Mr. Speaker. We have to understand so vereignty starts right here. It is not about a piece of p aper on the wall. Mr. Speaker, it is incumbent on us to continue to assist each other in an y way we can. Some areas of cooperation: climate change awareness and preparation; civil service efficiencies; gender equality; law enforcement; electoral reform; food security; environmental protection; growth for tourism; growth for small business; publi c education; and, yes, cryptocurrency. The same person who . . . the Honourable Member from constituency 10 talked about, Mr. Abed , he is also the digital guy for, where? Barbados and BVI. Not one of those countries are seeing anything shady with this guy . They are encouraging him to bring business to their countries. Well, who is discouraging? Why even say that part? Oh, I forgot. He thinks we don’t read. Mr. Speaker, let me move on. I want to thank this Honourable House for giving me the chance to sit in this seat. It is not lost on me who formerly sat in this 2014 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly seat. The last person who sat in this seat before July is no longer with us. I don’t only mean no longer with us in this House. He is no longer breathing. But the last time he sat in this seat —
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes, tell us. UPCOMING BYE -ELECTION
Mr. Christopher FamousHe made a point . . . I can’t even find the quote. I am just going to go off my head. He made a point of saying, This party, the OBA, is not for black people. This party is the same party that wanted to send the police up …
He made a point . . . I can’t even find the quote. I am just going to go off my head. He made a point of saying, This party, the OBA, is not for black people. This party is the same party that wanted to send the police up here during (what?) Pathways to Status. Mr. Speaker, if my auntie was alive I am quite sure on December the 2 nd she would have been at those gates standing for democracy. And I am quite sure the same pepper spray that pepper sprayed the rest of Bermudians, would have pepper sprayed her. So I have nothing for the OB[A]. Some Members, I like them. But OBA as an organisation, they have got to go. Tomorrow I am going to put on my shoes and I am going to do what I do best. Myself and my colleagues, we are going to be knocking on doors because the people are tired. The people want freedom in their mind. They want sovereignty, Mr. Speaker. To hear this guy, this Honourable Member, get up and say, Blockchain is bad. Binance is bad. That is just a colonial mind -set to keep us down. Because I do not see him trying to sell us no shares of his dairy. As a matter of fact, I do not even know why he has a m onopoly on that. We need to break that. Mr. Speaker, I am going to close with a suggestion. I think we need, possibly, a Junior Ministry for Caribbean Affairs because we need to learn from our people, our flesh and blood, what it means to be tota lly free of colonialism. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Timer beeps]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 2. Honourable Member Swan, you have the floor.
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanThank you. I will just take over for the unofficial Junior Minister for Caribbean Affairs. [Laughter] MOU WITH BINANCE
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanAnd declare my interest as having heritage, known heritage, because a lot of our heritage is unknown as well , but specifically, for St. Kitts and the Bahamas. And during my travels I have certainly been identified as someone who looks very much like folks from Turks and Caicos, as …
And declare my interest as having heritage, known heritage, because a lot of our heritage is unknown as well , but specifically, for St. Kitts and the Bahamas. And during my travels I have certainly been identified as someone who looks very much like folks from Turks and Caicos, as well. And such is the origin of our people. Jamaica is, Out of Many , One [People], and in Bermuda there are many to make one. On that , I too would like to reflect on some of the comments made today by a former Premier as it relates to blockchain and some of the . . . what I co nsider, disingenuous assertions that I feel . . . and I thank our youngest Member for standing on his feet for a point of order, and others who did so, because I think it was a backhanded way to sort of impugn the integrity of the Premier. I think the Honourable Member, Mr. Zane De Silva, made reference to some quotations that pointed out that point ever so well. Mr. Speaker, in starting off I would like to speak to what transparency looks like. And, with that, I am going to go back to an op- ed that was written and penned by the Honourable Member from constituency 1, when I believe that Honourable Member sat in another place as, I do believe at that time, Opposition Senate Leader. And with your permission, Mr. Speaker—
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. Swan—I will just speak to an article that was published on July 22 of 2016, by the Honourable Member who now sits in this place, Ms. Renee Ming. It says, “Glad PLP’s fintech call has finally been heeded.” And without reading the entire article it makes reference to “. . …
—I will just speak to an article that was published on July 22 of 2016, by the Honourable Member who now sits in this place, Ms. Renee Ming. It says, “Glad PLP’s fintech call has finally been heeded.” And without reading the entire article it makes reference to “. . . the 2015 Throne Speech Reply, d elivered by Marc Bean, the Leader of the Opposition, [where] key references were made to ways in which a Progressive Labour Party government would further economic development in Bermuda. These references ” . . . and I know these references did not start just then, but that Honourable Member felt it necessary to hig hlight. “One of the transformational commitments ” (that she wrote about) “made is to establish a techn ological incubator at South Side, and to leverage Bermuda’s location and regulation to make our island a hub for fintech. ” Now, this, Mr. Speaker, predates the Honourable Member, the Minister who spoke very well in defence of what he is prosecuting today. And you would think, Mr. Speaker, that the way in which the former Opposition Leader spoke about this matter, you would have thought that the Honourabl e Member Mr. Caines, the “ Minister of Blockchain, ” respectfully, as he is referred to because of the hard work that he does and the knowledge that he brings to the subject with regard to having a background as an attorney, and having worked for one of Berm uda’s largest tel ecommunications companies, that within the Cabinet
Bermuda House of Assembly he is eminently qualified. But you would think that he just woke up, dropped off the fruit truck, and came forward with this matter. But here we have it, Mr. Speaker. The Member who succes sfully won her seat on July 18th, in 2016 penned an op- ed speech which speaks to the very thing that the Memorandum of Understanding is speaking to today. And what I would like, Mr. Speaker, is to encourage those in the media present here t oday, who someti mes overlook speeches by bac kbenchers and the Government today and when the PLP was in Opposition, gloss over that, is to do your due diligence. When you know Members opposite are speaking out of both sides of their mouths, all you have to do is search your own archives for the real position and hold them to account. Having been Opposition many times I know that sometimes, as one Honourable Member told me, in Opposition you can be irresponsible. But when your former role was that of leader of the country, you know all too well the role of governance is a delicate one. When you came into Government in 2012 there was a $1.2 billion debt that you were all too critical about, notwithstanding a recession that many of your business colleagues helped to create, yo u said not hing about it. But what did you do? You made business decisions that became critical that contributed to do ubling that debt. And I have seen some responsible Oppos ition. Because a responsible Opposition . . . as when I became an Opposition Member. I had to study the only Opposition that existed in Bermuda to know that you have to put forward suggestions, recommendations, and solutions. And it is not like FinTech dropped out of the sky. You need to look back and you would see that Ernst & Young, E Y, did a report, a compr ehensive report during your term of governance, OBA. They did it as the world was looking at how it is going handle this manner. It was studied and you had the opportunity, but you put your eggs in (and no pun i ntended) investing $100 million of the taxpayers’ money into the future of country, of which that gamble did not pay off when Oracle lost. That is the way the cookie crumbles. That is the way the seas roll. That is what happened. But this Progressive Labour Party Gover nment has been speaking very clearly about FinTech. You know, when that Member . . . and I thank the Honourable Member Mr. Caines, the Minister, for r eminding us of the silence of the former Premier who is probably out there on Twitter and Facebook right now . . . he was silent when the Bill came up. He was silent when the Member invited him to talk about it. And this is the type of innovation that, if done right, as we are doing right now, working on regulations, getting on side the Bermuda Monetary Authority, if done right, would help to address the very debt many of us spoke about for years. But what do we have? We have irr esponsibility in regard to this, trying to tickle people up, to use the words of a former Member that sat in this Honourable House, at a time when a former leader and a former Opposition Leader, and a former leader before that, one and the same, right? I guess the F ather, Son and the Holy Ghost of that organisation, should be a statesman and saying, Let’s wait a minute. Let’s look to see how we can help Bermuda. Because I hear people talking about, What are we going to do for Bermuda? Bermuda needs another economic leg to stand on. But you know what? When it comes to bus iness, the truth of the matter is that systemic racism is alive and well in this country and Members have known that it has been alive and well, and business people have played it to their advantage because they have no interest in stopping it. We as a Government cannot wait for whites to get a moral compass when it comes to solvi ng the plight of racism in this country. Many people know that he who [has] the money directs the tune. The Minister has people interested in this country. The Premier has business people interested in this country. They recognise the importance of a bipartisan approach to it. They offered the hand of fellowship across the aisle to the OBA. I think and I believe that the Opposition Leader that sits there is willing to accept that hand. But having some insight into what the country has long been up against, there is an element ever so present [that] keeps holding us back biting the hand the Honourable Minister exten ded to the Opposition. And now , the faithful nine are faced with looking at their future —nine today, ten in total. They are faced with how do they go forward with some relevancy? And it is an important question. It is an important question when we look at the Opposition of 2016, ha ving included in its Throne Speech Reply, and I am sure included in the platform that it presented in 2012, how it would advance FinTech for Bermuda. I will quote what the Honourable Member wrote, sitting there looking at me. “ Fintech has become increasingly prominent in recent years with global investment growing from $1 billion in 2008 to $19 billion in 2015. ” And with that growth, while we were still co ntracting and putting our eggs in the America’s Cup, cutting some type of arrangement (and I put it respec tfully), with Aecon out of the blue, not looking . . . and guess what? While the Opposition in Government, the OBA in Government, were not prepared to look at where growth was happening in the world, the Opp osition of that day was not holding it to them and ourselves. The most prominent Member of the PLP in 2016 was writing about it in an op- ed, telling the Go vernment, sharing ideas with the Government. Do you know what the difference is between the OBA today and their grandparents yesterday? [It] is when the PLP and Opposition, during the 1970s and 1980s, were coming up with ideas. The UBP were 2016 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly taking them and using t hem, but the OBA was so arrogant, and now so duplicitous, that they would come here and try to make persons feel like the Honourable Minister and the Honourable Premier just came up with FinTech. It is called, Give me a break! [Inaudible interjections]
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanI am just quoting an art icle written by the Honourable Member Ms. Renee Ming, from constituency 1, which was written in the Royal Gazette. And the problem that we must all stress is that when Members are out there tweeting, when Members are out there being irresponsible that the …
I am just quoting an art icle written by the Honourable Member Ms. Renee Ming, from constituency 1, which was written in the Royal Gazette. And the problem that we must all stress is that when Members are out there tweeting, when Members are out there being irresponsible that the only daily do its due diligence and only check its own archives to jive up what was said. [There is] not hing wrong with that type of accountability. It is neces-sary if we are going to go forward. And if you look in amongst yourselves in the Opposition and can come to the understanding that Bermuda still lives in the sea of inequity, still swims in the ocean of disparity, and it disproportionately i mpacts the black community in Bermuda, you have to ask yoursel f what you are prepared to do about it besides having pictures taken with our grandchildren, while you are not advancing and prepared to do something to make life more equitable. When inequity exists in a community, the only way in which to balance it is not to try to say, Oh, I am going to make a level playing field. No! You have to give those who have been disadvantaged greater opportunities to play catch up. It is not socially healthy in this country for our people not to have examples in great abundanc e somewhat equivalent to the numbers that we hold of economic success in this country. This last census is one too many that points out to that, and it is not good enough. So the Honourable Member that spoke just previous to me that alluded to the difficul ties that the current Opposition face . . . it is of their own making. And so, Michael Jackson’s [Man] in the Mirror, must be applied on many levels. But no greater level than what we heard here today, which is a manifestation of what is totally wrong in t his country. Look at it! I saw it ever so clearly, not too long ago in the Royal Gazette when a former Member, who since resigned a seat, and I wish him well in his endeavours, came on the news media and criticised the same Minister of National Security f or a change in initiative. And I felt duty -bound to share publicly some of the origins of that initiative that go back to the same Opposition . . . not Opposition Leader today, Oppos ition Leader in 2007 who was the OBA Leader in 2015, who, when it came to Operation Ceasefire, did abs olutely nothing to advance it, save and except for a few days before the next general election in 2017 and then came up and, not even in this House, but in the public sphere and tried to tie the PLP’s hands to an initiative that they put in the domain on the eve of an election. That is the type of scrutiny the daily paper should give when they give it prominence, and it serves . . . institutions in this country serve to perpe tuate the racism that lives and breathes and is conf ident in this country. And to overcome it, it is going to take a will in some very strong places. We often hear persons referring to the “black” church. What about the “white” church and the “white” leadership? Where is this going to get some moral compass t here otherwise than some, you know, plat itudes at the most convenient times? Mr. Speaker, we are in business when persons celebrate the uplifting of the white female in business, and I celebrate that, but [we] recognise that it is not equitable when the black women in this country are falling behind. And let us not think about who, as my honourable friend—
[Timer beeps]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerDoes any other Member wish to speak? The Honourable Member, Premier, would you like to close it up for us? MOU WITH BINANCE Hon. E. David Burt: Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. And I would be happy to close out today’s motion to adjourn. I give these closing remarks trying to …
Does any other Member wish to speak? The Honourable Member, Premier, would you like to close it up for us?
MOU WITH BINANCE
Hon. E. David Burt: Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker. And I would be happy to close out today’s motion to adjourn. I give these closing remarks trying to actually figure out what emotion it would be. I think the em otion is disgust, because one would have expected that somebody who sat in this seat just merely one year ago would understand a better way of how to conduct himself inside of this Honourable House. As other Members have indicated earlier, Mr. Speaker, I gave a lengthy Ministerial Statement dea ling with a number of matters earlier. And that Honour-able Member had an opportunity to ask questions based upon that Statement, but declined the opportunity to do so. He then decided to take to his feet on the motion to adjourn and try to disparage persons under the privilege of Parliament. Mr. Speaker, I am going to share with you a story. And it is a story that a number of people know because it is what happened and took pl ace last week, Mr. Speaker. Because you would have heard me say that I sent a note to the Department of Wor kforce Development, [to] the acting Minister of Educ ation and Workforce Development, the Honourable Lovitta Foggo, last week, to get a list of unempl oyed persons [who were] in compliance who might be looking for work for the jobs that are coming. And guess
Bermuda House of Assembly who was the first person on that list, Mr. Speaker? My sister.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberWow. Hon. E. David Burt: Understand, Mr. Speaker, this is personal . And I can assure the Honourable Member who represents constituency 10, that there are unemployed people in Loyal Hill as well. [Desk thumping] Hon. E. David Burt: So you would think that this Honourable Member, instead of trying …
Wow. Hon. E. David Burt: Understand, Mr. Speaker, this is personal . And I can assure the Honourable Member who represents constituency 10, that there are unemployed people in Loyal Hill as well.
[Desk thumping]
Hon. E. David Burt: So you would think that this Honourable Member, instead of trying to disparage persons who are building things in the new economy, who are looking to invest $10 million in education in this country, who are looking to provide entrepreneurship opportunities in this country for start -ups, one would think that he would try to be a little bit more r esponsible, Mr. Speaker. But he cannot help himself, Mr. Speaker, because he no longer has this chair. So he is trying to find relevance somewhere. He is trying to find it on social media, he is trying to find it online, and then he will come to this House and utter statements which are not worthy of this House. Now let me be clear, Mr. Speaker. As I have said on numerous occasions before, and I think I said it earlier today, we have the wilfully uninformed in the UK Parliament and it seems as though w e are now having the wilfully uninformed inside of this one right here, Mr. Speaker. Because if the Honourable Member actually cared about getting answers, if he cared about learning more, if he cared about understanding then he would have asked questions when it was question time. We are operating this differently, Mr. Speaker. We consult with the Opposition. We give education to the public. We go in town halls, we have forums, we have events, we have lunches, we bring people in and we explain to them wha t it is that we are doing, Mr. Speaker. And why is it that we are doing this? B ecause as I said many times when I sat on that side, Mr. Speaker, we cannot have economic growth inside this country unless international investors are comfortable that both sid es of the political divide will support it.
[Desk thumping]
Hon. E. David Burt: That is the reason why we coo perate, Mr. Speaker. And you know what? The Oppos ition Leader gets the message. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition gets the message. When will the former leader of the One Bermuda Alliance get that message, Mr. Speaker? Then we hear questions about unpaid adv isors. Now, I do know that there seems to not be that much familiarity with the Ministerial Code on the side of the One Bermuda Alliance. But the Ministerial Code makes special provision for unpaid advisors, Mr. Speaker. But you know what is really interesting? I could have just signed a contract for an unpaid adv isor and gone ahead. But because we have transparency in this Government, Mr. S peaker, we let the pu blic know. We are moving ahead in making sure that Bermuda is ready for what the future may bring. And it would be irresponsible of us, even as technologically savvy as I would like to believe myself, to think that we have all of the answers, Mr. Speaker. So, yes, we must make sure that we engage people. And the reason why we sign a contract with persons is to make sure that we protect the Gover nment. So to think that we are bringing people to this country who are investing and creating jobs, providing revenue to our treasury, and education and training to those who need it, that we have persons who are providing advice and who are not getting paid for it, the same advice that these persons provide to other governments around the world of which they are not paid for, and the fact that we are having overcapacity conferences everywhere that we go, where people are excited about the opportunities that may exist in Bermuda, Mr. Speaker, that is what this Government is doing. We were in New York two days ago and the room was packed—standing room only, Mr. Speak-er—to hear this Government talk about its FinTech vision. We have CEOs coming to these shores saying that they have never seen a government move so fast and effectively in delivering and executing on its man-date, Mr. Speaker.
[Desk thumping]
Hon. E. David Burt: But we get to listen to the chir ping and the naysaying of the former Premier. Well, Mr. Speaker —
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberThat is why he is former. Hon. E. David Burt: Exactly. As the Honourable Member said, That is why he is former. And as the Honourable Member for constit uency 11 stated, on June 7 th voters will have a choice. And the honourable former Premier made that choice very …
That is why he is former.
Hon. E. David Burt: Exactly. As the Honourable Member said, That is why he is former. And as the Honourable Member for constit uency 11 stated, on June 7 th voters will have a choice. And the honourable former Premier made that choice very clear. Number one, it is clear who is still pulling the strings on that side, Mr. Speaker.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes. Hon. E. David Burt: Because while the Opposition Leader will cooperate, will attend things and we will consult, while the Deputy Leader of the Opposition will thank us for consulting with her, sharing our briefs and information, we get the same old story from the former Premier, Mr. Speaker. …
Yes. Hon. E. David Burt: Because while the Opposition Leader will cooperate, will attend things and we will consult, while the Deputy Leader of the Opposition will thank us for consulting with her, sharing our briefs and information, we get the same old story from the former Premier, Mr. Speaker. 2018 4 May 2018 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly So while the persons on that list provided by the Workforce Development office, Mr. Speaker, will be meeting with the representative of Binance Berm uda Lim ited next week, who is flying to the Island today for further meetings with the BDA [Bermuda Business Development Agency], to rent somebody’s office space, to rent somebody’s house, to drive in som ebody’s taxi, to eat in somebody’s restaurant, Mr. Speaker —
[Desk thumping]
Hon. E. David Burt: —the voters of this country will know who did that. They will know that it is a Gover nment that is working hard day by day to bring hope to people who for far too long have not had hope, Mr. Speaker. So on June 7 th people will have a choice to make. And it is something that I have said at many points in time in this House, Mr. Speaker. It is the past versus the future. This party, this Government, the people who sit on this side, and over in Robin Hood corner, are about the future; we are about making sure that Bermudians who have not eaten inside of this economy have a chance to eat.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberYes, that’s it. Hon. E. David Burt: And the only stage that the former Premier will have in this debate, Mr. Speaker, is the stage that he will have on his social media. But rest assured, the people of this country will know that we will not be distracted, we …
Yes, that’s it.
Hon. E. David Burt: And the only stage that the former Premier will have in this debate, Mr. Speaker, is the stage that he will have on his social media. But rest assured, the people of this country will know that we will not be distracted, we will continue to meet with investors, we will continue to provide hope and opportunity to give the people the jobs that they promise and that this Government will deliver. Thank you.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Members. Members, the House now stands adjourned until Friday next at 10:00 am. [Gavel] [At 2:28 pm, the House stood adjourned until 10:00 am, Friday , 11 May 2018 .]