The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood morning, Members. I received the Minutes from the meeting of the 29th of September. Are there any objections or any amendments? No objections; no amendments. The Minutes are confirmed. [Minutes of 29 September 2017 confirmed] MESSAGES FROM THE GOVERNOR
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE SPEAKER OR MEMBER PRESIDING APOLOGIES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. I have received communication from Members who are absent today, and I would just like to acknowledge those Members. We have r eceived communication from MP Cannonier, MP Ti nee Furbert, MP Dunkley , and MP Baron. All have indica ted they will be absent today. APPOINTMENTS TO JOINT …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerFurther, I would like to announce that , for the committee that has been named the Living Wage Committee, the m embers f rom this House are MP Commissiong, MP W. L. Scott , and MP L. K. Scott. Also, for the C hairmen of the respective House Committees, Standing …
Further, I would like to announce that , for the committee that has been named the Living Wage Committee, the m embers f rom this House are MP Commissiong, MP W. L. Scott , and MP L. K. Scott. Also, for the C hairmen of the respective House Committees, Standing and Sessional Commi ttees, you will find a package on your desks today that outlines the guidelines for [your] committee, information through recent meetings , and any other mat erial that will be helpful to you. MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. PAPERS AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS TO THE HOUSE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, we do have those. And I would like to recognise the Premier. Premier, you have the floor. REFORMING THE TAX SYSTEM AND ITS ADMINISTRATION FOR FISCAL CONSOLIDATION Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to you. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and …
Yes, we do have those. And I would like to recognise the Premier. Premier, you have the floor.
REFORMING THE TAX SYSTEM AND ITS ADMINISTRATION FOR FISCAL CONSOLIDATION
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning to you. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly a report entitled “ Reforming the Tax System and Its Administration for Fiscal Consolidation,” produced by the Caribbean Regional Technical Assi stance Centre (CARTAC) for the Ministry of Finance.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier We have a further paper and communication, this one from the Honourable Minister of Health. The Honourable Member, Ms. Wilson, you have the floor. BERMUDA HOSPITALS BOARD (HOSPITAL FEES) AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2017 Hon. Kim N. Wilso n: Good morning, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have the …
Thank you, Mr. Premier We have a further paper and communication, this one from the Honourable Minister of Health. The Honourable Member, Ms. Wilson, you have the floor.
Hon. Kim N. Wilso n: Good morning, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly the Regulations entitled Bermuda Hospitals Board (Hospital Fees) Amendment Regulations 2017, as made by myself as the Minister of Health.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. I believe we have further papers and communications , this time from the Minister of Education. Minister Rabain, you have the floor. NATIONAL TRAINING BOARD ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2016/17 Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Good morning, Mr. Speaker. 266 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report Bermuda …
Thank you. I believe we have further papers and communications , this time from the Minister of Education. Minister Rabain, you have the floor.
NATIONAL TRAINING BOARD ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2016/17
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Good morning, Mr. Speaker. 266 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly the Annual Report for the National Training Board for the Year 2016/17 .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Do you wish to do a further one? YOUNG GEOGRAPHERS Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Yes. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of t he Honourable House of Assembly a textbook entitled Young Geographers, published by Panatel VDS Ltd., in conjunction …
Thank you. Do you wish to do a further one?
YOUNG GEOGRAPHERS
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Yes. Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of t he Honourable House of Assembly a textbook entitled Young Geographers, published by Panatel VDS Ltd., in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and Workforce Development. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Somner.
PETITIONS
The S peakerThere are none. STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS AND JUNIOR MINISTERS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Today we have, I believe, 10 Statements. And we are going to recognise Mr. Premier first. Mr. Premier, you have the floor . REFORMING THE TAX SYSTEM AND ITS ADMINISTR ATION FOR FISCAL CONSOLIDATION Hon. E. David Burt: Good morning, Mr. Speaker, and thank you. Mr. Speaker, in accordance …
Yes. Today we have, I believe, 10 Statements. And we are going to recognise Mr. Premier first. Mr. Premier, you have the floor .
REFORMING THE TAX SYSTEM AND ITS ADMINISTR ATION FOR FISCAL CONSOLIDATION
Hon. E. David Burt: Good morning, Mr. Speaker, and thank you. Mr. Speaker, in accordance with the Gover nment’s comm itment made in the 2017 Speech f rom the Throne, I am pleased to table the Caribbean R egional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) Report [for Bermuda] entitled “Reforming the Tax System and Its Administration for Fiscal Consolidation. ” The report was tabled in this Honourable House earlier today. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members are aware that in 2015, CARTAC completed a review of Berm uda’s tax system and its administration. The CARTAC mission team visited Bermuda from Sept ember 29th, 2015 , to October 12th, 2015, and met with various public sector officials and key stakeholders in the pr ivate sector. Many of these stakeholders requested access to the document which was prepared, but the former Government refused to share its contents. In keeping with its pledges of transparency, this Go vernment has now tabled the CARTAC review in Par-liament so that parliamentarians and members of the community can be made aware of the recommendations.
[Desk thumping]
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, the report indicates that the main objective of the tax review was to i ncrease tax revenues. The former Government’s preference was to increase the revenue provided by exis ting taxes, though they were open to proposals that would expand the tax b ase and provide equity. Anot her objective was not to increase the size of the tax administration, but rather to improve its efficiency and simplify compliance. Therefore, the introduction of a full-fledged income tax, or a value- added tax, was ruled out. G iven this guidance, the CARTAC mission concentrated its effort on analysing taxation of labour , remuneration of goods and services , and of property, and on reorganisation of the tax administration. Based upon the [aforementioned] guidance, reform options were to satisfy the following tax policy principles: increasing revenues at about 0.5 per cent of GDP annually for three consecutive years, with measures broadly based on changes in existing taxes and fees; simplification of the tax system —in partic ular, the rationalisation of the number of taxes/fees and broadening the tax base; and improving equity of the tax system by keeping the tax burden on the poor broadly unchanged relative to the current situation. Mr. Speaker, the review covered the main taxes, i ncluding the following: payroll tax , custom duties, stamp duties , all taxes and fees similar to an excise tax on goods and services , and land tax. An in -depth review of the tax administration and its procedures was also undertaken to identify how the tax administration could cope with proposed policy changes, and what were the reforms that could improve its operations —even if policy changes were not introduced. The recommendations of the mission are i ncluded on pages 10 to 13 of the r eport , and I would encourage Honour able Members and the general public to review the r eport and recommendations , as this Government prepares to establish the Tax Reform Commission , who will also conduct a review of our tax system, but with a much wider mandate. Hono urable Mem bers are advised that , in accordance with the CARTAC Operational Guidelines for the Dissemination of Technical Assistance Information, the Ministry of Finance has obtained the consent of CARTAC to publish this report. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mr. Premier. We believe there are further Statements. At this time, I would like to recognise the De puty Premier. Deputy Premier, you have the floor. Bermuda House of Assembly LON DON INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING WEEK AND THE CAPITAL LINK SHIPPING, MARINE SERVICES & OFFSHO RE FORUM — BERMUDA …
Thank you, Mr. Premier. We believe there are further Statements. At this time, I would like to recognise the De puty Premier. Deputy Premier, you have the floor.
Bermuda House of Assembly LON DON INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING WEEK AND THE CAPITAL LINK SHIPPING, MARINE SERVICES & OFFSHO RE FORUM — BERMUDA AND THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, I recently attended the London International Shipping Week 2017 Conference [Shipping Week], as well as the 10th Annual Capital Link Shipping, Marine Services & Of fshore Forum , which took place from the 11th to the 14th of September 2017. London International Shipping Week featured industry functions and unique networking opportunities for leaders across the spectrum of international shipping —regulators, ship owners, ship managers, lawyers, insurers , and many more. Held every other year, the Shipping Week is a highlight on the calendar of the shipping sector, attracting, as it does, more than 15,000 industry leaders. Marking its 10th anniversary, Capital Link’s Shipping, Marine Services & Offshore Forum , held in cooperation with the London S tock Exchange on the 12th of September, provides investors with a compr ehensive industry review ranging from shipping markets to investment communities. Ship owners, instit utional investors, bankers, risk advisors, venture capital firms , and high net worth investors are among the attendees. The forum’s standout feature is a series of moderated panel discussions, participants of which include shipping presidents, CEOs, and managing directors and partners. With both conferences being held in the same week and with such high profile participants, the BDA [Bermuda Business Development Agency] saw this as an opportunity to promote Bermuda’s blue- chip a dvantages to the international shipping sector. The BDA, working with the Bermuda Government ’s Lo ndon Office, coordinated a Bermuda delegation that comprised the Bermuda Shipping and Maritime A uthority, as well as partners and senior associates of local firms —Appleby, Consolidated Services Limited, Conyers, Cox Hallett Wilkinson, and MJM. In my c apacity as Deputy Pr emier and Minister responsible for shipping, I was asked to attend this key industry event to add to the Bermuda presence and increase its pr ofile. The Bermuda delegation was on hand to i ntroduce the industry to the newly reorganised Berm uda Shipping and Maritime Authority, and to facilitate networking opportunities for those serving the shi pping sector here in Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, the Bermuda Shipping and Maritime Authority was established in 2016, taking over from the former Department of Maritime Admi nistration. This organisational change allows for more au-tonomous and flexible growth of Bermuda’s shipping registry, a shipping registry we ha ve had in place since 1789. Bermuda’s shipping registry is a c ategory 1 member of the British Red Ensign Group of shipping registries —reflecting, in a way, our maritime heritage that stretches back 400 years. In addition to maintaining the Island’s ship registry, which has existed in its current form as a successful international registry since the 1980s, the Autho rity provides other related services such as ship surveying and certification, safety management , and maritime security audits. The Authority also issues seafarers’ documents. The London conferences gave us an opportunity to highlight our s hip registry, w hich is the third largest of the Red Ensign Group, with 163 large ships totalling over 12 million gross tons. Bermuda has a strong registration in cruise ship registration, with the flagging- in of the Princess cruise line passenger ships fleet and its sist er company , P&O Cruise line. It is further strengthened by the three Queens of the Cunard lines. This is a unique sector of the market, which r equires our Authority to have specially qualified and trained technical and operational staff to deliver regi stration and support services. Bermuda is strong in the registration of large liquefied natural gas [ LNG] ships , as well. These r equire surveyors and inspectors with special knowledge of LNG operations for certification. At pr esent, there are more than 50 lar ge gas tankers regi stered under the Bermuda flag, and the Authority has a team of expert technical personnel servicing this fleet. There is a synergy with Bermuda’s insurance and reinsurance sector , too, as we are home to a number of protection and indemnity [ P&I] clubs, which provide insurance coverage to large shipping fleets. Essen tially, the members of the P&I c lubs are ship owners. All of this, Mr. Speaker, was promoted by the Bermuda delegation during the two conferences. On the first evening, 11 th of September, Bermuda hosted approximately 200 invited guests at a cocktail reception. The guest list comprised shippers, ship management companies, bankers, insurers, legal services providers, bulk terminal operators, ship br okers, marine consultants , and others in the field. Armed with talking points on the benefits of doing shipping business in Bermuda, the delegation took advantage of this ideal opportunity to bring the Bermuda Shipping and Maritime Authority to the attention of the shipping industry. The next day, at the Capital Link f orum, Be rmuda had a booth positioned at the entrance to t he Members Room at the Chartered Accountants Hall , where panel discussions took place. Staffed by the BDA and the Government’s London office, we di splayed informat ion on the Authority and Bermuda, and offered the opportunity for attendees to converse d irectly with the Authority staff and/or board members. A highlight of the day was a private lunch hosted by BDA, local law firms , and the Authority. This 268 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly exclusive networking occasion allowed Bermuda’s shipping sector to converse directly with CEOs and board chairs of shipping lines. Another highlight was a panel discussion ent itled “Industry Challenges & The Road Map Ahead. ” John O’Kelly -Lynch, D eputy Chair of the Authority, was a panellist , alongside Mark O’Neil, Presid ent of Columbia Ship Management; Knut Orbeck -Nilssen, CEO of DNV GL Maritime; and Frederick Kenney, D irector of Legal and External Affairs at the Interna tional Maritime Organisation. The panel was moderated by Clay Maitland, Managing Partner of International Registries. This was an additional opportunity to put the spotlight on Bermuda in front of an audience of ship owners, ship managers , and other industry partic ipants. At the end of the day, I attended an opening cocktail reception hosted by the London International Shipping Week at Lancaster House. The theme of this year’s conference was “ Tomorrow’s Maritime World, ” and the reception was another chance to fly the flag of Bermuda among the elite of t he shipping industry. On the third day, I conducted media interviews, including one with Lloyd’s List, the lea der in shipping journalism. The wide-ranging interview pr oduced two articles for Lloyd’s List, one of which f ocussed on Bermuda’s push into Asia. The drive into Asia is imperative because most of the new shipbuil ding is taking place in China and its neighbours. Bermuda must position its elf to be with the shipbuilders and ship owners. Honourable Members will have heard on the radio or read in print additional interviews conducted with local media. Mr. Speaker, in the interest of ensuring that the people of Bermuda benefit as much as possible from these business trips, I spent time in meetings and discussions on other matter s pertaining to the Minis try of Transport and Regulatory Affairs. Over the course of the 13th and 14th of September, I met with consultants to discuss Bermuda and the space industry, as well as with representatives of Transport for London and the Department of Transport. In additi on, I was able to briefly meet with members of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association. Mr. Speaker, I expressed on behalf of the Bermuda Gov-ernment and the people of Bermuda our concerns for the situation following Hurricane Irma in BVI [Briti sh Virgins Islands], Anguilla, and the Turks [and Caicos Islands] . Bermuda is seeking to expand and diversify its economy, and the next steps with respect to the satellite and space industry are of critical importance. Now that Bermuda has secured its orb ital slots and the Space Industry Bill is presently before the UK Parliament , [which is] the next step in regulating spac eflight activities, Bermuda must consider its options and what it has to offer. I had fruitful discussions , which continued in Bermuda later in th is past month. I will have more to report to this Honourable Members in due course. The public transport and road safety -related meetings were very helpful, Mr. Speaker. Technology is changing all of our lives very rapidly, and it was useful to discuss with Transport for London the poss ibilities and pitfalls of various travel products used. These included, for example, pay -as-you-go; or preloaded cards , such as the Oyster card; contactless payment ( which requires a chip and PIN technology not y et widely available in Bermuda); ticket vending machines ; biodegradable smart cards ; and travel apps. With respect to road safety, we discussed with representatives from the Department of Transport various strategies used to improve driving and driving habits. Many of these have been discussed in Berm uda before, such as roadside sobriety testing, speed cameras , and licence plate recognition. There are benefits and costs associated with each, and we will need to determine the best fit for Bermuda. As outlined in the Throne Speech, however, I anticipate working with my colleague, the Minister of Nati onal Security, to progress roadside sobriety testing. I must add, though, that what struck me in this conversation was the fact that , in the UK , road safety traini ng starts at the age of five. The epidemic of road fatalities Bermuda is experiencing may not disappear overnight , but we do have an obligation to try and make a change. Bermuda does need to modernise its a pproach to transportation, and the upcoming Green Paper on Transportation will be the crucial start of a new conversation. Mr. Speaker, my time in London concluded with the gala dinner that ended London International Shipping Week on the 14 th of September. Increasing regulation, geopolitical uncertaint y, big data, ocean warming, cybersecurity , and alternative investments and financing are some of the hot topics facing the shipping industry today. The delegation of the Berm uda Shipping and Maritime Authority, Bermuda Bus iness Development Agency, the Berm uda Gover nment’s London office, Appleby, Consolidated Services Limited, Conyers, Cox Hallett Wilkinson , and MJM, promoting our I sland’s significant ship registry and ship services, demonstrated that Bermuda is a safe harbour and open for business. Thank y ou, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. We have further Statements. We have a Statement from Minister Brown. Minister Brown, I believe you have two Stat ements. You can do the first one in reference to the care for and management of dogs, I believe it is. Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Walton Brown: …
Thank you, Minister. We have further Statements. We have a Statement from Minister Brown. Minister Brown, I believe you have two Stat ements. You can do the first one in reference to the care for and management of dogs, I believe it is.
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and good morning, colleagues. I do indeed have two Statements.
PROGRESS ON IMPROVING THE CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF DOGS
Hon. Walton Brown: Mr. Speaker, I rise today to u pdate this Honourable House about the work being done to progress amendments to the Dogs Act 2008 to improve the care and management of Bermuda’s dogs . The issue of how to best care for, manage, and control dogs has been raised in this Honourable House on numerous occasions. Issues debated have included how to manage illegal breeding, animal abuse and neglect, and more effective methods of enforcement. The focus for much of this debate, ho wever, has been on how to best manage problematic breeds, such as the pit bull, and associated contr oversial breed- specific policies. The challenge conti nues to be in findi ng the right balance between the d esire to have one’s dog of choice and ensuring public safety. As a consequence, there is a need to develop a system of management that is practical and enforceable, and provides a robust regulatory framework for dogs. Mr. Speaker, the Dogs Act 2008 succeeded the Dogs Act 1978 and was meant to introduce many positive enhancements. This [2008 ] Act, however, never became operational , because of challenges with p otentially weaker enforcement of some crucial aspects, such as breeding of dogs. Once amended, the Dogs Act 2008 and new accompanying regul ations will provide the means necessary to best manage the I sland's canines. Mr. Speaker, a number of key stakeholder groups have helped to pave a way to a solution by identifying key issues, priorities , and potential sol utions. Consultation to date includes submissions from the Canine Advisory Committee (CAC), t he Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals [SPCA] , and the Bermuda Veterinary Association. The CAC has reached out to groups such as Punish the Deed not the Breed , and also to Fetch Fido. I am sure you know this group, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. Walton Brown: Mr. Speaker, the input received shows a broad consensus between those groups and has allowed for t he development of a sound roadmap of proposals. The resulting recommendations fall broadly into three categories: 1. improving the general care of dogs , which will reduce animal abuse …
Yes.
Hon. Walton Brown: Mr. Speaker, the input received shows a broad consensus between those groups and has allowed for t he development of a sound roadmap of proposals. The resulting recommendations fall broadly into three categories: 1. improving the general care of dogs , which will reduce animal abuse and neglect; 2. creating a better regulatory framework that will protect the public and the well -being of dogs by promoting more responsible ownership of dogs , while at the same time, allowing for a consultative- based process for sound and consistent decision -making relating to dog breeds; 3. developing better compliance and enforc ement tools to ensure that members of the public who do not comply with the provisions of the legislation are pun ished, while , at the same time , minimis ing costs to the public purse. Mr. Speaker , the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will be conducting two town hall meetings next week to discuss the issues and recommendations and to get public input. The first meeting will take place at 6:00 pm, Tuesday October the 10 th, at the Anglican Cathedral Hall in Hamilton. The second will take place the next day, Wednesday , October the 11th, same time, 6:00 pm, at the Bermuda Aquarium. Mr. Speaker, our aim must be to develop a sustainable approach to canine management. I e ncourage members of the public to attend these meet-ings and to share their concerns and proposals. Their input will conclude the public consultative process and allow the Government to shape the new legislative framework. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Minister, you can continue on with your second Statement. Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. BERMUDA IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2017 Hon. Walton Brown: Mr. Speaker, later this morning, I will table in this Honourable House the Bill entitled the Bermuda Immigration [and Protection Amendment] (No. 2) Act 2017 . This Bill represents another phase in our nex t wave raft …
Yes.
BERMUDA IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2017
Hon. Walton Brown: Mr. Speaker, later this morning, I will table in this Honourable House the Bill entitled the Bermuda Immigration [and Protection Amendment] (No. 2) Act 2017 . This Bill represents another phase in our nex t wave raft of immigration changes. I must remind Honourable Members of the PLP Government’s platform promise for complete, comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform to ensure that the rights of Bermudians are advanced and protected, while, at the same time, recognising the need to grow our economy with fair and balanced work permits and residential policies. Our reform will ensure that Bermudians will come first, employer abuse is minimised, and the land in Bermuda is pr otected for Bermudians. This com mitment was repeated in our recent Throne Speech, Mr. Speaker. 270 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Bill entitled Bermuda Immigration [and Protection Amendment] (No. 2) Act 2017 seeks to amend section 8 of the principal Act to provide for the provisions of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act [1956] to operate and have effect, notwithstanding the Human Rights Act 1981. In essence, this means that the Bill seeks to exempt the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 from the primacy of the H uman Rights Act 1981. Mr. Speaker, this does not mean that the i mmigration legislation can ignore the consideration of human rights. Section 12 of the Bermuda Constitution Order 1968, which has primacy over all government functions and legislation, provides protection from di scrimination based on race, place of origin, political opinions, colour, or creed. Even then, the Constitution makes provision for this right to be limited if it is, and I quote directly from the Constitution, “reasonably just ifiable in a democratic society.” In addition, Mr. Speaker, the United Kingdom, our colonial master, is a signatory of the European Convention on Human Rights, and that Convention has been extended to Bermuda. Therefore, any dec isions that are made in accordance with the Bermuda Immigration and Protecti on Act 1956 must necessarily adhere to the articles contained in the Convention. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members should also note that this Act [the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956] is consistent with section 11 of the Bermuda Constitution Order [1968], which imposes restrictions on persons who do not belong to Bermuda, including, for example, the restriction of mov ement or residence within Bermuda and the exclusion or expulsion from our Island, and also the restriction on, the acquisition, or use of land or other property in Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, you and others may ask why we are tabling this Bill. Over the years, the fundamental tenets of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956 —i.e., to protect Bermuda for Bermudians —have been challenged and continue to be so. Unfortunately, the primacy of the Human Rights Act [1981] has caused some non- Bermudians to claim that they are being discriminated against based on their place of origin. Mr. Speaker, you will remember the public statement of t he former Minister from the OBA Government, Minister Fahy, in which he announced the tabling of the Pathways to Status Bill. He stated, Mr. Speaker, that the Pathways to Status Bill, and I quote, “will advance human rights in our island to bring us in line with important international human rights standards.” I continue quoting the former Minister: “This announcement today should finally bring the much-needed security and peace of mind to those in our community who have come to call Bermuda their home but yet, legally, are viewed as outside guests here” (end of quote). It is obvious, Mr. Speaker, that the legacy of this statement continues to impact the mind- set of certain non- Bermudians. In addition, former Minister Fahy made this announcement against the backdrop of data that showed that there was an unemployment rate of 25 per cent among young black Bermudian men between the ages of 16 and 25. So, clearly and obviously, Mr. Speaker, human rights, much- needed security and peace of mind—all referred to by f ormer Minister Fahy —were not extended to our young Bermudian citizens.
[Desk thumping]
Hon. Walton Brown: Mr. Speaker, there are very few countries other than Bermuda and Canada that allow their human rights legislation to extend to their imm igration leg islation —not even our colonial masters.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWhat was that, Minister Brown? Hon. Walton Brown: Not even the United Kingdom, Mr. Speaker. [Laughter] Hon. Walton Brown: In fact, you will know, Mr. Speaker, that many countries have doubled down on their immigration regulations. In fact, the International Organization on Migration (IOM) makes the following statement on their …
What was that, Minister Brown?
Hon. Walton Brown: Not even the United Kingdom, Mr. Speaker.
[Laughter]
Hon. Walton Brown: In fact, you will know, Mr. Speaker, that many countries have doubled down on their immigration regulations. In fact, the International Organization on Migration (IOM) makes the following statement on their website, and I quote: “The normative approach to migration can be seen mainly from two different, but complementary angles: “The principles and standards deriving from State sovereignty.” (We are not there yet, but let us just say . . .) “These include the right to protect borders, to confer nationality, to admit and expel foreigners, to combat trafficking and smuggling, and to safeguard national security.” That is one of the two angles that dominate countries’ actions today. The second, Mr. Speaker, is that of “the human rights of the persons involved in migration.” I repeat —“the human rights of the persons involved in migrati on. Many relevant conventions exist at the universal and regional levels, although most of them do not explicitly refer to migrants or recognize them as a specific group. These instruments are spread across various branches of law, such as human rights law , humanitarian law, refugee law, crim inal law, and labour law; the relevant human rights norms are therefore dispersed throughout a wide range of texts.” Mr. Speaker, the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act of 1956 addresses the first, protecting the interests of the sovereign state. The Human Rights Act 1981, along with a raft of other legislation, accomplishes the second point of the rights and pr otections of migrants.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, finally, I would like to quote a lawyer colleague whose comment encaps ulates this Government’s position. And I quote: “Across the board from top to bottom and from east to west; from janitors to CEOs, non- Bermudians should only be employed where qualified Bermudians cannot be found. Every country I have worked or lived in abroad aggressively pursued these polici es and laws.” Mr. Speaker, in a country with limited r esources, 22 square miles, and a population of about 65,000, the protection of land for Bermudians, and the promotion and protection of Bermudians in the wor kforce are perfectly justifiable in a democratic society. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, even section 6(9) of the Human Rights Act 1981 protects employers who give prefer-ences to Bermudians. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. We have a further Statement. That is from the Minister of Health. Minister Wilson, you have the floor. ASSISTANCE FROM PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION FOR HEALTH WORKFORCE PLANNING AND COLD CHAIN TRAINING Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. S peaker and Honourable Members, I …
Thank you, Minister. We have a further Statement. That is from the Minister of Health. Minister Wilson, you have the floor.
ASSISTANCE FROM PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION FOR HEALTH WORKFORCE PLANNING AND COLD CHAIN TRAINING Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. S peaker and Honourable Members, I stand before this Honourable House today to highlight two initiatives by my Ministry that few may be aware of. And I feel it is important that my honourable co lleagues and the public know what the Ministry of Health does to safeguard Bermuda’s health and how we are supported by international bodies such as the Pan American Health Organization (or PAHO). Mr. Speaker, health workforce planning is an extremely important endeavour. Bermuda needs to predict and plan for our health workforce needs, especially as we compete for health professionals due to a global shor tage. The efforts of the Ministry of Health have been supported during the past two years by advisors from PAHO. In the Bermuda Health Strategy, which is in fact Bermuda’s National Health Plan, ac-tion items included medical workforce planning. My Ministry’s work to improve the country’s health wor kforce is part of our broader strategic direction. Mr. Speaker, this action is focused on health workforce planning in line with PAHO recommendations based on international best practice. This means that it is not just about doctors and nurses, but about all professions which complement and support healthcare, such as physiotherapy, psychology, de ntistry, occupational therapy, and many, many more. In our 21 st century Bermuda, the health care needs of our communit y are being determined by the trends we observe in disease patterns and in the well -documented demographic shift to our older popul ation. The early onset of chronic preventable diseases—such as diabetes, kidney disease, and heart di sease—has an impact on our health workforce. By 2030, it is projected that people over the age of 65 will increase from 11 per cent to 22 per cent of the entire population, while chronic non- communicable diseases are striking our people earlier in their lifespans. In addition to our concerted efforts to improve health pr omotion and [disease] prevention, Bermuda will need competent professionals in a variety of areas in health to tackle our new reality. Mr. Speaker, if these trends continue as they are projected, we will have more people to care for and each of those persons will need care for a longer period of time. Bermuda’s health system must prepare to support the long- term care needs of the community, while, at the same time, trying to prevent and control these chronic diseas es. In short, Mr. Speaker, there will be a demand for a health workforce with two unique skill sets: (1) to [encourage] and support the lifestyle changes required to prevent chronic diseases; and (2) the long- term management of those with chronic conditions. It is clear we will need a variety of health care professionals, not simply traditional professions such as medicine, nursing, and allied health. The future will see an expanded role for social workers, mental health professionals, pharmacists, health educators, addiction specialists, health information specialists, and many other professions. Mr. Speaker, Bermuda’s education system and its immigration policies, ec onomic conditions, and employment circumstances will need to align to secure the necessary human r esources to serve our population’s health needs. Significantly, Mr. Speaker, this health wor kforce planning project is showing clearly that Berm uda’s health care needs cannot be met solely by Bermudians. We will need to attract additional qualifie d health professionals when we cannot fulfil the demand from our own workforce. And when it comes to the recruitment and retention of human resources for health care, Bermuda will be affected by the worldwide shortage of health professionals, the impact of globalisation, and the world’s economic climate. We will be competing globally for the same human r esources. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Hedwig Goede, who is the PAHO Health System Services advisor, has come to Bermuda on four occasions in the past two years to assist us in the development of this plan. [In] the pr ocess of health workforce planning, [we] enlisted input from a broad array of health care professionals and work environments, private and public. Several co nsultative meetings and workshops have included the registered professions of nursing, medicine, pharm acy, allied health, clinical psychology, and dentistry, as well as related professionals in social work, workforce development, immigration, health administration, 272 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly health economics, and insurance. The most recent meeting, on September the 27th, represented the conclusion of stakeholder consultation. Two advisors from PAHO attended to support the tasks required. They were Dr. Goede (whom I previously mentioned) and Ms. Nasolo Thompson, a PAHO consultant. Signif icantly, this technical support comes at no cost to the government. Mr. Speaker, the aim of this health [workforce] plan is to be ready for the strains placed on Berm uda’s health system by the ageing of our population and by [the] increase in chronic preventable diseases striking people at a younger age. This requires health care staff to educate people and also provide long - term care and management, and it is vitally important that we plan now in order to meet this increasing demand. What I would like to stress here, Mr. Speaker, is that there are a lot of jobs in the health workforce and Bermudians should consider this highly rewarding career path. We have information available on our websites, on the health professional boards and ass ociations. S o, students can contact [sources] directly for guidance on suitable career paths [and pinpoint] areas where we have great need for qualified, l icensed professionals and areas that may already be saturated. For example, we have many paediatricians and obstetricians, but we have a declining birth rate; yet we have no Bermudian gerontologists, and our population is ageing. There are many more such examples, and persons interested in health careers should speak to the relevant professional associ ations. Mr. Speaker, the second initiative that I would like to highlight is the handling of vaccines. Vaccines have been one of the most effective public health i nterventions, second to potable water. Vaccines pr event certain diseases and save lives —in infants, chi ldren and adults. There are important steps involved, from manufacturing to the point of vaccination. For this reason, four PAHO technical experts visited Bermuda during the first two weeks of September 2017 to review the Island’s systems for receiving, storing, and distributing vaccines, and to make specific reco mmendations for improvements. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Karen Lewis -Bell, Nora R odrigues, Victor Gomez, and Mojtaba Haghgou, international immunisation system experts, assessed each step involved with the rec eiving, transporting, storing, and distribution of vaccines within Bermuda’s health care system. Two capacity -building workshops were held for health care providers involved with admini stering vaccines, including the Department of Health, as well as primar y care physicians’ offices, paediatr icians, and residential care homes. The Department of Health procures most vaccines through PAHO, which upholds the principles of quality and access to vaccinations for the benefit of all, in Bermuda and the region. The areas for i m-provement, identified by the experts, will enable the inclusion of new vaccines to the Bermuda Child and Adult Immunisation Schedules. The community serves to benefit from the additional vaccines, as these are recommended by the Bermuda Advis ory Committee on Immunisation Practices. Implementation of sy stems for monitoring and control ensure that Bermuda meets the standards set by PAHO to maintain vaccines for the country. Mr. Speaker, the Ministry of Health is commi tted to progressing toward the goal of universal health care, where every person has access to the basic health services they need without suffering financial hardship. I am personally committed deeply to this goal. The departments and programmes within the Ministry are working on m any strategic initiatives to achieve this goal, and these examples of health wor kforce planning and immunisation are only two such examples. Mr. Speaker, before taking my seat, I must also offer sincere thanks on behalf of the Ministry of Health and the people of Bermuda to the Pan Amer ican Health Organization advisors who have guided and supported us in these and many other initiatives. Their experience and expertise are a constant r eminder that Bermuda is not alone in facing many of these challenges, and that countries in the region and internationally are grappling with many of the same issues that we have here in Bermuda. By sharing their knowledge, they enable Bermuda to keep up with i nternational best practice, without reinventing the wheel. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. We have a further Statement, that from the Minister of Education. Minister Rabain, you have the floor. NATIONAL TRAINING BOARD ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2016/17 Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this morning I rise to lay the 2016/17 Annual Report …
Thank you, Minister. We have a further Statement, that from the Minister of Education. Minister Rabain, you have the floor.
NATIONAL TRAINING BOARD ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2016/17 Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this morning I rise to lay the 2016/17 Annual Report of the National Training B oard
(NTB) as required by the National Training Board Act 1997, section 11(1), which states, “the Board shall, within three months after the end of each financial year forward to the Minister a report on the activities of the Board during that financial y ear and on the Board’s policy and programme for future years.” Mr. Speaker, let me first state that this 2016/17 Annual Report was completed under the former Government administration. However, the tabling of the report was delayed when Parliament was di ssolved in June 2017, and, consequently, the legisl ative schedule was placed on hold until after the July 2017 general election.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, the Annual Report highlights various initiatives, many of which owe their origins to the previous PLP Government. [These initiatives] i nclude the following: • collaborative work with the Construction A ssociation of Bermuda; • collaborations with industry partners such as construction developers, hospitality , and i nternational business sectors; • certification program mes offered for the development of Bermudians; • further learning and development certification program mes for adult learners ; and lastly, • the annual Student Summer Employment Program me. Mr. Speaker, work continues in earnest with the Bermuda Hospitality Institute, the Construction Association of Bermuda, Financial Assistance, inter-national business, and other private business organisations. There is a concentrated effort to encourage businesses to invest in the development of Bermudians by offering apprenticeships and internships both paid and voluntary. This is the best way to sustain our local talent. Mr. Speaker, while the report does highlight the ongoing work done in the area of national certific ation, it is unfortunate that, despite the former Gover nment’s declaration in July 2016 in this House that init iatives to ensure legislative compliance for national certification for the various designations will be in place by March 2017, sadly, very little movement t owards that goal was achieved, as highlighted by this report. The report also presents success stories showcasing talented Bermudians who received support and funding from the National Training Board to obtain academic, technical, vocational and trades certifications and/or qualifications. Additionally, a total of 22 students received National Technical Vocational Training [NTVT] Awards during the 2016/17 reporting year. There were nine students who were successful in obtaining the Technical Vocational Education Trai ning Award. Overall, $220,000 was granted for the di stribution of the NTVT Awards. Mr. Speaker, I will now share more information on some of the success stories, which I believe are a testament to the Government’s return on their investment . Let us begin with Ms. Sherlene Trott, who r eceived h er CAP (Certified Administrative Professional) designation after 37 years of experience as a corp orate administrator. CAP is one of the leading recognised professional certifications in the administrative field that encompasses all areas of the office. Cer tification leads to individuals feeling more valuable to their employers and provides a competitive advantage in the workforce. Miss Ciara Muat received her NVQ (National Vocational Qualification) Level 3 qualification from the London Hair Academy in the UK whilst completing an apprenticeship at Salon Pink. Prior to this recent achievement, she attended the Paul Mitchell School in Tampa, Florida, where she obtained her NVQ Levels 1 and 2. As a result of her training, Ciara is now able to provide professional styling services. Mr. Damali Bell completed his Levels 2 and 3 Heavy Vehicle Maintenance Certifications at the Inst itute of the Motor Industry (IMI) in the UK. Initially, he gained his work experience as an apprentice at the Public Transportation Board, where he currently works as a bus mechanic, but his original plan was to be a marine mechanic. In light of the current bus situation, it is indeed interesting to read his section about the buses, where he states, and I quote, “On any given day, the depot parking lot can look like a hospital wai ting room with bent and broken buses lined up waiting for treatment. It’s always busy, especially in the summer when we get a lot of buses overheating.” Mr. Speaker, Mrs. Judith Welch reached her dream of becoming a special education teacher in the public school system. Her educational r ésumé spans from a concentration in psychology to studying land-scape architecture, ending with a Master’s in Educ ation in Special Education. She is a mother of two young children, and she aspires to make a difference by assisting children with learning challenges. Cur-rently, Mrs. Welch is employed in one of our middle schools. Her responsibility includes conducting ps ychological educational assessments and providing strategies to assi st with students’ personal growth. Mr. Speaker, the Ministry would like to take this opportunity to thank the members of the National Training Board, the staff in the Department of Wor kforce Development, and all industry partners who col-laborated to support the success of the training and development programmes. All of these efforts will e nsure that Bermudians gain access to opportunities that will suitably position them in the workforce. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. We have a further Statement, this one from the Minister of National Security. Minister Caines, you have the floor. MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY — UPDATE Hon. Wayne Caines: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, understandably, in recent years the Ministry of National Security has bec ome defined …
Thank you, Minister. We have a further Statement, this one from the Minister of National Security. Minister Caines, you have the floor.
MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY — UPDATE
Hon. Wayne Caines: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, understandably, in recent years the Ministry of National Security has bec ome defined by the work of the police and by the policies related to gun violence. This does occupy a tremendous am ount of time and focus , but our Ministry is more than that. I am therefore pleased to update this most Honourable House and the public on the varied policy initiatives in train since my appointment as the Minister , following the election, on July the 20 th. 274 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, in addition to introductory meetings with department heads and staff, I have taken the opportunity to initiate detailed discussions to determine how each department can more effectively serve the people of Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, the C hief Fire Officer and his assistant chiefs just started a recruit course with eight trainee firefighters , and it is intended that another course will start early in 2018. This is critical to the service standard and man- management aims of the Bermuda Fire and Res cue Service, and this Gover nment is pleased to support these overdue efforts at compensating for the lack of staff caused by natural attrition and hiring freezes. Wi thout this, we run the risk of burnout among some of our first responders. Mr. Speaker, wi th the Collector of Customs and the c ollectorate we have also started effort s to fill posts for which funding has been recently approved , but [for which] recruitment was stymied by previous policies. This is critical to the responsibilities Customs has in border control generally , and for ensuring Bermuda passes muster in the anti -money laundering regime. Additionally, Mr. Speaker, legislative changes required to promote a more secure framework around the sharing of information between s ervices are under consideration. This is required as part of the NAMLC [National Anti -Money Laundering Committee] preparedness. Mr. Speaker, I am keenly aware of the vital role played by the Department of Corrections in r estoring our citizens to society. I fully support the Commissioner’s emphasis on restoring lives and on the rehabilitation of offenders. I have had the opportunity to see first -hand the results of this approach when I recently attended event s to mark the compl etion of such a programme at t he Right Living House. Mr. Speaker, I eagerly anticipate attending the gradu-ation of a young man with his GED, who found the inspiration behind bars to pass the programme with flying colours. Mr. Speaker, as we promised in this year’s Throne Speech, the Royal Bermuda Regiment will be assuming responsibility for inshore maritime patrolling from the p olice, and this will soon become a reality. The necessary posts are approved, and we will work to ensure that they are properly funded for the next fiscal year. Mr. Speaker, across our Ministry , I have convened meetings with each departmental controller , and with the assistance of the Ministry’s C ontroller have begun the process of identifying savings to be realised in the respective budgets. Mr. Speaker, I have asked department heads to examine private sector leases and space needs [in order] to reduce rents paid . Targets have been set to reduce overtime for the remainder of this fiscal year and to carry the practice into next year. E verything from clothing and uniform costs , to what we spend repairing vehicles , is on the table. Mr. Speaker, this is not austerity for austerity’s sake, but we must identify funding that can be reprioriti sed to meet the objectives we promised to deliver for the people of Bermuda. Mr. Speaker, whilst I have recently commented on our progress in the area of initiatives combat ting gang lifestyles , [these initiatives] are important enough to be reiterated in this most Honourable House. Mr. Speaker, this Government promised the people of Bermuda that we w ould “give reducing gang violence the priority it deserves .” Since July, I have been f ocused on that goal. Every morning at 9:00 am, I chair a meeting of the team engaged in the programmes around gang violence and the reduction thereof. A nd every day we focus on a portion of our strategy , and we look to see how that can be better developed, and we isolate those areas that need greater attention. In just 11 weeks , the Ministry of National S ecurity team has responded well to the challenge that I issued when I was appointed. It was necessary to build on the work that had been done, and in some cases sharpen the focus of existing programmes and resources to produce measurable outcomes. In our first 60 days, we have • commenced an internal review of current pr ogrammes and initiatives ; • relaunched the Int er-Agency Gang Task Force; • stabi lised Team StreetSafe with much- needed financial support ; • relaunched the Coordinated Crisis Response to ensure a clear response to any incident ; • implemented the Inter -Faith Working Gr oup— launched with a multi -denominational meeting last month; and • supported the implementation of Moms on a Mission [MOM], a support group for mothers directly affected by gun violence. Mr. Speaker, this is just the beginning. As a team , we have determined the core goals and objectives of our work in this area. We intend to measure ourselves by these goals , and we are committed to delivering on them for the people of Bermuda. We aim , number one, to change the pattern of behaviou r of individuals involved in group and gang violence, and to reintegrate them back into mai nstream society. Number two, w e are determined to prevent our young people from joining gangs and engaging in antisocial behaviour. Number three, we will connect at -risk youth, men and women, with the necessary helping agencies that will aid in the addressing of mental and social health issues . Perhaps most i mportantly, we must create opportunities for emplo yment for young people and others who have previous-ly been deemed “ unemployable” because of their past. The team I found in place was essentially a two-man operation, which has devoted enormous time and talent to the task at hand. In keeping with the
Bermuda House of Assembly promise that we made in our “ First 100 Days ” platform, I have determined to strengthen that team and broaden the reach of our initiatives by engaging Pastor Leroy Bean as the promised Gang Violence R eduction Coordinator. Pastor Bean has 14 years’ experience wor king with gangs in Bermuda and has been a residential care officer within the former Department of Social Services. He holds degrees in family and addiction counselling and has committed himself to working within the communities affected by gang violence. Through his efforts , many young men have chosen better paths for their lives , and he will make an i mportant addition to the Ministry’s team. As we promised in the “ First 100 Days ” platform, Pastor Bean has a singular focus , and that will be on implementing programmes to reduce gang vi olence and antisocial behaviou r. He will be the lead in those areas designed to engage various aspects of our community , including clergy and local employers, all with the goal of transitioning young men and women away from the gang lifestyle with viable social and economic alternatives. Mr. Speaker, I am determined that this work within the Ministry will not be defined by deliberate distractions created by criticisms of the sal ary paid to Pastor Bean, or long- settled issues around previous projects. We were elected to tackle the systemic racial and economic issues that have created the conditions for gangs, violence, and antisocial behaviour in our country. For too long, the narrative has been dictated by those whose interests are more aligned with the sport of [ character ] assassination and not with achie ving social justice and economic equality. Mr. Speaker, the message of July 18 th is that “business as usual ” is not acceptable. The loud voice of the people demands that we make transformative change to this society , and this starts with how we approach the issue of violence in this community. The electoral mandate of this Government compels us to discard petty politics, to urgently address root causes , and to support every genuine attempt to do so. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. We now recognise the Minister of Works. He has, actually, three Statements, and he has actually changed the order and will do his second Statement first. Minister, you have the floor. INFRASTRUCTURE IN NEED OF ATTENTION
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchThank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. I rise to ask the House to take note that Bermuda’s first observation of Architecture Week occurred this week , from October the 2 nd to today. Alt-hough the Department of Planning, and architects , do not fall under my Ministry, the …
Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. I rise to ask the House to take note that Bermuda’s first observation of Architecture Week occurred this week , from October the 2 nd to today. Alt-hough the Department of Planning, and architects , do not fall under my Ministry, the most beautiful exam-ples of Bermuda’s architecture are among the buil dings held and administered by the Ministry of Public Works —Government House, the Sessions House, the Cabinet Building and Camden , to name a few. Mr. Speaker, I do think this is an appropriate time to ask each of us to understand the value of these buildings and their place within our society. We accepted the challenge of the Progressive Labour Party Government’s plans for a Better and Fairer Bermuda, and our first 53 days i n office were spent working diligently, together with the Ministry of Education, to have public scho ols ready for our students. And we did it! With the help of concerned citizens, parents, neighbours, teachers, school staff , and friends , and the hard work of Ministry of Education Facilities and Public Works staff, our schools were cleaned of mou ld, and made fresh and ready for the next generation of Bermudian students. Mr. Speaker, it goes without saying that we will continue to work to keep our schools in a healthy condition for all of our teachers and students, but there is m ore— much more—t hat needs to be done. I have a list of my own. Having held this post once b efore, I am aware that we seem to be largely unaware of the need for refurbishing our infrastructure, from Dockyard to St. George’s. Like our buses, our bridges need attention. And, as a t ourist destination in this 21 st century, we must give thought to what that means. Mr. Speaker, our architecture, stately old Bermuda buildings, our bridges, our historically unique forts are all in need of care and attention. We cannot do it all at once or even by ourselves. But I think that our seniors would remind us that where there’s a will, there’s a way! There is nothing lik e having a challenge to respond to. So, I have b een considering what other way could we use to take care of our age ing infr astructure? Mr. Speaker, as a country, we are blessed with a rich history of fortifications built by the British and still standing today . And 17 years ago, in the year 2000, St. George’s (our living 17thcentury town) won the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site, b ecoming one of only 1,073 such sites worldwide. The St. George’s designation r eads as follows: “Historic Town of St. George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda. The Town of St. George, founded in 1612, is an outstanding example of t he earliest English urban settlement in the New World. Its ass ociated fortifications graphically illustrate the development of English m ilitary engineering from the 17th to the 20th century, being adapted to take account of the development of artillery ove r this period.” Mr. Speaker, this designation, while recogni sing “related fortifications ,” recogni sed only those fort ifications in the Parish of St. George’s. However, in this Island country, all fortifications, from St. George to Somerset, are related. Together, these unparalleled 276 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly groups of fortifications graphically illustrate English military engineering from the 17th century to the 20th century. All such fortifications, especially the largest at the old Royal Naval Dockyard, are related to St. George’s and thus, are within the terms of the original designation of our World Heritage Site status . Mr. Speaker, I will bring forward a motion that proposes that this omission be rectified with the incl usion of all remaining fortifications , from Hamilton Pa rish to Sandy’s Parish , by way of a Supplemental A pplication to UNESCO, as the proposed additions fall within the terms of the original designation. This add ition will help foster Bermuda’s heritage tourism and underscore the cultural legacy and value of these built monuments to Bermuda and the world. Mr. Speaker, B ermuda is unique in many ways. W e often think that spending money on Parli ament is actually spending money on the Members of Parliament —not so! We seldom think of such spending as maintaining our own architectural heritage. (I must admit that some changes are for matters of health, and therefore may benefit our MPs.) Recently, the Cabinet Building was renovated. To say that the work was needed would be an understatement; but it is not the only public building in need of attention. Located in the beaut iful Botanical Gardens in Paget is Camden, the Premier’s official residence. While the Parks Department does a wonderful job of keeping the natural beauty of the plants and flowers, Camden itself stands as an example of neglect. Mr. Speaker, this house, with its wooden upper veranda and beaut iful vistas , is a prime example of Bermuda’s built heri tage. The building, like the Sessions House, used to be a part of our visitors’ heritage tours. And the Sessions H ouse, with its beautiful Florentine finish, should not be left to fall apart bit by bit. [It is] l ocated on the highes t point in the City of Hamilton and [was] built in 1826 , after the move of the capital from St. George’s to Hamilton in 1815 made its cons truction necessary. Mr. Speaker, these buildings could increase our heritage tourism. Tourists would come to see the Jubilee Clock built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887 and installed in 1893. While the Ministry of Public Works will c ontinue to take care of the more urgent items, I will create an avenue of outreach to the private sector by asking them to a dopt a public building. Architecture, like everything else that attests to our history, has a place in our lives. Mr. Speaker, like our children, [public buildings] are a Bermuda treasure too, in need of care and attention. Who among you is willing to adopt a public building? We will have a list of such properties, available for your information, on the Government website. Mr. Speaker, we can do anything if we all work together . Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Minister, I believe you have two more Stat ements? OVERGROWTH ON HIGHWAYS AND VERGES
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchYes, Mr. Speaker; thank you. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to provide this Honourable House with a report on the overgrowth of vegetation on our roadside verges and highways . The roadside grass verges are maintained by the Depar tment of Parks , whilst roadside vegetation is mai ntained …
Yes, Mr. Speaker; thank you. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to provide this Honourable House with a report on the overgrowth of vegetation on our roadside verges and highways . The roadside grass verges are maintained by the Depar tment of Parks , whilst roadside vegetation is mai ntained by the Highways Section in the Department of Works and Engineering. It is the overgrowth of the roadside vegetation that ha s caused the greatest concern recently and [is] the source of at least 70 emails a week to my inbox. Mr. Speaker, it should be noted straight away that not all roadside overgrowth is the responsibility of government to manage. Private landowners have an obligation to maintain their frontages to ensure that any vegetation that abuts, or encroaches upon, a highway is not a hazard to any user of that highway.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou should repeat that. Go ahead, Mi nister.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchPrivate landowners have an obligation to maintain their frontages to ensure that any vegetation that abuts, or encroaches upon , a highway is not a hazard to any user of that highway. Any vegetation that is within six feet of the edge of a highway needs to be regularly maintained …
Private landowners have an obligation to maintain their frontages to ensure that any vegetation that abuts, or encroaches upon , a highway is not a hazard to any user of that highway. Any vegetation that is within six feet of the edge of a highway needs to be regularly maintained to prevent it becoming a hazard to pedestrians and the motoring public. One of the root causes of this current situation that has challenged the Ministry to control the gro wth of vegetation has been the banning of the use of her bicide. Following a directive from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in May 2015 , which prohibited the importation of herbicide contai ning glyphosate, meant that when the Highways S ection ran out of supplies , there was no readily available alternative substance that could be used. This has meant that since 2015 —or, in other words , for two years —no weed spraying has been carried out on the roadways and verges. As weed spraying is the f irst action to help prevent seeds from germinating and growing, it should come as no surprise to anyone why the country looks the way it does. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that , while maintaining the ban on concentrated glyphosate - based herbicides, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will grant a licenc e to the Ministry
Bermuda House of Assembly of Public Works [MPW] to import restricted, concentrated forms of glyphosate herbicide, with the condition that an Integrated Vegetation Management [IVM] plan is completed prior to the issuing of that licenc e.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchAn integrated pest — or, in this case , vegetation —management programme [IVM] is a system that strategically utili ses mechanical, chemical, cultural , and biol ogical methods. The result is the most efficient control plan customised to local conditions. [It] minimis es negative impact to human health and the …
An integrated pest — or, in this case , vegetation —management programme [IVM] is a system that strategically utili ses mechanical, chemical, cultural , and biol ogical methods. The result is the most efficient control plan customised to local conditions. [It] minimis es negative impact to human health and the environment. There are also potentially significant cost savings to be had by implementing an IVM programme. The MPW has already implemented several elements of such a programme that will be further developed. Mr. Speaker, considerable r esearch and monitoring ha ve occurred both locally and internationally to support the use of glyphosate herbicide with certain conditions and monitoring, and those conditions will be met. Mr. Speaker, the team responsible for road sweeping and vegetation cutting in the Highways Section has been limited by a lack of resources. This i ncludes both labour and equipment resources. Historically, there have been three teams that carry out road sweeping and vegetation cutting that cover the eas tern, central , and western parishes , respectively. Each team should comprise one foreman, one driver ( who both drive), and six heavy labourers. With retirements and natural attrition, the teams are now eight labourers short , which has meant that , at times , teams have had to double up to make a viable work crew. This has slowed progress on keeping the roads clear. Even with a full complement of personnel , it is unlikely that a particular section of road will be attended to more than twice a year. Four vacant budgeted posts are available for the current budget , and recruiting to fill these posts is currently underway. To be clear —this is a sharp departure from the practice of the last four and a half years , when many posts went unfilled. Mr. Speaker, loss of productivity from labour shortages has also been exacerbated by a shortage of trucks. The Ministry has suffered from not being able to replace truc ks when they hav e reached the end of their road worthiness. This has led to more fr equent breakdowns and down times for the vehicles. This has affected both the mechanical sweeper brushes and trucks used by the crews to collect and transport vegetation to M arsh Folly. This also has had an effect on productivity. Typically , the crews have operated with one-half the number of trucks required, and at times only one truck between all three crews. Often, there has been no mechanical road sweeper in operation. The mechanical sweeper brush is important to quickly remove dust and sand from the road sur-face to make it safer , and also to help prevent veget ation from establishing itself on the road edge. There is the added knock -on effect on flooding when it rains , as the lack of removal of soil, debris , and weeds causes drains to become clogged and leads to flooding. With the road sweeping and veget ation cutting crew being challenged to get around the areas that they are obligated to [clear], the situation has been made worse by the lack of diligence by certain landowners to do their part. Mr. Speaker, the Ministry will make a more concerted effort in chasing those landowners who are delinquent in maintaining the frontages of their proper-ties and will apply the appropr iate penalties in accor dance with the Public Lands Act.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchLandowners are r eminded that vegetation should be cut back at least six feet beyond the edge of the carriageway. The Ministry has also recently acquired a hedge- cutting machine, which , when it is working on the public roads , will help to facilitate operations. Mr. Speaker, I will …
Landowners are r eminded that vegetation should be cut back at least six feet beyond the edge of the carriageway. The Ministry has also recently acquired a hedge- cutting machine, which , when it is working on the public roads , will help to facilitate operations. Mr. Speaker, I will regularly keep this Honourable House updated on the progress that we are ma king to reduce overgrowth on our highways and verges. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. I think you have a final Statement?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. You can continue. RELOCATION OF THE AIRPORT MAIL FACILITY
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Speaker, I feel compelled to present a Ministerial Statement today in order to bring further clarity to the Statement made in this Honourable House two weeks ago by my co lleague, the Honourable Lovitta Foggo, the Minister for the Cabinet Off ice with responsibility for government reform. Mr. Speaker, …
Mr. Speaker, I feel compelled to present a Ministerial Statement today in order to bring further clarity to the Statement made in this Honourable House two weeks ago by my co lleague, the Honourable Lovitta Foggo, the Minister for the Cabinet Off ice with responsibility for government reform. Mr. Speaker, I apologise in advance for the length of this Statement, but it is essential that I pr ovide the background to this situation. It was in March 2016 that the Bermuda Post Office contacted the Depart ment of Public Lands and Buildings with an enquiry regarding the future of their Mail Processing Centre. Investigation at that time r evealed that the Department of Airport Operations [DAO] was seeking to put the Airport Mail Processing Centre [AMPC] on a 12- month tenancy agreement for their occupation of what was, at that time, a gover nment -owned building under the purvi ew of the D epartment of Public Lands and Buildings [DPLB]. It appears, Mr. Speaker, that it was at this point that DPLB were advised by DAO that the Airport Mail Processing Centre may have to relocate as part of the airport r edevelopment project. 278 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, this may sound like a scenario for How Not to Run a Government , but this is far more serious. In fact, there is nothing to laugh about in this entire situation. It was at this point that DPLB, on behalf of the Bermuda Post Office, reached out to the Department of Airport Operations “to establish what were the long- term plans for the Airport Mail Pr ocessing Building as part of the airport redevelo pment?” Initially, information was scarce, but it became apparent as the airport redevelopment plan pr ogressed that the former Government had included the existing Airport Mail Processing Centre building within the lease for the airport property. Mr. Speaker, to say that the airport contract negotiated by the former Government is a gift that keeps on giving would be an understatement. It was at this point that DAO asked the DPLB whether they had government space within which to relocate the airport mail processing facility. Mr. Speaker, the answer to that question was no. In June/July 2016, apart from not having any spare warehouse space for the Airport Mail Pr ocessing Centre, the DPLB noted that relocating the Airport Mail Processing Centre should be the responsibility of the DAO and/or Aecon as part of their pr oject, as, ultimately, the Minister of Transport has a statutory obligation, under the existing Civil Airports Act 1949, section 4(5), to secure the mail -handling function at the airport. Mr. Speaker, I apologise if this Statement is sounding more and more like a comedic screenplay, but these are the fac ts revealed as we follow the s eries of actions that have led us to this point. Mr. Speaker, here is where we are in this comedy of errors. DAO were unable to provide any suitable alternative accommodation at the airport, and the redeve lopment agreement had been completed on the basis that the Airport Mail Processing Centre building would be vacated by the 30 th of September 2017. At this point, with a deadline for action and contractual penalties (market rent for the building if not out by the 30th of Septe mber 2017 and a $600,000 penalty, plus continued market rent if not out by the 31st of December 2017) in place if these deadlines were not met, Project Co determined that the Depar tment of Public Lands and Buildings and the Bermuda Post Office would solve the relocation issue. Thus, the Estates Section, the Architects Section, and the Bermuda Post Office began to consider modifying an existing plan to renovate the General Post Office’s Customer Service Hall and basement to make it suitable for long- term oc cupation by the Ai rport Mail Processing Centre and the Customs facility. This work included: • renovation of the ground floor customer service hall; • upgrading the post office counters so that parcel service counters could be transferred from the basement lev el; • upgrade to the philatelic counter; • new office accommodation for staff ; • meeting rooms; • a new mail processing floor; • new customs area; and • upgraded staff welfare facilities on the basement level. Mr. Speaker, it became obvious to the Estate Officer (as i t must be to you, just listening to me) that there were many moving parts to this project and that the scale of the task would benefit from the appointment of a project manager. The Chief Surveyor and Permanent Secretary of Public Works agreed with this approach. Accordingly, at the next project meeting, this was discussed between the Estates Officer, Architects Section, and Bermuda Post Office, and they agreed that a project manager would be most effective if he were appointed as part of a construction contract. As such, the appointment of a project manager was deferred until such time as the architects had the initial design completed and planning permission in place. Mr. Speaker, in the meantime, during May 2017, the appointment of a new contract manager at the Bermuda Airport Authority gave the client and E states Officer an opportunity to review the progress made to date, and reinforced the project deadlines and penalties for remaining in the existing airport mail facility building. It became apparent that, at this stage, a plan “B” was needed, as the renovation of the Ge neral Post Office building would not be deliverable on time. In fact, the budget to fund the project had not yet been requested from Cabinet. Shortly after that meeting, the estimated budget cost for the preferred option (redevelopment of the basement level of the General Post Office) was confirmed by Government’s in- house Quantity Surveyor as being in the region of $1.8 million to $2.3 million. Mr. Speaker, this quote was provisional, as the full cost of the required air conditioning upgrade work could not be accurately estimated due to the nonexistence of mechanical and engineering plans for the General Post Office Building. By this time, with no capital funds budgeted for this project and no supplemental budget, it was decided to look for alternative solutions. The Estates Officer conducted a market search for any suitable vacant space. By the first week in July 2017, four op-tions had been inspected with the Bermuda Post O ffice Facility and Operations Managers. Let us look at some of the scenarios examined:
Option 1— Relocate to the General Post Office Building Pros are as follows: improved customer experience; separate mail processing area, kitchen and bathrooms for HM Customs staff; and
Bermuda House of Assembly no long- term rent liability.
Cons are as follows: • high-cost capital project (estimate between the previously stated $1.8 million and $2.3 million); • no capital money budgeted for this unsched-uled real estate project; • realistic delivery of this project at 12 to 18 months; • [duration] of project means deadlines imposed by the airport contract would not be met ; therefore, the total cost would be $2.4 –$3 mi llion, inclusive of the $600,000 penalty, plus market rent for the period of time that the Ai rport Mail Processing Centre building remains occupied; • no parking for General Post Office vans/trucks that currently park in the secure compound at the airport; and • the capital cost of this project does not include future maintenance liability.
Option 2— Relocate t he Airport Mail Processing Centre to the New Venture Building at Mills Creek, Pembroke Pros are as follows: The building is empty and can be made avai lable at short notice; Moving into this building in a timely manner would allow us to meet the deadline to vacate ; The property provides warehouse space, a mezzanine level and office accommodation; The warehouse and office spaces are fully air conditioned; The space is large enough to accommodate the Airport Mail Processing Centre, the General Post Office functions , and the Bermuda Post Office administrative functions ; The location, outside of Hamilton, means there is parking and the rents are consider ably cheaper; and The maintenance liability is shifted from government to the l andlord.
Cons are as follows : • This is the most expensive rental option, at $25,000/month, plus service charge, due to the large footprint and high- quality fit -out; • In times of heavy rain, the area tends to be-come flooded ; • Access docks are raised for containers or large trucks ; a solution would have to be reached to overcome this issue; and • There is limited staff parking. Option 3— Relocate to Davison’s Warehouse, 16 Ferry Reach, St. George’s
Pros are as follows: This is the cheapest rental option, at $12,000/month; The property is located close to the existing AMPC location; There is a large shared yard and plenty of roller -shutter access doors into the accomm odation; There is some office accommodation ( basic drywall construction), which could be easily reconfigured; There are addi tional units in the building, which could be acquired if necessary ; The loading bays are accessible ; and The mainten ance liability is shifted from go vernment to the l andlord;
Cons are as follows: • The fit -out work would likely delay occupation of the prop erty, possibly beyond the deadline of the airport contract ; • The space is partially air conditioned, and any fixture, such as additional air conditioning sy stems , would be the liability of the tenant ; and • The toilets in this unit would not meet current Occu pational Safety and Health Regulations for the number of staff .
Option 4— Relocate to Somers Warehouse, Cemetery Road, Pembroke Pros are as follows: The rental is $15,000/month; The property is close to the City of Hamilton; There is a secure yard for a limited number of vehicles ; There are a couple of pre- existing rooms , which could help to provide Customs with a separate mail processing area; and The maintenance liability would belong to the landlord.
Cons are as follows: • There is limited space for st aff parking; • Access to the warehouse is via a raised loading dock ; • There is no air conditioning on the first floor ; • There are no bathrooms on the first floor; and • The bathrooms on the lower floor would not meet the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations for the number of staff needed to operate from this area. Mr. Speaker, by this time, it has become clear that we are between a rock and a hard place. The deadline for the Airport Mail Processing Centre to be out of its space at the airport was September 30 th, and 280 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly here I am on October 6th, explaining how Bermuda was placed in this situation. Mr. Speaker, any proposed option has to meet both the operational and security needs of both the Bermuda Post Office and Her Majesty’s Customs. The newly created Bermuda Airport Authority is the only government stakeholder with direct access to the developer, Aecon, and the Airport Operator, Skyport, who must be kept informed of progress being made to relocate the Airport Mail Processing Centre. Mr. Speaker, at this point, I want everyone who hears my voice to understand the situation in which we find ourselves. We are six days past the time we were supposed to be out of the building that we thought was ours. Aecon has the contractual right to start charging rent, an d they have so far taken a tough stance on this issue, noting that the Airport Mail Processing Centre building is required as an integral part of their project plans. Let us be clear. Aecon has the contractual right to start charging rent right now —that is what their contract states. Although they have not provided an indication of their market rental expectations, we have done our own calculations, based on recent market evidence at Southside —$15 per square foot for war ehouse space and $25 per square foot for office space. So, a monthly charge of $17,700, plus service char ges, would be a reasonable estimate, from our vie wpoint. Obviously, the Minister of Finance would prefer to avoid any penalties as a result of the Airport Mail Processing Centre remaining in their current location until December 31, 2017. Mr. Speaker, I take my ministerial duties ser iously, and I believe that it is important to ensure that you, my colleagues, and the public at large understand just how we got into this situation and why it was important to give you all of the details and tim elines concerning how a government department housed in a government -owned building could be charged rent (and possibly, penalties) by a 100 per cent foreign- owned company. In spite of the Budget Debate in March of this year, there was no mention of needing to fund and relocate the Airport Mail Processing Centre. I understand that the public will wonder how the repeated phrase, The airport redevelopment will not be a burden on the tax payer , has been tr ansformed into Go vernment paying for essential, unbudgeted items, from the public purse. Mr. Speaker, this matter was first bought to my attention at a joint meeting with key stakeholders on the 11 th of August 2017. Since that time, we have worked diligently to secure the best result from this sorry situation. I can report that the lease for New Venture House was signed yesterday and the fit -out works are progressing. Mr. Speaker, I expect the move to occur b efore the end of this month, and I shall keep t his Ho n-ourable House advised of the outcome of this sorry tale and the ultimate costs to the Bermudian taxpayer. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. [Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. There are no further Statements from Ministers or Junior Ministers . REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. QUESTION PERIOD
The SpeakerThe SpeakerQuestion Period. We have Members who have indicated that they have questions for the Ministers with reference to their Statements. And as Members know, this period will last for 60 minutes, if it goes that long. And we are now at 11:31. The first Statement for which questions have been …
Question Period. We have Members who have indicated that they have questions for the Ministers with reference to their Statements. And as Members know, this period will last for 60 minutes, if it goes that long. And we are now at 11:31. The first Statement for which questions have been indicated is that of the Deputy Premier on his Statement regarding the International Shipping Week. And the question is from the Honourable Member from constituency 22. The Honourable Member, Dr. Gibbons, you have the floor.
QUESTION 1: LON DON INTERNATIONAL SHI PPING WEEK AND THE CAPITAL LINK SHIPPING, MARINE SERVICES & OFFSHORE FORUM — BERMUDA AND THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY
Hon. Dr. E. Grant G ibbonsThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the question I have for the Ho nourable Member is in relation to his London trip. Apart from delivering his talking points and, obviously, meeting members of industry over there, what useful i nformation did he r eceive as to how we might improve …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerDeputy Premier, you have the floor. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The answer is that this work is going on with the Bermuda Maritime and Shipping Authority. Our discussions with existing clients and partners, the pr ivate partners of Bermuda, were that they were pleased with the …
Deputy Premier, you have the floor. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The answer is that this work is going on with the Bermuda Maritime and Shipping Authority. Our discussions with existing clients and partners, the pr ivate partners of Bermuda, were that they were pleased with the work that is being done to ensure that the registry remains at a high standard, and that there were no specific details that were actually outlined other than every effort will be made to ensure that we are competitive with those other jurisdictions which are in the same space, which is why I mentioned about the push into Asia. And those with whom we had discussions were pleased with their interactions and work with the registry, and we intend to keep that at a high level at all times.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Thank you, Minister. Any new questions or supplementary?
Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerSupplementary? Yes. SUPPLEMENTARY
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsAs shipping is certainly a worldwide industry, would the Minister be able to comment as to whether there were any requests for, I will say, a Far East office t o be set up for the shipping inspection for the new register?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: No specific requests. But that is our intention, to look to Asia as an area of opportunity [for] the registry itself.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mini ster. Any further questions or supplementary?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay, second question. QUESTION 2: LON DON INTERNATIONAL SHI PPING WEEK AND THE CAPITAL LINK SHIPPING, MAR INE SERVICES & OFFSHORE FORUM — BERMUDA AND THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsYes. The question is that, in his Statement, I think it is on page 8, the Mini ster comments about a space industry Bill that is currently before the United Kingdom Parliament. Has the Minister had a chance to review this Bill? And does it present any constraints or challenges …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: No. But we are working with the British Gov ernment to deal with any issues that might arise.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsThe Minister says no. Does he m ean no, he has not reviewed it? Or no, as far as he can tell, there are no constraints or issues that should arise that would affect our register?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Minister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: To the question about review, yes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, it has been reviewed. Okay. No further questions? The next Statement that Members have ind icated they have questions on would be that of Mini ster Brown. Minister Brown, it is on your first Statement. And we have questions from the Honourable Member from con stituency 7. Honourable Member …
Yes, it has been reviewed. Okay. No further questions? The next Statement that Members have ind icated they have questions on would be that of Mini ster Brown. Minister Brown, it is on your first Statement. And we have questions from the Honourable Member from con stituency 7. Honourable Member Richards, you have the floor.
QUESTION 1: PROGRESS ON IMPROVING THE CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF DOGS
Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Can the Minister advise this Honourable House if the government dog wardens are confiscating and euthanising illegally bred pit bulls —dogs and puppies?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that was not covered by my Statement, but I will indulge the Honourable Member, my friend. Pit bulls and any illegal dogs will be confiscated, and they have been confiscated. Given that I do not support the death penalty, no …
Minister.
Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, that was not covered by my Statement, but I will indulge the Honourable Member, my friend. Pit bulls and any illegal dogs will be confiscated, and they have been confiscated. Given that I do not support the death penalty, no dogs will be e uthanised unless there is an absolute necessity for it to be done.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary? Yes. SUPPLEMEN TARY Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Given that the Minister is not in favour of euthanasia, is he prepared to extend the periods that owners have to arrange for the deportation of these animals from four days to maybe fifteen da ys, given that …
Supplementary? Yes.
SUPPLEMEN TARY
Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Given that the Minister is not in favour of euthanasia, is he prepared to extend the periods that owners have to arrange for the deportation of these animals from four days to maybe fifteen da ys, given that he does not support euthanasia, and deportation of these animals is an option?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. 282 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly The Honourable Member will know that the entire purpose of my Statement was to talk about a continued public consultation process. So I would i nvite the Honourable Member to attend …
Minister. Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. 282 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Honourable Member will know that the entire purpose of my Statement was to talk about a continued public consultation process. So I would i nvite the Honourable Member to attend the public meet ings next week to help contribute toward the pol icy development framework. And those matters, along with others, will be adequately and properly addressed. We recognise the sensitivity on these issues, but prior to coming to a policy position, we will consult widely. The next step, of course, is with the public.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? No further questions. We now move on to your. . . [Inaudible interjection]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 8. Honourable Member Simons, you have the floor.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsWhat is the current status of the draft amendment legislation for the 2008 Dogs Act? I understand it was near completion. So, can you give the House and community an update, please?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMember, I am not sure that was part of the Statement that was written. So we will pass on that question. It did not fall in the parameters of the Statement, I should say. No further questions on that Statement? The next Statement, Minister Brown, is yours as well. We …
Member, I am not sure that was part of the Statement that was written. So we will pass on that question. It did not fall in the parameters of the Statement, I should say. No further questions on that Statement? The next Statement, Minister Brown, is yours as well. We have two Members who have indicated that they have questions for you. The first Member is the Member from constituency 24. Member Scott, you have the floor.
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I was wondering if the Minister could explain why his Ministry is taking this action now at this point in time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The rationale behind this proposed legislation, Mr. Speaker, is to ensure that the intent of the law is fully and properly recognised in law —i.e., that Berm udians come first in the country, according to the Con-stitution; and secondly, that those who …
Minister.
Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The rationale behind this proposed legislation, Mr. Speaker, is to ensure that the intent of the law is fully and properly recognised in law —i.e., that Berm udians come first in the country, according to the Con-stitution; and secondly, that those who are here as guests in our country cannot and do not have the same rights in all respects, from a legal standpoint, as Bermudians.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAny further questions or supplementary? Okay. We have another Member who has a question for you on this Statement, Minister. And it is that of the Opposition Leader, the Honourable Member from constituency 23. Opposition Leader, you have the floor. QUESTION 1: BERMUDA IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT …
Any further questions or supplementary? Okay. We have another Member who has a question for you on this Statement, Minister. And it is that of the Opposition Leader, the Honourable Member from constituency 23. Opposition Leader, you have the floor.
QUESTION 1: BERMUDA IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2017 Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, to the Minister, I wonder if he could advise whether there are any Supreme Court or Immigration Appeal Tribunal decisions that have helped to solidify the position to make this particular change on this legislation.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, any proposed Bill comes out of the particular context. And the context that we are co nfronting today is a number of questions that have been raised from a legal standpoint. And it is i mportant for this piece of legislation …
Minister. Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, any proposed Bill comes out of the particular context. And the context that we are co nfronting today is a number of questions that have been raised from a legal standpoint. And it is i mportant for this piece of legislation to ensure that the Immigration and Protection Act does, in fact, have primacy over the Human Rights Act, as it is a direct result of a number of litigious matters that have had rulings and are pending in terms of rulings.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAny supplementary? No supplementary. Supplementary or new question? Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I have a suppl ementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Could the Minister then explain how many outstanding appeals there are on his desk to look at in respect of those matters which he indicated are li tigious, giving rise to this activity?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Walton Brown: Mr. Speaker, there are no outstanding matters on my desk.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Bermuda House of Assembly Any supplementary, or further , questions? Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I have a further question. I have a second question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Your second question. Continue. QUESTION 2: BERMUDA IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2017 Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes. If the Mini ster could advise, from the appeals that he may have satisfied, what are the categories of work that are represented by the appeals that have …
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes. If the Mini ster could advise, from the appeals that he may have satisfied, what are the categories of work that are represented by the appeals that have come? In other words, to say that people are expecting to have pr imacy . . . not primacy, but expecting to have priority over Bermudians, therefore, they are being represented by attorneys. What categories of work are we tal king about?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Walton Brown: Mr. Speaker, I am advised by a lot of lawyers that when a matter is sub judice, you are not supposed to speak about it. I am not s ure that applies to lawyers and everybody else. But we have parliamentary sovereignty to speak on matters …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe can be guided by that, yes, on this matter. Hon. Walton Brown: I will be guided by that. What I will say is if you look at the Immigration and Protection Act, which has as its fundamental purpose to protect and promote the interests of Bermudi-ans, and you juxtapose …
We can be guided by that, yes, on this matter. Hon. Walton Brown: I will be guided by that. What I will say is if you look at the Immigration and Protection Act, which has as its fundamental purpose to protect and promote the interests of Bermudi-ans, and you juxtapose that piece of legislation with the Human Rights Act of 1981, you will see where some of the provisions of the Human Rights Act, which talk about non- discrimination based on any number of factors, can be seen in an abstract sense as being pervasive in the community; it applies to ev eryone. Whereas the Immigration Act, by its very nature, is meant to treat Bermudians differently from others. That is why it is called the Bermuda Immigr ation and Protection Act, as is the case in every other country. So when you have these two principles colli ding, there is need for clarity. The Speake r: No further questions? Okay. The next Statement that Members indicated they had questions on would be from the Mini ster of Health. Minister of Health, you have two Members who have indicated that they would like to ask questions, the first being the Honourable Member from constituency 22. Honourable Member Gibbons, you have the floor.
QUESTION 1: ASSISTANCE FROM THE PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION FOR HEALTH WORKFORCE PLANNING AND COLD CHAIN TRAINING
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, on page 7 of the Minister’s Statement, she refers to “areas for improvement, iden-tified by the experts, [which] will enable the inclusion of new vaccines to the Bermuda Child and Adult I mmunisation Schedules.” The first question is, What were the areas that were …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, Mr. Speaker; thank you. There was an issue with respect to the refri geration and the volume in which the current facilities can keep the number of vaccines. So that is certainly an area that has to be identified, and that was ident ified …
Minister.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, Mr. Speaker; thank you. There was an issue with respect to the refri geration and the volume in which the current facilities can keep the number of vaccines. So that is certainly an area that has to be identified, and that was ident ified by PAHO with respect to the size of the refriger ation units.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary or new question?
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsWould the Minister care to state whether the current methods of refrigeration present any problems for existing vaccines which need to be kept cold? In other words, have there been any deficiencies identified, or is this simply an incremental i mprovement?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. No. There were no deficiencies that were identified with respect to the cold storage and the f acility itself. The issue that was raised was the size of the facility and whether or not it was meeting its full capacity …
Minister.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. No. There were no deficiencies that were identified with respect to the cold storage and the f acility itself. The issue that was raised was the size of the facility and whether or not it was meeting its full capacity with respect to the existing vaccinations that were here. But they were suggesting that, for future, it should be a bigger refrigeration system so that it can accommodate more vaccines.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. Supplementary or new question? 284 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Dr. E. Grant Gibbons: Supplementary.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsIs the Honourable Member referring to the refrigeration unit under the pharmacies’ warehouse? Or are we talking about som ething else?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is it is actually with respect to the refrigeration [unit] that is currently held at the Department of Health.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsSorry . I was interrupted by my colleague. I was not sure whether she had a supplementary or not.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOh. QUESTION 2 : ASSISTANCE FROM THE PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION FOR HEALTH WORKFORCE PLANNING AND COLD CHAIN TRAINING
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsSo, the second question I have is, Could the Honourable Member speak to which new vaccines she is referring to in the Stat ement?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Do you need the question r epeated, or are you okay, Minister? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. As the Statement indicates, Mr. Speaker — and I will endeavour to get more information, if need be, for the Honourable House and this Chamber —if the Bermuda Advisory Committee on …
Minister. Do you need the question r epeated, or are you okay, Minister? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. As the Statement indicates, Mr. Speaker — and I will endeavour to get more information, if need be, for the Honourable House and this Chamber —if the Bermuda Advisory Committee on Immunisation recommend that certain vaccines be utilised here in Bermuda, then the Mi nistry of Health, and particularly the Department of Health, is committed to ensuring that those vaccines are brought on- Island so that they can be distributed to those persons in need.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? Hon. Dr. E. Grant Gibbons: Supplementary, yes.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsWould the Honourable Member be aware that the shingles vaccine—and, as we all know, shingles affects a lot of people, partic ularly elderly ones —is not currently availabl e due to refrigeration?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, Mr. Speaker. Actually, that information is incorrect. The shingles vaccine is not currently available in Bermuda because there is a worldwide shortage of shingles vaccines. And Berm uda, as I have indicated in my Statement, does receive our vaccines through PAHO. We have received …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerShortage . . . sounds good. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: So, regrettably, Bermuda is not the only country that is suffering from that particular issue.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary or further question?
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsI am not sure if the Honourable Member is aware, but the shingles vaccine needs to be kept frozen and thawed just before it is injected. And my understanding was that this was an issue. You can walk into a pharmacy in New York, and you can get a shingles …
I am not sure if the Honourable Member is aware, but the shingles vaccine needs to be kept frozen and thawed just before it is injected. And my understanding was that this was an issue. You can walk into a pharmacy in New York, and you can get a shingles vaccine. But I understand the issue really was being able to keep it frozen here. And I think anything that can be done would help in that. So if the Honourable Member could put that on her list, or maybe I should ask, is that —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNow, you have got to put it into question form. Do you ha ve a question for the Minister?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Again, Mr. Speaker, the issue concerning shingles and the unavailability for us to keep the current supply that is needed in Bermuda has nothing to do with refrigeration. It is because there Bermuda House of Assembly is a worldwide shortage. The Department of Health are …
Minister.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Again, Mr. Speaker, the issue concerning shingles and the unavailability for us to keep the current supply that is needed in Bermuda has nothing to do with refrigeration. It is because there
Bermuda House of Assembly is a worldwide shortage. The Department of Health are keenly aware of that issue and are doing what they can to address it.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. New q uestion?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYour last question. Go ahead. QUESTION 3 : ASSISTANCE FROM THE PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION FOR HEALTH WORKFORCE PLANNING AND COLD CHAIN TRAINING
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsYes. My last question. Can the Honourable Member say wheth er any shingles vaccine has actually been used in Bermuda?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: I do not have that information in front of me, Mr. Speaker, but I will endeavour to get it. And once it is received, I will bring that back to the Honourable Member and alert him accordingly.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. No, you have used all of yours. The other Member who indicated that she had questions would be the Honourable Member from constituency 20. The Honourable Member, Ms. Jac kson, you have the f loor. QUESTION 1 : ASSISTANCE FROM THE PAN AMERICAN HEALTH ORGANIZATION FOR HEALTH WORKFORCE …
Ms. Susan E. JacksonGood morning, Mr. Speaker. I have a question for the Minister around pandemic vaccines, if we had a pandem ic. So, what kind of storage would be available for either private enterprise that needed to store vaccines, as well as go vernment storing vaccines if there were a pandemic?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, Mr. Speaker. The vaccines do require certain refrigeration. As I have indicated before, the Department of Health does have the vaccines at refrigeration levels. I cannot answer whether or not other facilities that house vaccines . . . what the requirements are, what their …
Minister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, Mr. Speaker. The vaccines do require certain refrigeration. As I have indicated before, the Department of Health does have the vaccines at refrigeration levels. I cannot answer whether or not other facilities that house vaccines . . . what the requirements are, what their facilities are . I can speak for the Department of Health. As I have indicated, they do have this refrigeration so that the vaccines, as well as if there was any type of health crisis that would require . . . such as flu vaccines and the like . . . they do have the facil ities. The challenge that we are met with, as has been identified [as of] the second week of September, with PAHO representatives here, is that there is an issue of storage. And that is in the event we were r equiring a huge supply of vaccines, we need to address that storage issue with respect to refrigeration.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Follow -up question, or supplementary?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerA new question? Okay. QUESTION 2 : ASSISTANCE FROM THE PAN AMERICAN HEALTH O RGANIZATION FOR HEALTH WORKFORCE PLANNING AND COLD CHAIN TRAINING
Ms. Susan E. JacksonMinister, I am just addressing a sentence you have in here that . . . this is speaking now about the Health Workforce Planning Project. And it says here that we would need to attract add itional qualified professionals, basically, from over-seas. What would be done to protect Bermudians should …
Minister, I am just addressing a sentence you have in here that . . . this is speaking now about the Health Workforce Planning Project. And it says here that we would need to attract add itional qualified professionals, basically, from over-seas. What would be done to protect Bermudians should the market become saturated with qualified non-Bermudians coming in to fill these roles? What would be done to protect the Bermudian?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Speaker, I can say that this Government’s . . . one of the priorities of this Gover nment, and no doubt one of the reasons why we sit on this side of this Honourable Chamber, is that we have indicated through our platform, as …
Minister.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Speaker, I can say that this Government’s . . . one of the priorities of this Gover nment, and no doubt one of the reasons why we sit on this side of this Honourable Chamber, is that we have indicated through our platform, as well as through other Statements, that what we will do first and for emost is ensure that Bermudians’ jobs are protected and that Bermudians, qualified Bermudians, have first opportunity to be employed, rightfully so, in their cou ntry of origin. However, as I have indicated in the Stat ement, there is a worldwide shortage, Mr. Speaker, of nurses. Currently, we have almost, probably, just over a third of the nurses in our health care system who are Bermudian. Regrettably, they are ageing. So we do need to do what we can to attract Bermudians, not 286 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly just in nursing, but in other areas of the health care profession. If the time should ever come, and we are basing it on projections . . . but if the time should ever come that we saw that we w ere inundated with Bermudian skilled nurses, we would not be going to my colleague to the right to be asking him to issue work permits. Because, again, this Government’s commi tment is to ensure that Bermudians come first in their place of birth, place of origin, as it relates to emplo yment. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary or new question?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary. SUPPLEMENTARY
Ms. Susan E. JacksonMinister, what is being done to identify an d track Bermudians living overseas who are qualified in the health care profession, who would like to come to Bermuda, but cannot because there are qualified technicians that are non- Bermudian . . . or, not technicians, but members of the professions …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I do not wish to try to be unhelpful to the Honourable Member, but in addition to that not being on my Statement, the subject matter of my Statement, it is a question better suited to the person to my right, …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary? Supplementary. SUPPLEMENTARIES
Mrs. Jeanne J. AtherdenMy question to the Minister is, While we are trying to promote workforce develop-ment and we are trying to make sure that we have the workforce planning, what, if anything, is being done to try and make persons understand when areas become saturated? Because sometimes, we have the situation where …
My question to the Minister is, While we are trying to promote workforce develop-ment and we are trying to make sure that we have the workforce planning, what, if anything, is being done to try and make persons understand when areas become saturated? Because sometimes, we have the situation where there is saturation, or, if you will, there is goin g to be saturation, especially if you are able to plan and understand the way the industry is going?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, that is a question that may be better suited for the Minister res ponsible for workforce development, as his Ministry does have that department that does the tracking with respect to pr ojections. However, what I can add, …
Minister.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, again, that is a question that may be better suited for the Minister res ponsible for workforce development, as his Ministry does have that department that does the tracking with respect to pr ojections. However, what I can add, as it relates to the Statement and health, is that the whole objective of the Health Workforce Planning Project is so that we can clearly identify the gaps in our workforce as it r elates to health and what the needs will be. And that information will be collected. We are asking students who are interested in pursuing various careers within the health fie ld for them to reach out to the repr esentative professional bodies, such as if you are interested in studying physiotherapy, there is a physi otherapy body and the like, so that they can also be kept abreast of which students are away, learning these partic ular areas. And more importantly, what are the projections? What are the needs going to be in the future? Again, I can speak specifically to the Health Workforce Planning, but insofar as overall projections and the needs of the community as it relates to e mployment and the like, my colleague three seats to my left is probably more suited to answer that question.
Mrs. Jeanne J. AtherdenYes, I have a supplementary. Because the Minister was differentiating b etween workforce planning and the health industry, I just wonder whether the Minister will acknowledge that oversaturation sometimes affects the industry as it relates to persons coming back to Bermuda and wanting to open up businesses. So it is …
Yes, I have a supplementary. Because the Minister was differentiating b etween workforce planning and the health industry, I just wonder whether the Minister will acknowledge that oversaturation sometimes affects the industry as it relates to persons coming back to Bermuda and wanting to open up businesses. So it is very i mportant, f rom the health perspective, the health sy stem, to make sure that we try not to have oversatur ation, because then that creates some systemic issues as it relates to utilisation.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: I agree with the statement. That was not a question. But I do agree with the statement of the [Member] .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. There are no other Members who have ind icated that they had questions on that particular Statement, so we will move on. The next Statement that Members have ind icated that they wish to ask a question on is that of the Honourable Minister of Education on your …
Thank you. There are no other Members who have ind icated that they had questions on that particular Statement, so we will move on. The next Statement that Members have ind icated that they wish to ask a question on is that of the Honourable Minister of Education on your Statement in reference to the National Training Board. We have one Member, and that is the Member from constitue ncy 24. The Honourable Member, Mr. Scott, y ou have the floor.
B ermuda House of Assembly QUESTION 1: NATIONAL TRAINING BOARD ANNUAL REPORT 2016/17
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister would be able to answer the question that, it seems as though in July 2016, there were promises made by the previous administration that have not been kept a year later. Can he explain if there are promises, that all of …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Minister would be able to answer the question that, it seems as though in July 2016, there were promises made by the previous administration that have not been kept a year later. Can he explain if there are promises, that all of their prom-ises that they made in July 2016 were kept, or not?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThat’s broad. Minister? Kind of broad, but . . . Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, could I ask just for some clarification of which part of the Stat ement you are referring to? [ Laughter]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerIf you could narrow it down, narrow your q uestion down a bit. I think it was a little broad for the Minister.
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottI am talking about when it comes to certification. The previous administration made promises that there were going to be certain certifications that were going to be put in place, back in July 2016, and they gave a timeline. I just want to know if the Minister can highlight if …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my honourable colleagu e is r eferring to a Ministerial Statement that was made in this House in July 2016. And in that Ministerial Statement, it was stated that by August 1st, 2016, there would be a policy …
Minister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my honourable colleagu e is r eferring to a Ministerial Statement that was made in this House in July 2016. And in that Ministerial Statement, it was stated that by August 1st, 2016, there would be a policy in place where any persons coming to Bermuda in the designated categories would have to have their credentials checked prior to a work permit being issued. And any persons who were already in Bermuda who had not had their credentials checked would have them checked by September 1 st, 2016. To date, that policy has not been put in place, nor have any of those work permit holders who are working within the designated trades in Bermuda been checked yet. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Supplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary? SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes, Mr. Speaker. I wonder if the Minister would be good enough to explain where the progress is on the implement ation of that. Because that is something that had been put in the works in conjunction with the Department of Workforce Development …
Supplementary? SUPPLEMENTARIES Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes, Mr. Speaker. I wonder if the Minister would be good enough to explain where the progress is on the implement ation of that. Because that is something that had been put in the works in conjunction with the Department of Workforce Development and the Department of Imm igration to ensure that any new applications that were coming in had that vetting before any permits were actually issued. So I wonder if the Minister could just explain where that process is.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain : Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to explain where that process is. At some point after March 31st, 2017, a policy was in place that invited any work permit holders who were existing in Bermuda to submit their documentation for vetting. To …
Minister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain : Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am happy to explain where that process is. At some point after March 31st, 2017, a policy was in place that invited any work permit holders who were existing in Bermuda to submit their documentation for vetting. To date, those who have brought their information in have not been vetted. The information is at the Department of Workforce Development, but it has not been looked at yet.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary? Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Supplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon-P amplin: Yes. Is there s ufficient personnel available in the Department of Workforce Development in order to be able to adequately address those delinquencies that now exist?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. To date, we have not added any additional staff since the previous administration. On September 1st, I met with . . . in September, I met with Wor kforce Development, and they have a deadline of O ctober 31st, and …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. No further questions? The next Statement that Members indicated they would like to question the Ministers on is that of the Minister for National Security. There are two Members who have indicated that they have ques-tions. The first is from the Honourable Member from constituency 22. Honourable Member …
Thank you. No further questions? The next Statement that Members indicated they would like to question the Ministers on is that of the Minister for National Security. There are two Members who have indicated that they have ques-tions. The first is from the Honourable Member from constituency 22. Honourable Member Gibbons, you have the floor. 288 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly QUESTION 1: MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY —UPDATE
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsYes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, actually, there are no page numbers on this Statement. But on page 3, the Honourable Member speaks to the Royal Bermuda Regiment assuming responsibility for inshore maritime patrolling from the police and that becoming a reality. He goes on to say the necessary …
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, actually, there are no page numbers on this Statement. But on page 3, the Honourable Member speaks to the Royal Bermuda Regiment assuming responsibility for inshore maritime patrolling from the police and that becoming a reality. He goes on to say the necessary posts are approved. Could the Honourable Member say how many posts have been approved, presumably by Cabinet?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Fourteen.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary or new question?
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsThank you, Mr. Speaker. The supplementary is, Will there be a reduction in the number of police posts to offset the i ncrease in the regiment posts?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, this is a work in progress. As you can imagine, there have to be Acts that are amended [such as] the Act that governs the Bermuda Regiment. And so, we are looking at both budgets. And obviously, when we look at what is happening …
Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, this is a work in progress. As you can imagine, there have to be Acts that are amended [such as] the Act that governs the Bermuda Regiment. And so, we are looking at both budgets. And obviously, when we look at what is happening in the budget [with] the po lice and the budget with the Bermuda Regiment, we will be able to bring to this most Honourable House at budget time an exact understanding of what is going to happen and a time frame for doing so.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary or new question?
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsYes, thank you. Could the Honourable Member state what the approximate costs will be of the 14 posts which he refers to?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: We cannot give an approximate number at this time. As we know, if you look at this as a continuum, the Bermuda Police Service right now has the responsibility for maritime patrol, Mr. Speaker, inshore maritime patrol. The plan is to look and see what all …
Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: We cannot give an approximate number at this time. As we know, if you look at this as a continuum, the Bermuda Police Service right now has the responsibility for maritime patrol, Mr. Speaker, inshore maritime patrol. The plan is to look and see what all the costs are. So there are a number of costs that are encapsulated within this move. And so, what we are doing is we are looking at the cost of housing the boats, the actual boats, and for the salaries. And then we are going to put together a projected plan. And when we have every “i” dotted and every “t” crossed, we will bring to this Honourable House the plan, going forward, for every element of this move,
Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThank you. A new question?
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsI have a new question. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I have a suppl ementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerIs there a supplementary on this? Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I have a suppl ementary, yes. Yes, sir.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe recognise the Opposition Leader. Madam Opposition Leader, you have the floor. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Member indicated that they are looking at all the things, the moving parts, to make the whole before a final report is brought. Can …
We recognise the Opposition Leader. Madam Opposition Leader, you have the floor.
SUPPLEMENTARY
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the Honourable Member indicated that they are looking at all the things, the moving parts, to make the whole before a final report is brought. Can the Honourable Member advise the Honourable House what are the present expenses that he is looking at to be able to consolidate in order to determine how many are likely to be shifted? In other words, you said that there is going to be housing of marine things, and the personnel. What are the ex-isting charges that you are looking at?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: The obvious ones, salaries. And looking how . . . we are not in a position. We know what the cost is f or a police constable, a police constable’s salary. And we are looking at getting those measurable costs for a private soldier, looking at …
Minister.
Hon. Wayne Caines: The obvious ones, salaries. And looking how . . . we are not in a position. We know what the cost is f or a police constable, a police constable’s salary. And we are looking at getting those measurable costs for a private soldier, looking at those specific costs and working them through. It would not be prudent at this stage to give those costs, as we are w orking a budget. And we will have a detailed plan, which includes the finances that we will bring before this Honourable House at the appropriate
B ermuda House of Assembly time, and we have the appropriate and the robust debate with reference to the budget for the Bermuda Regiment taking over inshore maritime policing, sir,
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNew question from constituency 22. Mr. Gibbons, Honourable Member, continue. QUESTION 2 : MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY —UPDATE
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr . Speaker, the Honourable Member notes in the Statement, and in the response he gave a cou-ple of questions ago, that there will be, obviously, a plan put in place. There are more issues that need to be sorted out. He refers to the next …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr . Speaker, the Honourable Member notes in the Statement, and in the response he gave a cou-ple of questions ago, that there will be, obviously, a plan put in place. There are more issues that need to be sorted out. He refers to the next financial year. Can the Honourable Member state when he believes the actual handover from police to regiment will occur, following . . . or in the next financial year?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, again, these dates are all moveable. It is our plan to have the Bermuda Regiment in by the summer of 2018, Mr. Speaker. But, to be clear, there are specific Acts that will have to be amended, that would have to come to this …
Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, again, these dates are all moveable. It is our plan to have the Bermuda Regiment in by the summer of 2018, Mr. Speaker. But, to be clear, there are specific Acts that will have to be amended, that would have to come to this most Honourable House. So, the best plans laid of mice and men . . . we have a plan to have the Bermuda Regiment taking over the responsibility by next sum-mer, 2018. However, that is subject to the legislative process. That is subject to getting the approval of this most Honourable House, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. New question or supplementary?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. QUESTION 3 : MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY —UPDATE
Hon. Dr. E. G rant GibbonsOn what would be page 7, the Honourable Member speaks to “Pastor Bean has a singular focus, and that will be on imple-menting programmes to reduce gang violence and antisocial behaviour.” Could the Honourable Member say how the success of these proposed programmes will be measured? The Speaker: Minister. Hon. …
On what would be page 7, the Honourable Member speaks to “Pastor Bean has a singular focus, and that will be on imple-menting programmes to reduce gang violence and antisocial behaviour.” Could the Honourable Member say how the success of these proposed programmes will be measured? The Speaker: Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: I almost feel that the question is based . . . is almost based, —and I say this respectfully—on being absurd. We have 55 young men in our country who have died, 140 arrests that have been made with reference to gang- related violence, 55 mothers have lost their sons. My colleague has seen a plan to reduce gang- related violence in Bermuda, and he wants for us to provide him with . . .? Well, let me tell you what we can provide him with. One less person who dies in our country! That is enough to show that this programme is working! [ Desk thumping] Hon. Wayne Caines: That Member wants it to be quantified? It is going to be quantified by Mr. Bean rolling his sleeves up, getting in this community, and helping to save the lives of our young men in this country, Mr. Speaker. [ Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary? SUPPLEMENTARY
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsYes, supplementary, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think we can all sympathise with a general reduction—
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsI think we can all feel the need for a reduction in gang violence. Mr. Speaker, we have been talking about this for many, many years. And the question that I am really asking the Member is, Are there specific objectives as part of this plan that can be measured, …
I think we can all feel the need for a reduction in gang violence. Mr. Speaker, we have been talking about this for many, many years. And the question that I am really asking the Member is, Are there specific objectives as part of this plan that can be measured, apart from what would be considered to be a subjective sense that things are improving? [ Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, we have a nswered the question, but to be specific, when you are talking about a plague in our country, and if the Honourable Member who is the Shadow Minister was pr esent today, he could probably ask that Member . . . we …
Minister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Mr. Speaker, we have a nswered the question, but to be specific, when you are talking about a plague in our country, and if the Honourable Member who is the Shadow Minister was pr esent today, he could probably ask that Member . . . we are looking at a plan for reducing gun- and gang - related violence. We can go through the plan with the GVI [Group Violence Intervention], the gang- related elements of it. Each one of the elements of this plan 290 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly has a robust plan for reducing gang violence. For a sound bite, I cannot give a sound bite. If that learned Member wants us to go through this plan precept u pon precept, and time permits, we can do that. But we will not politicise this, allow him to grandstand, with gang violence. Thi s is something that we are commi tted to. If he is really committed to that, have my opposite Member come, and we can share our plan with him if he truly wants to see plans to change this country as it relates to gang violence.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Mini ster. Thank you, Mini ster. [Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Do you still have your . . . yes. The other Member who indicated that she has a question is the Opposition Leader, the Honourable Member from constituency 23. Honourable Member, you have the floor. QUESTION 1 : MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY —UPDATE Hon. Patricia J. Gordon …
Thank you, Minister. Do you still have your . . . yes. The other Member who indicated that she has a question is the Opposition Leader, the Honourable Member from constituency 23. Honourable Member, you have the floor.
QUESTION 1 : MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY —UPDATE
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, given that we all want to see the reduction in gang violence and to make sure it does have the priority it des erves, will the Honourable Member advise how the individual who had been hired in July to take care of or to be responsible for gang intervention coordination will work alongside the new person who was appointed? Or is it the replac ement for? Or are we enh ancing the personnel that we are putting to deal with this particular problem?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Those were three questions. Those were actually three questions, Mr. Speaker, and I would answer all three. And, Mr. Speaker, I crave your indulgence.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead. Hon. Wayne Caines: From 2009—I will state it again— we have had 53 murders.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMurders, m m-hmm. Hon. Wayne Caines: We have 140 incidents, amm unition and seizures. The research has shown that we have 400 children in our private schools and middle schools and high schools who have been deemed to be at risk. We have Mr. Chae Powell , who was hired …
Murders, m m-hmm. Hon. Wayne Caines: We have 140 incidents, amm unition and seizures. The research has shown that we have 400 children in our private schools and middle schools and high schools who have been deemed to be at risk. We have Mr. Chae Powell , who was hired by the previous administration. He is the Gang Violence Intervention Project Manager. He is responsible for managing and maintaining a strong relationship with the diverse stakeholders, including both frontline and executive law enforcement partners; community - based organisations and social service providers, i ncluding coordinating and chairing the special working groups. He [oversees] the coordination for the day -today operation of Bermuda’s version of the gang vi olence interventions and its Ceasefire model, including the activation of the law enforcement and operation support and outreach activities, and the comm unity’s moral voice and working groups. He is also the project manager for Team StreetSafe. Team StreetSafe is the element of this plan that goes into the community, finding at -risk men and bringing them, giving them a different way of life. He has direct responsibility for the outreach workers. He also is responsible for providing leadership for the Crisis Coordination Response Team that leads in cr isis response in the community to assist community members experiencing crisis intervention. Pastor Leroy B ean will be responsible for developing an interfaith plan. And this is a plan of action that brings the Community Action Group for Safer Communities. He will be responsible for establishing community support groups, for creating a plan similar to the Moms on a Mission in Bermuda, a programme that was set up for a support group for mothers. He will be responsible for creating a transition plan, and this is an honourable exit programme for at -risk young people. He will be responsible for developing a plan, in collaboration with the Department of Workforce D evelopment, for finding jobs for at -risk young men. He will also be responsible for developing a community action plan for building efficiencies in the community. Mr. Speaker, with the unfortunate proliferation of gang violence in Bermuda, we have gone from a one-man- band to a team that is developing, regrett ably, as a result, as we see these incidents grow. I understand our community, and we have a concern about the government purse. We are mindful of that. And so, when you look at our Ministry, we are looking at different elements of our Ministry where we can constantly cut and trim and make sure we are cogn isant of the country’s purse. This will not be politicised. This is an opportunity for us to develo p an expert in this industry. The expert in this industry locally is Pastor Leroy Bean, for 14 years. We have Mr. Chae Powell , who is also an expert in this industry . These men, regardless of which administration they come from, you will be ha ppy to know, Mr. Speaker, that these men are working in concert for the people of Bermuda, to find the o pportunity to reduce gang violence and gun- related crime in these Islands, Mr. Speaker.
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Bermuda House of Assembly This is a supplementary or a new question? Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes, a suppl ementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Just to say, Mr. Speaker, as a preface to the question that I have, that we are fully supportive of eff orts to ensure that gun violence and gang violence are minimised. With that said, the Minister, from his response . . . …
Supplementary.
SUPPLEMENTARY
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Just to say, Mr. Speaker, as a preface to the question that I have, that we are fully supportive of eff orts to ensure that gun violence and gang violence are minimised. With that said, the Minister, from his response . . . I just want to confirm that he is saying that the two positions, as mentioned, will be working in tandem with other . . . with specific responsibilities assigned to each. Will there be additional staffing that will come on board to enhance the availability to be able to tackle the problem outside of the two gentlemen that the Honourable Member has indicated?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Hon. Wayne Caines: Try as they might, I thought I made it explicitly clear. But for the hearing impaired, there is an opportunity for both of these elements to work in tandem. There is a long- term strategy. The particular gang strategy, Mr. Speaker, it sees me mbers of …
Minister.
Hon. Wayne Caines: Try as they might, I thought I made it explicitly clear. But for the hearing impaired, there is an opportunity for both of these elements to work in tandem. There is a long- term strategy. The particular gang strategy, Mr. Speaker, it sees me mbers of the police force, the DPP [ Department of Public Prosecutions] , the Customs Department, every e lement are helping in this, Mirrors . . . all of these are working in tandem to find a solution to the gang prob-lem. If in the future we need to hire more personnel, this is a matter for the Premier and the Cabinet. But we will do whatever we have to, keeping in mind the restraints of the budget and keeping in mind what we need to do to make sure that we find a solution to gang violence, Mr. Speaker.
The S peaker: Thank you, Minister. No further questions? The next Statement that Members have ind icated they have questions on will be the Statement from Minister Burch.
[Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerExcuse me. I hear overtones. Please. Thank you. T hank you. If the two leaders would like to have a discussion, you can take it outside. Not across the floor, please. Thank you. [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI have asked that you two take the comments outside if you want a conversation. The next Statement is that of Minister Burch, in reference to the overgrowth. We have four Members who have indicated that they have got questions. And the first Member is the Honourable Member from constituency …
I have asked that you two take the comments outside if you want a conversation. The next Statement is that of Minister Burch, in reference to the overgrowth. We have four Members who have indicated that they have got questions. And the first Member is the Honourable Member from constituency 26, the Honourable Member, Mr. Tyrrell. Mr. Tyr rell, you have the floor.
QUESTION 1: OVERGROWTH ON HIGHWAYS AND VERGES
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, if the Honourable Minister could answer, Is he aware of neighbourhood efforts across the Island to assist in the [control of] vegetation growth? Is he aware of that?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Speaker, the a nswer is yes. I think he is referring to Farmer Famous. [Laughter]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchWho, Mr. Speaker, started a campaign several weeks ago. I thought he was poking at me. He sent me a photograph of an overgrown piece of real estate in his district, and I asked him, What do you want? I don’t have anybody to send to cut it! He said, …
Who, Mr. Speaker, started a campaign several weeks ago. I thought he was poking at me. He sent me a photograph of an overgrown piece of real estate in his district, and I asked him, What do you want? I don’t have anybody to send to cut it! He said, No, I’m asking for permi ssion to cut it. I said, Go right ahead. And he did. And he then sent me a picture of it being cut. And what he has done is to start a firestorm across the country, in that all across the country, I think, both Members of Parliament, but more importantly, members of co mmunities have come together to assist in beautifying their own communities and the country at large.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Further question? Supplementary, Mr. Tyrrell? No, you are good? Oh, supplementary? Okay. The next Member who has indicated he has a question for you on this t opic, Minister, is the Member from constituency 24. The Honourable Member, Mr. Scott, you have the floor. QUESTION 1: OVERGROWTH ON …
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottThank you, Mr. Speaker. Minister, did I hear correctly that there has been no weed -spraying since 2015? And can you explain why?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Speaker, that is correct. And it is due to a combination of errors —the banning of glyphosate herbicide and the non- hiring of staff to replace those who either retired, were fired, or 292 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly quit from the Department of …
Mr. Speaker, that is correct. And it is due to a combination of errors —the banning of glyphosate herbicide and the non- hiring of staff to replace those who either retired, were fired, or 292 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly quit from the Department of Parks, to the extent that that area is now 30 people under strength.
Some Hon. Members Some Hon. MembersWhoa! Whoa!
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Supplementary? SUPPLEMENTARY
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottSupplementary, Mr. Speaker. Minister, in your opinion, is that the basis for privatisation of that department?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchYou asked for my opinion? I mean, I think that, Mr. Speaker, one of the challenges with the Department of Parks is that it has, I would venture to say, certainly within this Ministry . . . the morale is at the lowest of any part of the Ministry. And, …
You asked for my opinion? I mean, I think that, Mr. Speaker, one of the challenges with the Department of Parks is that it has, I would venture to say, certainly within this Ministry . . . the morale is at the lowest of any part of the Ministry. And, I would probably go so far as to say, the lowest of any area in government. And it has been suggested to me by member s of that staff, and you could see by the lack of effort to provide them with the proper tools and equipment and staffing, that they seem to be on the path to privatisation, by stealth.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary? We recognise the Honourable Member from c onstituency 19. The Honourable Member, Mrs. Atherden, you have the floor. SUPPLEMENTARIES
Mrs. Jeanne J. AtherdenMinister, you have indicated in your Statement . . . and I see the MPW (and I presume that means the Ministry of Public Works) has started to implement several elements of the Integrated Vegetation Management [IVM] Plan. And that plan is dealing with utilising controlling the vegetation. And you …
Minister, you have indicated in your Statement . . . and I see the MPW (and I presume that means the Ministry of Public Works) has started to implement several elements of the Integrated Vegetation Management [IVM] Plan. And that plan is dealing with utilising controlling the vegetation. And you have indicated that they have already implemented several elements that will be further developed. Now that, to me, when I hear “ further developed, ” it means that there was something already in place. Could you indicate to me when this IVM plan was started?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I do have a supplementary. If the Honourable Member could advise, what is the replacement —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSorry. I did not recognise t he Honour able Opposition Leader. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Oh, I am sorry.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou have the floor. Go ahead, for your supplementary. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Minister, what is the replacement chemical that will replace . . . what was outlawed was Roundup, because of its environmental impact. So is it going to be Roundup and just properly …
You have the floor. Go ahead, for your supplementary. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Minister, what is the replacement chemical that will replace . . . what was outlawed was Roundup, because of its environmental impact. So is it going to be Roundup and just properly managed? Or is it going to be a replacement kind of chemical that is similar to Roundup, but something different?
Lt. C ol. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Speaker, I do not know whether it is going to be Roundup. But essentially, it is going to be the same chemical herbicide that was used previously.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Supplementary? Supplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 20. Honourable Member Jackson, you have the floor. SUPPLEMENTARIES
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you, Mr. Speaker. I would lik e to ask the Minister, what is going to be done to protect our farmlands from, in particular, runoff of this weed killer and chemicals into our far mlands?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister. Bermuda House of Assembly Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch: Mr. Speaker, I expected that I would get that question. Clearly, the management of the programme is to be incorporated in terms of addressing the runoff of any of the herb icide. And that is why the …
Thank you. Minister.
Bermuda House of Assembly Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch: Mr. Speaker, I expected that I would get that question. Clearly, the management of the programme is to be incorporated in terms of addressing the runoff of any of the herb icide. And that is why the programme is going to be with specific instructions that are being imposed upon the Ministr y of Works by the Department of Environmental Science.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? Continue.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonI would like to ask the Mini ster, then, can he confirm whether there will be any kind of tests? Testing of soil, testing of water, testing of vegetation in order to confirm that these chemicals are not getting into our farmlands, as part of his pr ogramme?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? Or a new question? Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: No, it is a su pplementary.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe recognise the Honourable Oppos ition Leader. You have the floor. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Minister could just confirm. Obviously, the IVM programme and the success thereof is predicated upon homeowners or landowners, property owners, being able to …
We recognise the Honourable Oppos ition Leader. You have the floor.
SUPPLEMENTARY
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Minister could just confirm. Obviously, the IVM programme and the success thereof is predicated upon homeowners or landowners, property owners, being able to also do their share. Do we at the moment have a plan in terms of advising property owners in terms of their requir ements to cut back? Minister, you asked him to repeat it. He repeated it twice for the edification of the public. I think that what I would like to know is if the public can expect, and therefore expect to respond to, the requirement that they have to cut back on their verges in order to help with the success of the IVM pr ogramme?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Speaker, yes, there is a plan for that. Each individual homeowner who is applicable to this process will receive a letter from the Ministry of Public Works, advising them of the requirement to carry out the necessary cutting of their hedges and grass verges, and indicating to them a …
Mr. Speaker, yes, there is a plan for that. Each individual homeowner who is applicable to this process will receive a letter from the Ministry of Public Works, advising them of the requirement to carry out the necessary cutting of their hedges and grass verges, and indicating to them a certain period of time in which they have to do so. And if they do not, we will do it, and we will bill them, and they will be charged for it.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? You have had two suppl ementaries. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I have? Okay. All right.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerAnyone else? Okay. The other Members who h ave indicated that they wanted to ask questions on [the Statement by] this Minister would be the Honourable Member from constituency 8. Mr. Simons, do you still wish to ask your ques tion? The Honourable Member Simons, you have the floor. QUESTION …
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsThank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes. A few of my questions have been asked, but I have one remaining question. Does the Minister intend to lift the ban on glyphosate for the private sector? I know that [there are] conditions [under which] the public sector (i.e., the Works and Engineering) can …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes. A few of my questions have been asked, but I have one remaining question. Does the Minister intend to lift the ban on glyphosate for the private sector? I know that [there are] conditions [under which] the public sector (i.e., the Works and Engineering) can use it. But is it the Government’s intention to lift the current ban on glyphosate for the private sector?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? No supplementary. Further question? No. The next Member who indicated he has a question for you on this Statement, Minister, is the Honourable Member from constituency 22. The Honourable Member Gibbons, you have the floor. QUESTION 1: OVERGROWTH ON HIGHWAYS AND VERGES
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsThank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think a lot of us are aware of the danger now with, particularly, weeds as they are growing up right at the side of the roads, because cars swing out and somebody is going to get hit because they are usually over the …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I think a lot of us are aware of the danger now with, particularly, weeds as they are growing up right at the side of the roads, because cars swing out and somebody is going to get hit because they are usually over the line. I guess the question I have to the Minister is going to be, with respect to this Integrated Vegetation Management plan, which a pparently is already starting to be put into effec t, does he have a timeline as to when glyphosate will be used again? Is there a sense of what the timing will be on that? 294 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Minister.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Speaker, I do not have an exact time. But I can report that the Minister responsible for the Environment, the Minister of Home Affairs, gave permission to us on Wednesday of this week. And we have placed an order for a resupply.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? SUPPLEMENTARY
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsSupplementary. Thanks, Mr. Speaker, yes. So I take it from what the Minister just said that the Integrated Vegetation Management plan has now been completed, which was not clear from the Statement?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Speaker, no. That is not the case. The Integrated Vegetation Manag ement plan includes the use of herbicide, as well as all of the other items that I indicated in my Statement that would be implemented, going forward.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSupplementary. We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 8. Honourable Member Simons, you have the floor. SUPPLEMENTARY
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsIs it the Ministry’s intention to order their glyphosate from local wholesalers or bus inesspeople, or will they go directly overseas and do their own importations?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Speaker, I am surprised at that question from a former Minister of the Environment. I believe the Department of Parks has been ordering directly from a supplier in Miami, I believe, for the last several years and will continue to do so.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? Supplementary?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerA new question. Is this a supplementary? Okay, we will take the supplementary from the Honourable Member from constituency 20. Honourable Member Jackson, you have the floor. SUPPLEMENTARY
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you, Mr. Speaker. I am a bit optimistic and idealistic, but should this programme work and we also get the residents to start clearing out their weeds and verges, et cetera, roadsides, would we cut back on the use of these chemicals?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Speaker, it is a little rich, the questions coming from the other side, as we on this side have not done any research in relation to this glyphosate herbicide. All of it was done, and all of the evidence that I have was done, starting with the report locally …
Mr. Speaker, it is a little rich, the questions coming from the other side, as we on this side have not done any research in relation to this glyphosate herbicide. All of it was done, and all of the evidence that I have was done, starting with the report locally in November 2016 by Dr. Geoff Smith, the Environmental Engineer at the Department of E nvironment and Natural Resources, a presentation that was made to the Ministry of the former Government on the 12 th of January 2017, and the international, including the UK, European, Canadian, and US r esearch that indicates that this particular herbicide is not the cause of cancer. Having said all of that, it is our intent and our plan not to just wildly use herbicide as a means of r emediating the difficulties that we have, but to use an integrated plan that incorporates herbicide as well as all of the other activities in order to reduce the amount of weeds on our roadside. That is the plan going forward. And we will modify it and test it and adjust it, continuously, going forward, to address the challenges that we face so this country actually looks like it welcomes tourists and not looks like the African jun-gle. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
[Laughter]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Any supplementaries? No supplementar ies. Questions? No questions. The next Statement that Members have had questions on, Minister, would be for your Statement in reference to the relocation of the airport. And the first question is that from the Honourable Member from constituency 21. Honourable Member Commissiong, …
Thank you, Minister. Any supplementaries? No supplementar ies. Questions? No questions. The next Statement that Members have had questions on, Minister, would be for your Statement in reference to the relocation of the airport. And the first question is that from the Honourable Member from constituency 21. Honourable Member Commissiong, you have the floor.
QUESTION 1: RELOCATION OF THE AIRPORT MAIL FACILITY
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongThank you, Mr. Speaker. Bermuda House of Assembly Minister, will you not concede that, with r espect to the debacle at the airport in reference to the mail s orting facility, that it represents what I would call the socialisation of losses with respect to what the Government is now …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Bermuda House of Assembly Minister, will you not concede that, with r espect to the debacle at the airport in reference to the mail s orting facility, that it represents what I would call the socialisation of losses with respect to what the Government is now on the [hook] for, as opposed to private gain? So it is private gain for the developers, but the socialisation of loss for the form er public asset under question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerPut it in a question for the Minister.
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongWill you not concede, sir, that this appears to be the case in this instance? [Inaudible interjections]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Speaker , with the greatest respect, I do not have a clue what he was asking. [Laughter]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerQuiet, quiet, Members. Member, could you just restate your question in a short form? In a short form.
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongWith respect to the airport, is this an example . . . would the Minister concede that this is an example of how privatisation, as we have seen it, has resulted in the socialisation of the cost of privatisation falling on the taxpayer while the gains accrue to the developer, …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister. Would you like another crack at that, Minister? [Inaudible interjections and laughter ]
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchOkay. Let me try and translate it into something that I might . . . if the question is, Is this an example of potential privatisation costing the government more?, then my answer would be yes.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Any supplementary? We have a supplementary from the Honour able Member from constituency 19. Honourable Member Atherden, you have the floor. SUPPLEMENTARY
Mrs. Jeanne J. AtherdenI would just ask the Mini ster, in respect to this relocation of the airport mail faci lity, would he indicate whether the application of the notice in the paper today, which is talking about the revenue appointment of the Federal Express Bermuda Limited, does that mean, in anticipation that …
I would just ask the Mini ster, in respect to this relocation of the airport mail faci lity, would he indicate whether the application of the notice in the paper today, which is talking about the revenue appointment of the Federal Express Bermuda Limited, does that mean, in anticipation that there is going to be a move from the airport to this facility, that the Customs Department has to then turn around and designate that this is an area for postal inspection?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYour question was supposed to be a supplementary on his question.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou are off the base on that one. But, Minister, would you want to ignore it or respond to it?
Lt. Col. Ho n. David A. BurchWell, I have not seen today’s paper because as everybody knows I do not buy them. So if you want to share it with me, I might read it. But I do believe that Her Majesty’s Customs must designate areas as areas that are applicable to them. And I do …
Well, I have not seen today’s paper because as everybody knows I do not buy them. So if you want to share it with me, I might read it. But I do believe that Her Majesty’s Customs must designate areas as areas that are applicable to them. And I do not know if that notice refers to that. But certainly, the area that they are moving to will be designated by Her Majesty, Her Majesty’s Customs, as a customs area.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Supplementary? Your supplementary is still off of the q uestion that was asked by the Honourable Member from constituency 21. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: That is correct.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerOkay. If you can keep it to the line with his question, you can do your supplementary. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe recognise the Honourable Oppos ition Leader. You have the floor, Madam. SUPPLEMENTARY Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is, when we heard the word “ privatisation ” with respect to the airport, will the Minister accept that privatisation would suggest that the …
We recognise the Honourable Oppos ition Leader. You have the floor, Madam.
SUPPLEMENTARY
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is, when we heard the word “ privatisation ” with respect to the airport, will the Minister accept that privatisation would suggest that the company responsible for the development of the airport has taken over the ownership of it? The Government continues to hold . . .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerActually, Madam Opposition Leader, I am going to save the Minister from having to get out of his seat because we have just run out of time. The questions started at 11:31. It is now 12:31. So the hour has passed for Question Period. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank …
Actually, Madam Opposition Leader, I am going to save the Minister from having to get out of his seat because we have just run out of time. The questions started at 11:31. It is now 12:31. So the hour has passed for Question Period.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you.
296 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: But it is also time for me to recognise the Premier or the Deputy Premier at this time, as well. So, just to be clear, the Question Period has ended now.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I ask that we adjourn for lunch.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes. We do now adjourn until 2:00 pm. Proceedings suspended at 12:32 pm Proceedings resumed at 2:02 pm [Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThe morning concluded with us finis hing the Question Period. We are now on Congratulat ory and/or Obituary Speeches. CONGRATULATORY AND/OR OBITUARY SPEECHES
The SpeakerThe SpeakerDoes anybody wish to speak? I recognise Honourable Member from consti tuency 33, [sic] Mr. Simmons. Honourable Member Mr. Simmons, you have the floor.
Mr. Scott SimmonsThank you so much. I do not know if it was don e at your last sitting, having been absent, but I would like to ask to recognise certainly the passing of Kerry Lynn Hollis under very, very tragic circumstances. And I would like to extend to her family our …
Thank you so much. I do not know if it was don e at your last sitting, having been absent, but I would like to ask to recognise certainly the passing of Kerry Lynn Hollis under very, very tragic circumstances. And I would like to extend to her family our deepest condolences and ask that a letter be sent. I believe that the circumstances surrounding that . . . any family that loses a member of their family, our hearts and the entire hearts of Bermuda go out to her [family]. So I ask, Mr. Speaker , at this time that a letter be sent . . . from Mr. Kim Swan and the entire House. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 30. Honourable Member Scott, you have the floor.
Ms. Leah K. ScottThank you, Mr. Speaker , and good afternoon. Mr. Speaker , I would like to offer condolences to the family of Kerry Petty who died in a road traffic accident last week. I want to associate the whole House. [Inaudible interjections]
Ms. Leah K. ScottMs. Kerry was — The Sp eaker: It actually is the same person that was just done; she goes by Hollis or Petty.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSo associate yourself with them.
Ms. Leah K. ScottOkay. Ms. Hollis/Petty . . . I know her father, I did work for her father many, many years ago and she comes from a family of four, she is the only girl and she died leaving a seven- month- old baby and a 10year-old daughter. So my condolences really …
Okay. Ms. Hollis/Petty . . . I know her father, I did work for her father many, many years ago and she comes from a family of four, she is the only girl and she died leaving a seven- month- old baby and a 10year-old daughter. So my condolences really go out to the family. Second, I would like to offer congratulations t o Leroy Bean for being appointed as the Gang Activities Coordinator. And I would like, Mr. Speaker , to say that Mr. Bean, I think, is more than qualified for this job. I think that he will bring a component that has been lacking and that is his spiritual aptitude. I would like to congratulate the Minister for choosing him and selec ting him. And I would like to say, Mr. Speaker , that I hope that we grow and mature to the point that when somebody is appointed to a position that we do not feel that we need to pull their skeletons out of the closet to condemn them for their ability to do the job. He is here to do a job. We all have a past and there is not one of us in here who does not have a skeleton that we do not want exposed. So we need to let pe ople do what they are hired to do. And I do not know if any of you know Pastor Bean or have heard him preach, but Pastor Bean can break down the Word of God and serve it up to you like a four -star Michelin chef. He is amazing. I congratulate the Minister and I am look ing forward to seeing what Mr. Bean is going to do in this community and I wholeheartedly and fully support his appoint-ment. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
[Desk thumping]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 26. Honourable Member Tyrrell, you have the floor. Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Neville S. Tyrrell: Thank you, Mr. Speaker , and good afternoon. I rise to ask for condolences to be sent to …
Thank you. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 26. Honourable Member Tyrrell, you have the floor.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Neville S. Tyrrell: Thank you, Mr. Speaker , and good afternoon. I rise to ask for condolences to be sent to the family of Neal “Sluggo” Adderley. Under normal ci rcumstances, Mr. Speaker , I would imagine the MP for the area would do it, but because my CEO in my house is related to Mr. Adderley —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYour CEO, hey? Okay. [Laughter]
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellI have been asked to bring condolences. Sluggo, as he was affectionately known to both my wife and I, has really helped us through our lifetime. In fact, when I first was courting my wife—if you understand about courting nowadays —she took me around to meet the family and Sluggo …
I have been asked to bring condolences. Sluggo, as he was affectionately known to both my wife and I, has really helped us through our lifetime. In fact, when I first was courting my wife—if you understand about courting nowadays —she took me around to meet the family and Sluggo was one of the first persons that I met and he gave me some good advice in terms of how to—
Mr. Neville S. TyrrellYes. Okay, I will cut to the chase. He gave me approval. And at the same time he has treated my wife, Sheila, since the passing of her fat her, as a father himself to her. So we both will miss him and I ask that condolences be sent. And …
Yes. Okay, I will cut to the chase. He gave me approval. And at the same time he has treated my wife, Sheila, since the passing of her fat her, as a father himself to her. So we both will miss him and I ask that condolences be sent. And while I am on my feet, Mr. Speaker , I would like to send congratulations to a young lady, Comelia Pitt . She is actually at the last portion of her law degree from BPP University Law School. She has got first -class honours and should be graduating in a month’s time. And so she is going back . . . after a long struggle—she has come from a single [parent] family —and she has done herself proud and her fam ily as we ll. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 7. Honourable Member Richards, you have the floor. Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker , I would like for congratulations to be sent to XL Catlin which was …
Thank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 7. Honourable Member Richards, you have the floor.
Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker , I would like for congratulations to be sent to XL Catlin which was recently named Bermuda Insurer of the Year by the —
[Inaudible interjections] Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Okay, I am going to associate the whole House with this because it is a very worthy thing. They were named Bermuda Insurer of the Year by the insurance industry trade publication Reactions magazine. The award ceremony was held in New York City on September 28 th. And I especially want to congratulate my good friend XL Cat lin Mana g-ing Director and CEO of Bermuda Ltd., Mr. Patrick Tannock, who was joined by his team members of XL Catlin who included former Senator Kim Wilkerson, who is head of Bermuda Claims for Insurance. The nominations come from executives of North Americ an brokerage houses who were asked which insurance and reinsurance company stood out in their markets as top performers for the period June 1, 2016 to May 31, 2017, and why. XL was selected as Bermuda Insurer of the Year because of their strong reputation in terms of consistent, high- quality performance. So I think that is something that we should acknowledge and, once again, congratulations to XL Catlin, Berm uda Insurer of the Year.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 8. Honourable Member Simons, you have the floor.
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsThank you, Mr. Speaker . I would like to send condolences to the family of Mrs. Blanche Wade. She was from Warwick. She was a retired teacher. She was one of the oldfashioned teachers who had a passion for teaching. She loved teaching and she loved engaging in helping to …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker . I would like to send condolences to the family of Mrs. Blanche Wade. She was from Warwick. She was a retired teacher. She was one of the oldfashioned teachers who had a passion for teaching. She loved teaching and she loved engaging in helping to develop young people. So to her family I would like to send my warmest wishes and I am with them during this difficu lt time. And special condolences go out to the children —Clifford Wade, Sandra Thornhill, and Russell Wade. I would like to also send condolences to the family of Lobelia Ismay Bubenzer. I worked with Ms. Bubenzer at AIG. And I think she was a Renaissance person of her time. At 19 years old in 1945— 1943— she travelled to England to serve in the Auxiliary Terr itorial Service (basically helping during the war) —a young black Bermudian [who] paid her own way over because she wanted to make a difference, because she wanted to make a contribution. She landed in London during the London raids and she just managed to do what she had to do to make her contrib ution. They shipped her off to Oxfordshire where she acted as a secretary for four years and then she was releas ed basically in 1947 when she went and worked as a secretary for Robert Maxwell, the billionaire, in his then- fledgling media empire, and look where he is today. She left there and came back home and was the first black woman to work as a secretary in Bermuda Magistrates Court. So to two of her sons —Peter Bubenzer and Axel Bubenzer —I send them my hear tfelt condolences and I salute their mother who was a Renaissance lady and made Bermuda proud as the first black Bermudian to take on such a role. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? 298 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 31. Honourable Member Smith, you have the floor.
Mr. Ben SmithThank you, Mr. Speaker . I would like to give congratul ations to Jyire Mitchell. He placed third in the 41st Annual Kawasaki Race. It is a motocross race. He placed in the Expert Pro-Am category. I would also like to give congratulations to Justin Donawa who was named the …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker . I would like to give congratul ations to Jyire Mitchell. He placed third in the 41st Annual Kawasaki Race. It is a motocross race. He placed in the Expert Pro-Am category. I would also like to give congratulations to Justin Donawa who was named the Ivy League Player of the Week becaus e of his goal against, I believe they played . . .he is Dartmouth, but I —
Mr. Ben SmithHe scored a goal, but I cannot r emember what it was.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, sure, sure. Okay. That is it? Oh, okay. Thank you . Any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 9. Honourable Member Atherden, you have the floor.
Mrs. Jeanne J. AtherdenMr. Speaker , I would like to be associated with the remarks to be sent to the family of Blanche Wade. As my family used to remind me, they are our cousins, relatives, and we are always saddened when persons die. And I am even more saddened or was saddened …
Mr. Speaker , I would like to be associated with the remarks to be sent to the family of Blanche Wade. As my family used to remind me, they are our cousins, relatives, and we are always saddened when persons die. And I am even more saddened or was saddened at the time, but I would like to be associated with the remarks that Member Tyrrell expressed being sent to the family of Neal “Sluggo” Adderley. Uncle Neal was also my uncle in the sense of my father’s brother, but what people do not realise is that he actually made Dale Butler’s book of nicknames because Neal was his real name but “Sluggo” was what he was known by, partially because he did so many things. He was one of those first individuals that would swim from Lady’s Chamber all the way out to Dockyard. And so . . . we do not realise that back in the day, those individuals were athletes and they did so many things that we did not do. Mr. Speaker , I would also like to have congratulations sent to the Police force with respect to a very successful Police Week. I know it is not finished, I know it is to be culminating tomorrow in their Gala Ball, but the reason I say that I know it is successful is because they had a Seniors’ Tea and I had a lady come up and say to me, Why weren’t you at the Se niors’ Tea? And I said, I’m not the Minister anymore. But I also said, If I am invited next time I will be there. But it is important that they continue doing things like the Seniors’ Tea where seniors get out and actually appreciate . . . and the Gymkhana, because all of those things give people the opportunity to have, what I call, a friendly interaction with t he police force. Too often the interaction that people have with police is not always friendly, and we keep forgetting that they are there to do a job and we actually rely on them to keep us safe and, therefore, congratulations should be sent to them. Thank you , Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 20. Honourable Member Jackson, you have the floor.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you, Mr. Speaker . I would like to associate myself with the co ndolences going out to Kerry Hollis. She was a bright light that has gone way too soon. And I certainly knew her from the time that she was a young girl —a very young girl —as …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker . I would like to associate myself with the co ndolences going out to Kerry Hollis. She was a bright light that has gone way too soon. And I certainly knew her from the time that she was a young girl —a very young girl —as she was a young woman leaving us so soon. And she w as very much a part of the family. I appreciated all of the really good home- style playing outside with the children. My son was very close to her younger brother and so it was all very much a vi llage raising the children. And she babysat on occ asion and t ook care of the kids and I really appreciated the quality of her character. And I just, on reflection, would like to just add, Mr. Speaker , that the health of Bermuda on the roads right now is traumatic and it is at what I would consider to be an epidemic situation. And if there is anything that we can do to take a look at the reasons why people are doing what they are doing on the roads and try to find some way to provide the support and provide whatever kinds of pr ogrammes that are needed in order to have people understand the risks on our roads and the importance of being careful and considerate and safe while driving. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 11. Honourable Member Famous, you have the floor.
Mr. Christopher FamousGood afternoon, Mr. Speaker . I first want to thank the Parks Department for the job that they do under the trying circumstances. Despite the shortage of men they have done what they could to keep our country looking as pristine as possible. It is very important —[if it is] …
Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker . I first want to thank the Parks Department for the job that they do under the trying circumstances. Despite the shortage of men they have done what they could to keep our country looking as pristine as possible. It is very important —[if it is] important for us to recognise persons in ivy then it is just as important for us to recognise the working class people in this country. Secondly, Mr. Spe aker, I would like to give a Happy Birthday to Honourable Member Kim Swan, who celebrated his birthday two days ago.
[Desk thumping]
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Christopher Famous: Mr. Speaker , six years ago I told him he was on the wrong side of the tracks. Like Saul, somewher e along the way he saw the light and he has converted. So I would like to take this time to invite others who may be on the wrong side of the tracks to see the light as well. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Member who just got co ngratulated for his . . . what year was it? We did not hear what year it is. [Laughter]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerBut Honourable Member Mr. Swan from constituency 2, you have the floor.
Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerWell, well, all right, Mr. Swan.
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanI would like to rise to r eturn the compliment to my dear friend, Mr. Famous, and wish him a very Happy Birthday on the occasion of being a Member of Parliament and representing the good people of Devonshire. May he enjoy his birthday immensely over the weekend, Mr. Speaker …
I would like to rise to r eturn the compliment to my dear friend, Mr. Famous, and wish him a very Happy Birthday on the occasion of being a Member of Parliament and representing the good people of Devonshire. May he enjoy his birthday immensely over the weekend, Mr. Speaker . And I would like for the Town of St. George’s that recognise UNESCO yesterday to be congratulat-ed for honouring two outstanding teachers that served our community in the past. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? No other Honourable Member . We are moving on. MATTERS OF PRIVILEGE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. PERSONA L EXPLANATIONS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. NOTICE OF MOTIONS FOR THE ADJOURNMENT OF THE HOUSE ON MATTERS OF URGENT PUBLIC IMPORTANCE
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. INTRODUCTION OF BILLS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWe have two on the Order Paper. We recognise the Hon ourable Member , the Deputy Premier. You have the floor, Deputy Premier. GOVERNMENT BILLS FIRST READINGS ELECTRICITY AMENDMENT ACT 2017 Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . I am introducing the following Bill for its first reading …
We have two on the Order Paper. We recognise the Hon ourable Member , the Deputy Premier. You have the floor, Deputy Premier.
GOVERNMENT BILLS
FIRST READINGS
ELECTRICITY AMENDMENT ACT 2017 Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . 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 Electricity Amendment Act 2017.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. And the second is in the name of the Honourable Minister Brown. Minister Wilson, are you going to introduce it for him? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerCarry on, Minister. BERMUDA IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2017 Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Speaker , on behalf of the Honourable C. W. D. Brown I am introducing the following Bill for its first reading so that it may be placed on the Order Paper for the …
Carry on, Minister.
BERMUDA IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION AMENDMENT (NO. 2) ACT 2017
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Speaker , on behalf of the Honourable C. W. D. Brown 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, nam ely, the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment (No. 2) Act 2017.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. OPPOSITION BILLS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. PRIVATE MEMBERS’ BILLS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. NOTICES OF MOTIONS
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThere are none. ORDERS OF THE DAY
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI understand that there has been an agreed adjustment in the orders by the Whips and that we are doing [Orders Nos.] 1, 2, and 3 today, but I understand that [Order No.] 3 is going to be taken up first, and then [Order No.] 2 and then [Order No.]1. …
I understand that there has been an agreed adjustment in the orders by the Whips and that we are doing [Orders Nos.] 1, 2, and 3 today, but I understand that [Order No.] 3 is going to be taken up first, and then [Order No.] 2 and then [Order No.]1. 300 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly So Minister, are you going to lead us on [O rder No.] 3? I recognise the Honourable Minister. Honourable Minister Mr. Simmons, you have the floor.
BILL
SECOND READING
TOURISM INVESTMENT ACT 2017
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , I move the Bill entitled the Tourism Investment Act 2017 be now read the second time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGo ahead, Minister. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Mr. Speaker , the purpose of the Bill before the House today seeks to establish customs duty and certain tax relief for tourism products as identified in the National Tourism Plan. Mr. Speaker , for the information of this House, I would like …
Go ahead, Minister.
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Mr. Speaker , the purpose of the Bill before the House today seeks to establish customs duty and certain tax relief for tourism products as identified in the National Tourism Plan. Mr. Speaker , for the information of this House, I would like to provide a brief history of the Hotels Concession Act 2000 and the financial relief provided since that legislation’s inception, along with the objectives of the Tourism Investment Act 2017, including the research conducted by the Bermuda Touri sm A uthority on competitive destinations and outcomes leading to the Bill being debated today and the need for change focusing on tourism investment. Mr. Speaker , the Hotels Concession Act 2000 was enacted to encourage investment in hotel development by providing full relief from customs duty and full or partial relief from hotel occupancy tax, payroll tax, land tax, and by removing certain restrictions on companies holding interests in land. It further outlined procedures that developers should follow whe n appl ying for a Hotel Concession Order. The intended i mpact and outcome was to create employment and entrepreneurial opportunities within the hotel sector and provide tax relief for up to five years for: land tax, employers’ share of payroll tax, and hote l occupancy tax; as well as customs duty relief until the first anniversary of the opening date; and a deferral of land hol ding charges, if applicable. Mr. Speaker , since August 2000, twenty Hotel Concession Orders have been granted. Today there are nine active Hotel Concession Orders. These are by the name of the hotel and year: • Fairmont Southampton, 2013; • Hamilton Princess, 2013; • Hamilton Princess, 2014; • Pink Beach, 2015; • Coral Beach and Tennis Club, 2015; • Tucker’s Point, 2016; • Former Surfside, 2016; • Elbow Beach, 2016; and • Hamilton Princess, 2016. These Orders will not be revoked and they will run concurrently with the Tourism Investment Act. Let me repeat, these Orders will not be revoked and they will run concurrently with the Tourism Investment Act 2017. Mr. Speaker , from the year 2000 a total of $19.3 million in hotel concession relief has been granted by the Government of Bermuda as of the 31 st March 2017. The underutilised Orders present a con-tingent liability on the Government’s balance sheet, managed by the Office of the Tax Commissioner, because most of the Orders do not have an expiry date, which has been addressed in the Tourism Investment Act 2017. Mr. Speaker , looking forward the relief that is being budgeted over the next 10 to 15 years for active Hotel Concession Orders under the Hotels Conces-sion Act 2000, amounts to approximately $63.3 mi llion. Each hotel with active Orders will continue to make annual submissions for relief under the Hotels Concession Act 2000, and must provide proof of spending on annual marketing, hiring of Bermudian entertainment, and the training of Bermudians. This process has proven administratively burdensome and costly for hotels as they are required to have a professional audit done on each anniversary submission f or each category of tax concession. It is anticipated that some relief may simply fall away by virtue of the arduous processes these developers have had to follow in order to obtain their employers’ share of payroll tax and hotel occupancy tax relief. In addition to the Hotels Concession Act 2000, there are two special Acts that have become law since 2014 and they have provision for concessions as part of their Act. They are: the Morgan’s Point Resort Act 2014 and the St. George’s Resort Act 2015. The concessions available within those Acts are estimated to be approximately $34.1 million over the next 10 to 15 years. Mr. Speaker , the overarching objective of this Bill is to stimulate more tourism development opport unities by direct foreign and local investm ent into Bermuda’s economy and to capitalise on the work the Bermuda Tourism Authority is doing to increase air leisure arrivals and creating new products and new experiences. The Bill encompasses the full spectrum of Bermuda’s tourism product, not just hotel develo pment, and demonstrates a shift from the status quo to a jurisdiction that is desirous to compete in the global tourism market. Mr. Speaker , over the past two years both the Minister responsible for Tourism and the Bermuda Tourism Authority have reviewed the legislative framework for Bermuda’s key island competitors, i ncluding the Bahamas, Barbados, the Cayman [I slands], Dominican Republic; and by comparison, Bermuda’s existing legislative framework is outdated,
Bermuda House of Assembly non-competitive, and not investor f ocused. The Bermuda Tourism Authority consulted with international investors, local investors, and hotel operators as well as having reviewed internal reports related to tourism and hospitality investment. Overwhelmingly develo pers have categorised Bermuda as cost -prohibitive, leading to unprofitable hotels, while investors describe Bermuda as complicated, cumbersome, uncompet itive, and confusing. The Bermuda Government held a strategic Hotel Investment Summit in June 2013 under the former Government to answer three key questions: 1. Why is Bermuda not getting its fair share of hotel development? 2. What are other jurisdictions doing to attract hotel development? 3. What are the key strategies for increasing hotel development in Bermuda? We feel that this new invest ment Bill answers those questions. Mr. Speaker , in March 2017 the Draft Bill ent itled the Tourism Investment Act 2017 was laid in the Senate for information and consultation purposes only. Members of the public were invited to send comments on the “ for inf ormation” Bill to the Ministry r esponsible for Tourism. Both the Ministry and the BTA took the Draft Bill for consultation to the Bermuda H otel Association, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism A ssociation, and interested local and foreign investors, as well as advisors known to the BTA and the Government of Bermuda. Mr. Speaker , the Bill originated under the former OBA Government, and the Progressive Labour Party (when we were the Opposition) was consulted on the Tourism Investment Bill. We all gave comment and are now pleased to have a Bill that addresses the concerns of both parties and our stakeholders. Mr. Speaker , tourism is the second pillar of Bermuda’s economy, and the revitalisation of this sector has the greatest potential to spur economic growth and j ob creation in the immediate and near future. A recapture of 50 per cent of the previous tourism market of the past 30 years will potentially generate approximately 1,500 to 2,000 new jobs and should [add] $2 billion to GDP over the next 10 years. The Bill is considered the new standard and the required minimum for consideration by the international and domestic investor community. This Bill reaffirms our commitment to becoming a competitive i nvestment destination and sends the right signal and intent to th e global investment community. Mr. Speaker , the Tourism Investment Act 2017 is envisioned to be more attractive to developers who envision building a new hotel on a vacant lot or reinvesting in an existing hotel with development costs not less than 50 per cent of the appraised market value of that hotel, as well as the refurbishment of an existing hotel where development costs are not less than 25 per cent of the appraised market value. New categories have been added in the Tourism Inves tment Act to include new or existing restaurants and attractions which are considered to be tourism products. The Tourism Investment Act eliminates the cumbersome and costly annual ministration of appro ving concession relief by granting relief on the opening day providing th e qualifying criteria and the scale of relief conditions have been met. This new Act focuses on ensuring that there are management training pr ogrammes for Bermudians in hotels and that they are verified by the Minister responsible for Workforce D evelopment . New hotels who are granted a Tourism I nvestment Order may receive tax relief up to 10 years, and refurbished hotels investing 25 per cent of their property remain at the maximum of 5 years. Each hotel which is granted a Tourism Investment Order for 10 years will be required to provide proof that at least 70 per cent of its workforce is Bermudian in years 6 through 10 of that Order to qualify for any land tax relief. If a new hotel does not employ 70 per cent of their staff in years 6 through 10 with Bermudians and/or train those Bermudians, the land tax relief will be revoked. In addition, Mr. Speaker , the Bill seeks to cr eate a competitive investment environment for hospita lity developers, resulting in hotels and tourism products becoming profitable and n o longer reliant on Government tax reliefs and rebates, and encourage Bermudians to realise and take advantage of economic opportunities in the tourism sector through inves tment and reinvestment, leading to employment and greater contribution to GDP. The B ill will incentivise local tourism developers to invest in their properties in a substantial manner to significantly modernise their properties beyond normal capital maintenance and make the claim process for relief as simple as poss ible without any undue burden on the developer. Mr. Speaker , developers of a new restaurant, an existing restaurant, or an attraction will only be able to apply once for a Tourism Investment Order. Meaning there is no provision for a second application for relief after a Tourism Investment Order has been granted to a restaurant or attraction. In addition, the Minister will not consider an application for a Tourism Investment Order made by the developer of a resta urant or an attraction five years after the Act comes into operation. Mr. Speaker , tourism investment relief will be based on the actual dollar amount invested, based on qualifying criteria, and includes tourism products that are outlined in the key elements of the National Tourism Plan and includes definitions for: an “at traction”; a “new hotel”; a “tourism product”; and a “tourism pr oject.” Mr. Speaker , the proposed qualifying criteria for a Tourism Investment Order is provided in Schedule 1 to the Tourism Investment Act 2017. For exam302 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly ple: A new hotel is a hotel that is being developed on a vacant lot; an operating hotel with estimated development costs not less than 50 per cent of the appraised market value of the hotel with construction completed within three years; or a derelict hotel with estimated development costs not less than 50 per cent of the appraised market value of the hotel with construction completed within three years. Mr. Speaker , an example of a derelict hotel could be 9 Beaches or Lantana; whereas an example for a vacant lot could be the former site of the Sonesta Beach Hotel. Mr. Speaker , an example of the proposed Scale of Relief, which is in Schedule 2 of the Tourism Investment Act: for a new hotel the number of years of relief would not exceed 10 years; customs duty relief would be 100 per cent and start upon the Order becoming law for 10 years; hotel occupancy tax relief would be 100 per cent and the relief would start upon the opening date for 10 years; land tax relief will be 100 per cent starting in year 6 and subject to the hotel’s verifying to the Minister in years 6 through 10 that 70 per cent of the hotel’s staff are Bermudian (and that verification is in writing, Mr. Speaker ); landholding charge deferral will be 100 per cent where applicable; payroll tax will 100 per cent of the emplo yers’ s hare upon written verification from the Minister responsible for workforce development to the Minister responsible for Tourism annually that a management training programme for Bermudians is in operation. Mr. Speaker , through consultation with the BTA it is vital that we encourage Bermudians to take advantage of their assets in the best economic man-ner available to them. Mr. Speaker , I can confirm that the draft developer guidelines for policy conditions and proc edures have been drafted and will become public upon the Tourism Investment Act 2017 becoming law. These guidelines are thorough and clear, whereby any developer anywhere in the world will know clearly if they qualify for tourism investment relief and how they can go about applying for a Tourism I nvestment Order. Mr. Speaker , the Bill will provide a simple pr ocess to administer the incentive and investment relief and our hope is that this new vision will be met with optimism for Bermuda’s future. In closing, Mr. Speaker , the proposed incentive re lief for a Tourism Investment Order is purely based on the level of investment that is to be financially committed over a period of time, and if a developer does not meet that stated criteria, then they would not qualify. Mr. Speaker , I would like to thank the tec hnical officers and, particularly, I would like to single out Mr. Andy Burrows, Chief Investment Officer of the Bermuda Tourism Authority, for his tireless energy and work in assisting the Ministry responsible for tourism in developing this new Ac t. Mr. Burrows’ research and support has been instrumental in delivering what we believe is the beginning of a new era for hospitality investment and development in Bermuda. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Member wish to speak? We recognise the Shadow Minister, the Ho nourable Member from constituency 30. Honourable Member Scott, you have the floor.
Ms. Leah K. ScottThank you , Mr. Speaker . First of all, Mr. Speaker , I would like to say that we do support this legislat ion. Again, as the Mi nister has stated, I would like to give congratulations to the former Minister of Tourism, Michael Fahy, for drafting the legislation and …
Thank you , Mr. Speaker . First of all, Mr. Speaker , I would like to say that we do support this legislat ion. Again, as the Mi nister has stated, I would like to give congratulations to the former Minister of Tourism, Michael Fahy, for drafting the legislation and also to the support of Andy Burrows and other members of the technical team. And kudos to the Minister for bringing forth the legisl ation largely unchanged. My understanding is that there was wide consultation and scope and the legislation actually r eflects the intent of all the parties, and I think it reflects the agreement between the parties. And the finished product is one that is going to help us to create jobs, it is going to help us to create opportunities, and it is hopefully going to encourage people and spur inves tment into Bermuda and its tourism product. As the Minister has said, we must find a way to get Bermuda going. Tourism was, for a long time, one of our twin pillars and international business has taken that over, so it will be good to bring that product back and to bring it to the point where people come to Bermuda not just for international business, but they come here because they enjoy Bermuda as a place to vacation. Mr. Speaker , it is anticipated that this legisl ation will lead to job creation and when I speak of job creation I do not mean jobs at the lower end of the spectrum, but it is my hope that jobs will be created [in] senior management, middle management, all the way down, and that Bermudians are not going to be expected to be chambermaids, but they should antic ipate being general managers of these hotels and ot her facilities.
Ms. Leah K. ScottI think the Bill actually creates a level playing field so that local tourism developers can participate in the product. I think that it is a good idea that it is not limited just to hotels, but that the legisl ation actually gives consideration to things outside of hotels. So …
I think the Bill actually creates a level playing field so that local tourism developers can participate in the product. I think that it is a good idea that it is not limited just to hotels, but that the legisl ation actually gives consideration to things outside of hotels. So if people are interested in investing in hi storical sites I believe the legislation will allow for that. So it creates a greater diversification. I also note that the legislation has a sunset clause. So hopefully, since local developers which do not invest within the next five years are going to lose
Bermuda House of Assembly the opportunity, so I hope that this motivates them to take advantage now of what this legislation has to offer. Finally, Mr. Speaker , we do not just want to improve our hotels, we want to have a tourism product that is first class in all respects and I think that this legislation is going to be the opportunity to create that. And as the Shadow Minister, I look forward to working with the Minister of Tourism in implementing the legi slation and to moving Bermuda in a different direction with its tourism product. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 6. Honourable Member Furbert, you have the floor. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , I think we can all agree on this particular Bill this afternoon. I …
Thank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 6. Honourable Member Furbert, you have the floor.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , I think we can all agree on this particular Bill this afternoon. I can see that . . . first of all, I would like to thank the Minister for bring ing it fo rward. But there have been several Ministers that have been involved, and I understand the Honourable Member Leah Scott has mentioned [some]. But one in particular was my good friend, the Honourable Shawn Crockwell. And I believe you mentioned that name also. Because the way I see it, it started way back in June 2013 as a strategic hotel investment plan that was in place when Shawn was there. Shawn was actually the Minister at that time. So I would like to thank him for all his work that he has don e and, of course, the ball has been passed on from one Minister to another and now it is here. Mr. Speaker , I would like to also thank one of our former colleagues, the Honourable David Allen, who [brought] the first concession in 2000. I reme mber [when] that one came up here . . . when he brought that to the House. It was a good day because we felt like that was a good Act at that time. But it lived out its period. It did work for a period of time, but as time goes on changes have to be made. And so we are thankful that the Ministry and the BTA have been working together to get this particular Act moving for-ward. There is no doubt, Mr. Speaker , that one of the most important things I found over the years and . . . as a matter of fact, when I was the Minis ter in 2012 we were actually looking at doing a new concession Act at that time. But we got busy and involved in other projects and then, of course, the big election was called in December of that year. But hotels in general in Bermuda have not been as profitable as they should [be]. And investors look at these particular r eturns when they make an investment, whether they will make a return on their investment. You have got two things, the cost of doing business and, I believe, at that time the actual occ u-pancy was about 66 per cent or something like that, 67 per cent, which makes any investor nervous going forward. Hence, probably why we have not seen any real large hotels being built since Southampton Pri ncess. So the whole idea of us as legislators and pa rticularly as Ministers, having to continue to revise our plan to ensure that there are returns, first of all, to encourage investors to invest. And I believe that this particular legislation moves in that direction —the Tourism Investment Act 2017. Mr. S peaker , like I said, we still had to move on a few other things. And one thing, in particular, I know. I mean, the Hotels Concession Act regarding the payroll tax and land tax and the hotel occupancy tax is good, but one thing . . . and that is . . . because at the end of the day, that will [end]. Ten years from now, and hopefully the occupancy level is probably up to 70 per cent or 80 per cent, that would be tremendous. But if we can do some other things I believe for hotels going forward in particular in the fuel . . . the cost of fuel for hotels is tremendous. And I believe the BTA and the Minister, with other Ministers, will work to try to find some way to lower fuel costs for the hotels. Because like I said if we are going to have these investors coming down here we want to be the cream of the crop or the place where hotels . . . and let us admit it, there are not too many places left. We still have the Sonesta Beach property, and, of course, the 9 Beaches property. And probably that is it as far as new hotels are concerned as far as land. But of course you have got Elbow Beach which is a prime property and which will allow hopefully an investment company to undertake that property. I consider that property the best property in Bermuda as far as for hotel s. But if we can attract some significant investors there to redo that hotel, I mean right now they have got very limited beds, I believe it is about 60 rooms, I think it is. For that huge place it is . . . I would be amazed to see whether they are actuall y getting a return up there. Every time I hear the actual investors are pouring more money into that particular hotel. So if we can find other means to help out these hotels going forward, it will be good for the i ndustry because at the end of the day we will increase more job opportunities for Bermudians going forward and because it will allow our GDP and everything else to increase. So I thank the Minister for bringing this Bill t oday and I would also like to thank the former Gover nment because, at the end of the day, they were wor king on this before we got there. Although, while I was there a few of us met with them to work to come to some agreements with the BTA, so it was a collective bargain of working together to make sure that we had the right thing that works for Bermuda. So thank you Minister and, again, I thank the OBA for bringing it forward.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. 304 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Does any other Member wish to speak? We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 22. Honourable Member Dr. Gib bons, you have the floor.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsYes, thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , I would like to make a few observations around this particular piece of legislation as well. I think it is important to try and put, I will say, the genesis of this particular legislation in context. And when the OBA came …
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , I would like to make a few observations around this particular piece of legislation as well. I think it is important to try and put, I will say, the genesis of this particular legislation in context. And when the OBA came into Government essentially in late 2012 early 2013 we actually noted at that time that the number of properties and jobs in this sector had declined over 50 per cent from the period 1980 to 2013. And the number of properties had fallen from 112 to 47 over that 33- year period. I noted that the Minister in the brief commented on the Summit that was done in June of 2013. The Honourable Member who just took his seat noted that Shawn Crockwell, the former Member, was the Mini ster at that particular time. But I think it is fair to say that a lot of credit for that Summit actually should go to the current Chairman of the Tourism Authority, D avid Dodwell. He was the one working with the new Minister who actually pulled that Summit together. And I would like to comment a little bit on some of the more detailed findings of that particular Summit because I think it is instructive in terms of understanding why this particular piece of legislation was important. Now, the Minister actually noted in his brief, as I recall, that the Summit was designed to answer three questions. The first was: Why isn’t Bermuda getting its fair share of hotel development? The second was: What are other jurisdictions doing to attr act hotel development? And the third was: What are the key strategies for increasing hotel development in Berm uda? And I am assuming the Minister has actually seen a copy of this report which was put together by Bill Quain (he was the moderator at the time). But it was a very interesting and, I would say, probably i nfluential group who participated in that Summit. The Minister actually at the time was not there, but a number of colleagues —I know Honourable Member Mr. Moniz was there, and Mr. Cannonier, and a few others at the time. But on the industry side —and this is what made it very effective— you had some fairly senior people in the industry. For example, Ted Middleton, who was the Senior Vice President for Development of Hilton Worldwide; Mark Purcell, w ho was the Vice President for Managed Development for Starwood; Michele Wimpling, who was the VP of Real Estate and Development for Fairmont Raffles Hotel International; some others like Jim Burba, President of the Burba Hotel Network; Pierre Charalambides , who was Chairman of Dolphin Capital Partners (who was act ually one of the ones that bid on the St. George’s site); Tim Dick of Three Wall Capital; and a few others that I will not go into. But I think it is important to answer and to set out in a little more detail the first question the Minister noted. And that was: What is keeping Bermuda from attracting its fair share of hotel development? Now, again, this is in June of 2013, and there were a number of things that particularly the industry partners commented on to try and answer that question, to try and explain, from their perspective, having been i nvolved in industry and hotel development, why Ber-muda simply was not working from a hotel development perspective. And I am going to mention a few of them because I think they are important to recognise here and some of them have not been solved up to this particular point, so I think whether it is the former OBA Government or the new PLP Government, I think these are certainly very much on the radar screen as well. So, the first thing that they noted was that Bermuda is too expensive. Perhaps, no surprise there, but they went on to say that several reasons were cited for this including outdated and inflexible labour agreements, an inability to obtain work permits for foreign labour, taxes and duties, and energy costs (which has been a continuing problem for us as well). They also said that the Bermuda Government made it very difficult to develop a project. This was a combina-tion of apathy from Government work ers, poor knowledge of the rules and regulations, no central authority to act as a concierge for developers, et cetera. Now, to some degree the former Government actually addressed this through the Cabinet Commi ttee on Economic Development, but also the Tourism Authority was developed in the last few years as well, as we all know. Another issue which came across loud and clear was Bermuda was simply not competitive versus other jurisdictions which were doing their best to try and attract hotel development —perhaps, no surprise there either, Mr. Speaker . And in time these senior people in the industry said, Bermuda is just not visible at all , whereas other countries are actively competing for development. They went on to say that there was confusing brand image —no one at the Summit knew what Bermuda was or would like to be —is it a tourist destination or a convention host, does it feature entertainment or excitement? All, I think, very viable questions. I noted that they said that Bermuda is not competing for development. But there was also confusion about what types of development Bermuda was, es-sentially, targeting. It tied in at the time with a lack of a real branded image and the competitive situation. They said that Bermuda was quite confusing in terms of wh at it was really looking for from a development perspective and that created confusion with respect to developers. The last point that I am going to mention and it was touched on, I think, by the former Member who
Bermuda House of Assembly just spoke and this is a really important one, is that Bermuda’s hotel industry is losing money. Many developers simply do not want to invest when it is clear that hotels do not make money in Bermuda. That was the perspective in 2013 and may explain why certainly the lack of development had been s een in the prev ious, I will say, 10 to 15 years. I think there was a clear sense at that time as well, and it was a meeting which went for almost two days, that from the developer perspective, Bermuda . . . they did not see a country that actually wanted them. Bermuda seemed to be trying to live on an old reputation but, as they put it at the time, today’s money is not looking for tradition or history; it is looking for a return on investment. So, they went on and the Summit actually spent quite a bit of ti me talking about the next question, which was: What are other jurisdi ctions doing to attract hotel development? Which brings us back to the point of this particular Bill in front of us today and a lot of the issues came down to, obviously: tax incentives; revising immigration laws; reducing approval time—in one case from two years to six months; creating one- stop online applications for development; concierge service for developers; subsidi sing air lift; developing convention centres; legalising gaming; all owing foreign ownership of real estate; and guaranteeing loans and creating instant equity in the development. That was what other jurisdictions were doing according to these rather senior developers at the time. And I think Honourable Member s will be awar e that a number of these things have actually been put into place by the former OBA Government. So, the third question that the Minister noted in his brief was: What should Bermuda do to attract hotel development? And there were a number of things coming o ut of that particular Summit and I am going to touch on some of these, Mr. Speaker , but one of the first ones was modernise. They wanted Bermuda to start thinking and acting like a modern jurisdiction that is keenly interested in attracting and holding hot el development. They recommended an overhaul of labour practices. They said the collective bargaining agreement is out of date and does not a llow hotel operators to make a profit. They said imm igration laws are also impractical for modern nations. In addit ion, Bermuda needs to utilise technology to streamline the application and approval process, cr eating transparency and fairness. Fair enough. In terms of the market they said that we needed to eliminate brand confusion and to begin to diligently and fervently tell Bermuda’s story. For example, they said at the time there were several hotel sites on the Island, yet no one had built a sales pac kage to sell those sites. And they cited the Club Med as a perfect example of that, even though, I guess, the former PLP Government had spent almost 14 years trying to actually get that one off the ground. But it is interesting to get a perspective from those in the i n-dustry versus what we actually thought about it ourselves. They said make it profitable. Bermuda has two big problems, according to them —first, existing hotels are losing money; and second, new developers may not believe they can make money if existing properties cannot —one problem is a reality, the second is perception. And we have done a number of things, obviously, in the last few years —not only the Bermuda Tourism Authority, but I think the America’s Cup was a good example of getting across the per-ception that Bermuda tourism is heading in an upward direction. There was opportunity and, as I have said on a number of occasions, it provided I think an extraordinary catalyst, at least from our perspective, to actually get new hotel development moving in a pos itive direction. They went on to say, You’ve got to make it simple, you’ve got to have a development plan, and you’ve got to build a one- stop, red carpet track for developers that is transparent and straightforward. Make it simple, easy, and hassle free to do business with Bermuda. By stressing simplicity it becomes easier to make decisions. And I think that was, as I have said, one of the reasons why very early in 2013 we recognised (as a former Government) the ability of hotel developers to deal with Government, and that was the reason for the one- stop Economic Development Committee of Cabinet which brought all of the critical ministries and departments together to try and make decisions and try and move the stuff on. And although the Member who just sat down did not mention any of them, clearly, this combined with some of the things that the former Government put into place have gotten some real movement. Not only has Pink Beach been completed, but you have got the Ritz Reserve place up at Morgan’s Point, Caroline Bay, and you have got the St. George’s development, which is obviously the St. Regis, which i s moving along as well, not to mention a considerable amount of money that the Hami lton Princess (courtesy of the Green family) have put into developing that hotel development. So there were a number of other comments, but their parting shot (and this is t he developers), they said at the time in 2013 that Bermuda is a country in crisis when it comes to hotel development investment. As I have said before, we lost nearly 50 per cent of the hotel room inventory since the 1990s and there is absolutely no develo pment in progress —was their observation back in June of 2013. So, clearly, some of these things have been addressed. We have seen some very, very positive news, some substantial hotel development which is underway right now. But it is very clear that this particular piece of legislation is necessary. It has taken a little while to get there but, as I said, it has its genesis in the advice and the comments that were received at that particular Hotel Summit in June of 2013. And former Ministers —and I include Shawn Crockwell in that 306 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly as well —worked hard to try and move this forward, and Minister Fahy was cited as well as being one who sort of really pushed on this particular thing. I think the . . . in retrospect, while it got a lot of play, the original Hotels Concession Act 2000 clearly was much too cumbersome and we have seen that a number —and we see it in the Bill itself because a lot of them are being cancelled—that hotels would apply for it, but because of the cumbersome nature of the process, they simply d id not follow through. So what is needed is something, as these developers have said and what was mentioned in the conference, is something which is much more transparent, is straightforward, is si mple, and frankly I think this Bill addresses a number of those particular issues. I would like to just touch on a couple of other points which I think are interesting. This particular Bill also has a provision in there for restaurants. And it is not as though there has not been assistance to restaurants, particul arly in the hospitality area, through I guess one- off or ad hoc payroll tax issues going back through a couple of Governments. But I think this is the first time that we have actually looked at restaurants as a separate category. Clearly, for established properties, restaurants came under the broader umbrella. For example, at Princess Hamilton you had 1609, you had Marcus’ and others which fell under the broader hotel incentive policy, which had been in place before. But this, as I recall, came out of a concession or an incentive the Bahamas had. Now what was i nteresting in the Bahamas was, if I remember correctly, they referred to it as a restaurant that was in a tourism sector. So, for example, restaurants, perhaps, that were on Bay Street would have been treated under their particular incentive provision, but perhaps not others. The OBA Government when it put this forward decided that it was going to be very difficult to differentiate between a restaurant which is a tourism - related restaurant and a restaur ant that may serve tourists but is not directly tourism related. So I think the solution to that was, as the Bill suggests, to simply move forward and have all restaurants (provided they meet certain criteria, which the Minister has touched upon) be eligible for the incentive. Which I think is probably a much fairer way to do this because one might say that Art Mels is not exactly a tourism -related restaurant, but I am sure some tourists find their way up there. They look at some of these guides —Fodor’s and others —and they say this place has got a really good reputation for his sandwiches, as opposed to a . . . I do not know, what would you say, The Pickled Onion, which is right on Front Street and clearly is, in addition to the fact that it serves locals, i s clearly more of a tourism -related restaurant. So, I think that is a provision which is worth thinking about as well. So we will have to see how it works in pr ocess, but as my honourable colleague, Leah Scott, said, certainly we support this Bill, we understand where it has come from, and we hope that it will pr ovide some additional benefit for the tourism sector going forward and that the BTA will work diligently, as well as the Ministry, to move the development process forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 2. Honourable Member Swan, you have the floor.
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanYes, Mr. Speaker . Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak here on the Hotel Investment Act. And let me say that I am very pleased to say that the Throne Speech Reply on September the 8 th addressed the Hotel Investment Act. It was included in that …
Yes, Mr. Speaker . Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak here on the Hotel Investment Act. And let me say that I am very pleased to say that the Throne Speech Reply on September the 8 th addressed the Hotel Investment Act. It was included in that speech on page 4 where it makes reference that: “In 2000, the Hotels Concession Act was passed to incentivise hotels to upgrade their facilities. Over the past 17 years, this landmark Act has become outdated, and Bermuda must be more nimble . . .” And we have heard all Members who spoke elucidate on that. We hav e heard some historical perspective, but I just need to put it into proper context because if the Government that came into place in 1998 felt it necessary to put together a piece of legi slation that offered hotels concessions, it must have been because the exodus took place a long time before 1998. I mean, be honest, I grew up in the hotel industry as a boy and up and down this country there were not only hotels, the Southampton Princess was built—and I might declare my interest because my grandmother, Emily Hall’s property was amongst those that had compulsory acquisition to build portions of that hotel thereof. Years later I might add, Mr. Speaker , there was some objection as some of those very lands were then used for some residential prop-erties and it w as met with great objection, and for good reason because you cannot have properties . . . convince people that they have to surrender their property on the one hand and then, on the other hand, 20, 25 years later find a reason to sell off those very lands for residential purposes. Now, if we looked up and down Bermuda in the 1970s when it was the heyday of tourism, not only was there the need for the Southampton Princesses to come about or other properties to operate, but there was a tremendous participatio n in the hotel product, may I say, from Mr. and Mrs. Bermuda. Up and down, particularly in parishes such as Warwick and the like, which was referred to as the Gold Coast and other parishes, persons opened up their homes and entertained visitors. They rent ed out, they built apartments to cater to . . . they built pools, not for their own personal luxury, but to cater to our very tourists who came and enjoyed it. And it exempl iBermuda House of Assembly fied the very thing that is most precious amongst Bermuda’s tourism product, and t hat is our people. We, our people, participated far more in the tourism connection than at any time. We were there, we were educated there, we would socialise there, we took our second and third jobs there, and some of us owe our lives there. And let us not forget that a component of this very Act speaks to employment and speaks to employment as a carrot. And I say it r espectfully, I like carrots. I eat them more than ever today. But it speaks to employment. But let me dare say that getting more Berm udians in our tourism industry will serve our industry far better, because I hear it, even if you do not hear it. People keep saying, Why do I come to Bermuda and I don’t find myself served by Bermudians? It is a problem, and we are a naturally hospitable peopl e, with social challenges that spill over into how we go about our daily business. But you know, Mr. Speaker , let us look from the east, or the west, and come down and look at the properties that existed in Bermuda that served our tourists. Where did they go? When international company business . . . it did not just pop up. There was a plan in the 1970s for insurance. I remember as a young boy going away to college and a very noteworthy educator who I consulted said, Well, what do you want to be? And I sai d, Well, a golfer. [He asked] What are you going away to study? [I said] I’m going away to play golf. [He asked] What are you going to be when you grow up? [I said] I’m going to be a golfer. [Then he said] But let me just share this with you, insurance is the way forward. This was in 1976. He was a golfer as well, but he was also one of Bermuda’s most preeminent educators and he went on into finance and became a Financial Secretary and a great advisor to companies and a great advisor in many areas. I am speaking about Mr. Mansfield Brock when he was in education, right down there in Point Finger Road in the 1970s. That is what he said to me. So, the move towards insurance was taking place before it happened, and I am sure there were those who were visionary who could look down the road and see what impact that would have. And what knock -on effect did it immediately have? It had places such as . . . and you would know them in your consti tuenc ies, Honourable Member , up and down, whether or not it be in Sandy s and Southampton and Warwick and Paget and down through the like. You know the properties that moved towards condominiumising, when the Condominium Act, one of the first, as a young fellow going to a place and hearing about these condominium acts in my early 20s, all right, when it came into being around 1981, ’82, ’83 or thereabouts, okay, and how it would transform the way people look at their own properties. They moved away from the hotel and the service industry —the connection, the very connection with our tourists, right?—and moved toward getting long- term leases. It was more security for them and so they went there. And with that, more people gravitated away from [hotels]. And when we look at the concessions that are included, I, as one who is connect ed with persons from the labour community, must say that we must do all we can to encourage our partners in the hotel i ndustry —the owners and the managers and the people in the board rooms and the decision makers —to look towards Bermudians. Look toward Ber mudians to participate in our hotels [in a] wider [way]. The Honourable Member , the Shadow Mini ster, said that she would like to see more persons in there. Absolutely! Look, I remember in the 1970s at the Belmont Hotel when Trust House Forte had one of the first Bermudian local managers, Mr. Dillas. And it is still a novelty today, almost some 40 years later. When it was very novel for even a black Bermudian to be a maître d’hôtel and the amount of training that one had to put into, from a Bermudian standpoint, to reach that level. I can remember as a young upstart getting training to go away to college seeing persons come here to Bermuda as assistant managers and later go on to own hotels. That is the type of vision that we need to see for our own people, not talk about, see it realised because it can happen. And as this Bill speaks to restaurants and it speaks more generally to amenities, let us look at that also because when it comes to tourism the product that the people have . . . it is one thing to get them here, the product that they have, the service that they can get through that product is vital. In a Ministerial Statement this morning (I do not want to reflect) it spoke about our fortresses and things. These are the types of buildings that we hav e that we can enhance, Mr. Speaker . And I had only a tour yesterday (thanks to the Minister for providing an opportunity) to see a bit of the challenges that we do have as we restore some forts and the amount of vegetation that has . . . You know, when a C asuarina tree takes root, and it takes root of an old historic building, crumbling with that is much of what we could be selling to people on a daily basis. So, I think that since the 2000 Concession Act . . . are you going to get the mousetrap right at the beginning? No. When you build a mousetrap, it is those sitting opposite who have a trained eye to look and to point out how the mousetrap could be better. But you have to look at the intent. And that is what we have got to do with this Hotel Investment A ct here. Look at the intent. The intent is to bring more capital into the country to boost our tourism industry and to make our tourism industry more vital. Will it ever be what it once was? It would take some doing, but you have to have that ideal in your heart and your mind from the first start when you set about it. But it is important when you do so to look comprehensively, not just from a political standpoint from 1998 to today, but look at tourism from the 308 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly 1960s, from the 1950s, and look at [the time] prior to representative Government in 1968 when Bermuda was enjoying success in tourism and how politics came into being, and look at people in the tourism industry, even today, who are getting involved in it because of business interests. And let me say this, Mr. Speaker , while I am on my feet. About five years ago I remember writing an article speaking about this very same thing, about encouraging Bermudians back into the hotel business, and it is happening. I do not know about you, but when I knocked on those doors and somebody came to the door, Oh, how are you doing? From Connect icut. Where are you from? From Denver . Oh, wonderful! And a nice little conversation strikes up and they knew people I know in their life . . . Airbnb . . . Berm udians are gett ing back in the industry. Why? Because working class Bermudians and middle- class Bermudians who are under siege, who are looking at ways in which they can make a living in this country. And that is a good thing to see Bermudians seeing opportuni-ties in the tourism industry. And so, in the Throne Speech Reply they were also making references with regard to tourism [as] to how to enhance that as well. Because as we see more Bermudians looking towards tourism, the way in which Bermudians moved away from touris m to look at international company business, then we start engaging our own people to help us grow ourselves out of the economic difficulties that we find ourselves collectively in. And so, Mr. Speaker , I support this Inves tment Act for a very good reason. We need to encourage foreign investment here on our shores. But let us also appreciate that we need to encourage more Bermudians in this industry as well. And we cannot do so by putting road blocks in their way. And what would a road block look like? A r oad block would be in the way of a personality profile that would stifle a person, even a current speaker, from doing what they know they can do in the place they love as well as anybody does here in this Chamber. No one that sits up here can be faulted wi th not loving this country. But there are instances in this community, in this country, where those from outside of our country —and we need them and we appreciate them —can see the Bermuda dream working for them but not for us. Let us get out of our own way , Mr. Speaker , as we look at what training really must look like. B ecause I know people who came here that did not speak very good English at all. I know them. I have lived long enough to see them end up in the boar drooms, okay? That is the type of vision that each and every one of us in this Chamber must hold for this country. The least of us must be able to come from White Hill, Dock Hill or on the hill up at Ferry Reach or Wellington Hill and, not knowing where our own potential lies, people that are teaching us, training us, see things in us, in our children, that they do not nec-essarily see in themselves. But we must, as a country, not stand in their way. Whilst it is necessary to legislate that we must have “X” amount of levels of employment for our pe ople, let us all in this House look and feel unashamed for, as I experienced when I went to my stepson’s wedding in Japan, that people in other jurisdictions do not make any excuses about making sure that their people get ahead. They work at it. And peopl e will respect us greater if we collectively do that. So, Mr. Speaker , I certainly feel that the H otels Concession Act 2000 had a good spirit. But it was not born out of what took place in 1998. It took place for the reason why Salt Kettle is no longer a q uaint little place to go have lunch or take a weekend vac ation or for tourists to visit. It speaks to why hotels opted to condominiumise instead of selling out to another person. It was economic reasons. And we must make the economic reasons more necessary and viable for people to come back here. Why? Because the hotel industry employs working class people to a greater extent. And let us not undervalue the value of what a working class person offers to this country. Because they are the ones who helped educate me and they are the ones who helped build this country and they are the ones who felt it necessary to have a collective bargaining agreement in place because they could not trust the establishment to act in their best interests. They are the ones that had to get political and organised. And the young people out here today that feel that working for $15 an hour without any insurance is going to serve them well, because they do not get sick to the extent that a 60- year-old or a 55- year-old that is being passed over for work, and there you are only making your country worse for your children when they grow up. And that is the reality of tourism. And the spirit must get right, the intent must get right, and the value of people needs to be more, Mr. Speaker , than just a percentage. It needs to be the intent from the heart. Let me, in closing, congratulate Grotto Bay and Pompano. Now there are others, I am sure, but I pass Grotto Bay a lot on my way to Pompano where I practice teaching golf on their doorstep. And I see the example of getting Bermudians involved in the industry, practiced by Bermuda- owned and operated bus inesses. So it can work if the will to do so exists across the board. And we as legislators, in my respectful opinion, Mr. Speaker , have a res ponsibility to not find the negative things to say about our people, but the positive. Because anyone who is in my industry who is a practitioner, fires someone immediately when they keep talking negative. You have got to be positive. So in order to be a good ambassador that person that you are serving and catering to in that h otel has already come from the problems in Boston and New York and Philadelphia and [Washington,] DC. They do not want to hear about it here. But we have to
Bermuda House of Assembly teach them. And when our people were imbedded in the hotel industry, our young people learned that from jump, as we used to say back in the day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 9. The Honourable Member Moniz, you have the floor. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you . Thank you, Mr. Speaker . I will applaud the Government for bringing this Bill before the House …
Thank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 9. The Honourable Member Moniz, you have the floor. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you . Thank you, Mr. Speaker . I will applaud the Government for bringing this Bill before the House today. It is a Bill that did require a lot of work and toing and froing on. I know in my previous ministry and the Ministry of Legal Affairs we spent a lot of time discussing the drafting of it. I also, when I was a Member of Cabinet, sat on the Economic Development Committee and, as my honourable colleague, Dr. Gib bons, was kind enough to mention, I was one of the attendees at the Tourism Summit that was held by the then- Minister of Tourism, Shawn Crockwell. So, I have some history of these matters although I do not claim to be any form of an expert in it. But one of my concerns has always been that whatever we do, that somehow we are able to meas-ure it. So, when we are giving these benefits, what are we hoping to get back? What is our aim? What is the feedback loop? How will we know if we have been successful? And that is where I think we have been weak, on the analysis. We have a lot of good ideas and a lot of those ideas work, but how well do we analyse them to say, Well, this is a success or this is not such a success? And, to be fair, when the PLP were Gover nment previously back in 2012, I think there was a Tourism Plan that was tabled. And at that time I thought that plan was . . . I mean, the kind word for it was that it was “aspirational.” I thought that it set goals which were unrealistic for Bermuda. Bermuda, clearly, is not a mass market for tourism. It is a very small country physically; it is a very small country in terms of the labour pool that we have. And you know I see r epeatedly Members saying, Oh, well, you know, these jobs must be for Bermudians. We have to have Bermudians for these jobs. But at the same time the Government has admitted through the Minister that there has been a big problem with Financial Assi stance. Financial Assistance is well north of $53 million a year. And we have a category cal led “able- bodied unemployed.” And you know, do those able- bodied unemployed easily plug into jobs in this industry? Normally what we have is people who work really as casual labour in construction. When the country is booming and we are building we have a lot of construction jobs which casual job guys can step into them. And if they have reasonable skills they can make a lot of money and still change employment easily. They are not really stuck. But we really have to figure how big our l abour pool is. It i s a very finite pool. And you know I always think when I listen to people in Bermuda sa ying, We’re going to build all these hotels and all the staff are going to be Bermudian—the vast majority of staff are going to be Bermudian from bottom to top— and then when I go abroad to another tourism centre, be it Boston or New York or London, I meet the staff in the hotel and, of course, they are largely foreigners. They are not from that place. If you go to a hotel in London the people working in the hotel are not En glish people. The same thing applies in New York. So, you know, it is a common phenomenon. So I hear speaker after speaker saying how all these other countries protect their locals. But there is only a limited extent to which you can do that. If these c ompanies come here, they need to fill their staff with the highest qualified employees to produce a premium product. And that is the problem. You know, I see Mr. Andy Burrows here from the BTA. He is ori ginally from the Bahamas where they have a great tourism industry. And what you know is that with respect to . . . I bet you will see a lot of foreigners employed there. So what happens here is you are going to need a premium product. Why do we need a premium product? B ecause Bermuda is very expensive. Why i s Bermuda very expensive? Well, the local labour is extraordinar ily expensive compared to other countries. If you look at the price you are going to pay to a low -level worker in Bermuda compared to the Dominican Republic, what do you think the comparison i s? I would deem it is probably 10 for 1, you know, there is a huge distinction. So what a lot of people went to were low -cost destinations —whether you are looking at Cancun, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, all of these places — they were developing countries where their basic costs were very low. Their costs for land were low, their cost of electricity was low, their costs of labour were low, and so all their overheads were low, you know? And that is not the case in Bermuda. Bermuda is a premium destination. We r ecently heard it said [that] Bermuda is the most expensive country in the world, so all of our costs are sky - high. And my honourable colleague, Dr. Gibbons, mentioned it, he talked about collective bargaining agreements and the agreement which ended up being counterproductive was one of the agreements saying, Well, when you reached a certain level of occupancy you had to have full employment in the hotel. And those were all barriers to developers coming in and capital investment because they are looking at how they can reasonably expect to get a return on inves tment that makes it worthwhile for them putting their money into Bermuda. It was a very difficult situation. 310 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Members of Government must admit that the previous PLP administration squandered all these opportunities. Yes, tourism went down over many years. Yes, it went down since the great labour strike of 1980; it started on a downhill and that was not the one and only factor, but it was an important factor. And you know we saw . . . how many mil lions of do llars did we see wasted on GlobalHue and people like Amlin, all those sorts of people? How much money did we see wasted on very poor advertising campaigns — terrible. Money just flushed down the toilet. And there were all sorts of allegations of baksheesh and kick - backs and all the rest of it. And what has now happened is that we have turned it around. And I will give the BTA their due that, in terms of their marketing campaign, it has been extraordinarily successful. In terms of repositioning Berm uda and reaching out to the customers that we want to come here to Bermuda, it has been an incredible success. But, you know, we have to continue that success. It is not going to be an easy thing. And what I have found about the now -Government is that they have very much a split personality —
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberWhat? Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: —on events like America’s Cup. One moment they say America’s Cup is wonderful, we fully support it ; can we have some tickets? Then the next moment they are saying it was for rich white people, we hate it, it was a waste of money. …
What?
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: —on events like America’s Cup. One moment they say America’s Cup is wonderful, we fully support it ; can we have some tickets? Then the next moment they are saying it was for rich white people, we hate it, it was a waste of money. [Inaudible interjection] Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: See, they are all chundering away over there now . . . they are all chundering away. So they have to decide. Do they support it or do they not suppor t it? And, again, my colleague, Dr. Gibbons, laid out some of the things that came out of that. But let us just say this is the sort of synergy that you need. And now the Government —to give them their credit —are talking about an Event Authority. Now, we on this side do not agree that this is the way to go, but at least they are thinking in terms of events. You would be better off to use the vehicle you have—the BTA—than trying to invent another additional vehicle that is only going to cost you more money w hen you are trying to spend less in order to balance your budget. So that is one of the problems you get. But with respect to the America’s Cup I will just repeat some of those successes. If we look at . . . Look, the PLP Government produced for Bermuda t he complete White Elephant of the Grand Atlantic. It was a disaster. It was a disaster. So what did the OBA do? They took lemons and made them into lemonade. We got the America’s Cup and we filled up the Grand A tlantic and it was generating revenue out of rents. [Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Now how could we do that any better than that? And that Honourable Member will get his chance to reply. So he can hold his comments there.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSpeak to the Chair, speak to the Chair. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: But, you know, he who knows it feels it. [Inaudible interjection] Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I feel it —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSpeak to the Chair, gentlemen. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I feel it. I am a Bermudian–
The SpeakerThe SpeakerNot across the floor — Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I feel it.
The SpeakerThe Speaker—conversation, speak this way. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I feel it. Well that Honourable Member is living in cloud cuckoo land. He just has to accept where we have to go on this. If you look at the investment . . . you know, that Honourable Minister said in his …
—conversation, speak this way.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I feel it. Well that Honourable Member is living in cloud cuckoo land. He just has to accept where we have to go on this. If you look at the investment . . . you know, that Honourable Minister said in his presentation how it is so difficult to get investment in Bermuda. But as we have already said on this side, look at the inves tments that we have achieved in the four and a half years of the OBA administration. Look at Pink Beach. Look at what I said already that we did with Grand Atlantic. Look at Morgan’s Point. Look at Desarrollos. Look at all of these hotels, that we had success marching uphill . . . marching uphill!
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: See, that is the difference between me, Mr. Speaker . He said, Look at where you’re sitting now. I am not in this for personal benefit! I am in it for Bermuda!
[Inaudible interjections ]
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: All he cares about is where he is sitti ng.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSpeak to the Chair. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: He is on the front bench over there so he thinks he is a wonderful boy. But that can change pretty quickly. Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain : Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWell, take your t ime, take your time. Yes? POINT OF ORDER Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: If that man calls me a boy again I will not be sitting here, I will right over there.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMember, let me deal with that. Let me deal with that. [Inaudible interjections ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerLet me deal with that, Member — [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMember. Minister, Minister, take your seat. [Inaudible interjections]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMember . . . Minister! Mr. Moniz, I was slow reacting on that, I am going to ask you to wi thdraw the comment. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I will withdraw that. I hope the Members —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerLet’s not go — Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: —on that side will do likewise.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerLet us not go to that level, again. Thank you. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: No, but I hope those Members will do likewise. He said, Look at where you’re sitting now. That is just as insulting.
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberNo, it is not! Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Yes, it is. [Inaudible interjections ] Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Yes, it is. It does not bother me because I am robust, unlike you. I did not jump up and down and scream. [Gavel]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Moniz! Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Yes, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerSpeak to the Chair. The conversation is between you and me. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: So, in spite of all those diff iculties as I was saying, Mr. Speaker , we had great success in getting hotel investment. And we had the help of the BTA and all the other forces in Gover nment. But you saw that we have …
Continue.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: So, in spite of all those diff iculties as I was saying, Mr. Speaker , we had great success in getting hotel investment. And we had the help of the BTA and all the other forces in Gover nment. But you saw that we have had investment in the Hamilton Princess, which ranged well north of $80 million; we have the Morgan’s Point; we have had D esarrollos; we have had the Pink Beach; we had Sur fside. [Inaudible interjections ]
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: What major hotels were opened during the last administration of the PLP? All I am saying to the Government now, Mr. Speaker , is that—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerConversation this way, please. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: —they had better recognise that you have got to put y our weight behind what you do. So you can bring an Act here, but it requires a lot more than that. The complaints whereof the investors or potential investors spoke at …
Conversation this way, please.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: —they had better recognise that you have got to put y our weight behind what you do. So you can bring an Act here, but it requires a lot more than that. The complaints whereof the investors or potential investors spoke at the Tourism Su mmit was the lack of cooperation that they had from the previous government in Bermuda. Now, I am not sa ying that this is the same with this Government, but I am putting a warning out there that they have got to say that they are going to figure this out and analyse it properly to say, Well, what’s a good return on inves tment? If you go too far one way or the other, if you become too strict with your labour requirements, it is not going to be attractive for investors because we simply will not have good people to fill those jobs because we are such a tiny community. One of my qu estions has always been, What is the right size for Bermuda tourism? You know, one of the interesting things we have seen is the expansion of Airbnb. We have got a new category of visitor in Airbnb and that income is spread throughout the community, which is a very positive thing. It goes to very average people who have an apartment in their home that they can let on an Airbnb. If we get the hotel in St. George’s started, if that is finished quickly, if we get the Morgan’s Point . . . if we get the other hotels up and going, hopefully we will get the casinos going forward (and I know there is some suggestion about the casino regulations, how soon they will be ready, and I am sure the Minister can address when we are likely to be able to move forward on that) —if all 312 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly of that works, what is the projected employment from those hotels? So, in terms of new hotels mentioned under the Bill before us today, will we have the labour c apacity to provide labour for new hotels on top of the ones that have already been approved? All I am looking for is an economic plan or business plan going forward. What is the real proper size . . . what is the right size for Bermuda tourism? Who are we competing with? You know, we are phy sically small; we have a small population; we are obviously a very expensive jurisdiction, and there is a li mited amount that we can do about that. So what is the right size for our tourism industry? And obviously we are looking for a premium product, which we have been able to drive forward so far at a premium level, and that is what it will have to be. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member . I recognise the Deputy Speaker. Deputy Speaker, you have the floor. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . You know, Mr. Speaker , I really did not have any intention of speaking on this Bill. But hearing from the other side it …
Thank you, Honourable Member . I recognise the Deputy Speaker. Deputy Speaker, you have the floor.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . You know, Mr. Speaker , I really did not have any intention of speaking on this Bill. But hearing from the other side it forces me to get up. I cannot sit down as being a representative of the people. When you start enunciating “low -level employees,” that irks me, right? Every employee in this country . . . every e mployee in this country deserves respect, regardless of what profession they work in.
[Desk thumping]
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: And you know the previous Government has a history of disrespecting, particularly, foreign workers. When you have workers coming into this country and wanting to pay them $7 an hour and have them herded up like cattle in living conditions. If you look in the Bible, Leviticus 19, verse 33, it would tell you, when you bring peopl e into your country you treat them right and you pay them, not exploit them. So I am going to let you know that I have respect for all workers, no matter where they come from.
[Inaudible interjection]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Moniz, you had your opportunity. I asked you before not to comment across the floor. Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Mr. Speaker ?
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYes, Deputy? Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you. Mr. Speaker , the speaker who just took his seat talked about the high cost of labour in Bermuda. Well, let me remind others in this House (because maybe others would understand) that the hotel wor kers are the lowest -paid …
Yes, Deputy?
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you. Mr. Speaker , the speaker who just took his seat talked about the high cost of labour in Bermuda. Well, let me remind others in this House (because maybe others would understand) that the hotel wor kers are the lowest -paid workers in this country. In fact, it was about two or three years ago (maybe a little longer) that the hotel workers, despite them being the lowest -paid workers in this country, took a wage freeze in order to assist the industry to get to a level. Mr. Speaker , when he talks about the great strike of 1980 . . . does he know what those workers were not getting or getting? They did n ot have any pensions, maternity leave, sick leave, and had to work six days a week. When this country was on a 40- hour work week, five days a week, the hotel workers were working six days a week. We had to fight for that; that was never given to us. Hotel workers have had to struggle in this country. Bermudians and foreigners have had to struggle. And let me say, for those who think that it is a black thing, it is a workers’ thing. I remember one time a reporter asked me when I was President of the Bermuda Industrial Union, he said to me, How many white members do you have in your union? I said, Well, that never dawned on me. I don’t look at them that way; I look at them as workers. And even up to today . . . Chris Furbert will tell you the same thing, Ottiwell Simmons will tell you the same thing, Molly Burgess will tell you the same thing. We do not know. We do not count workers by race; we count them by workers. In fact, Mr. Speaker , in the 1970s we were negotiating for a wage for our workers, and people tend to want to blame the Union or put the responsibi lity on the Union for gratuities. That did not come from any good union; that came from the employers. The employers put a proposal together and said, L ook, let’s charge 10 per cent, 15 per cent (whatever it was at that time). So it was a fixed rate. And that was in order to pay the low -paid workers, like the room attendants, dining room staff, bellmen. That is where that money went because at that time they were ma king under $100 a week in the 1980s! And they talk about the cost of labour? For every benefit in this country workers have had to take to the streets. Nothing was given to them. Nothing comes without a struggle, and we struggled to get to where we are today. And they still have not arrived there because they are still the lowest -paid workers in the country. And I can tell you the Bermuda Industrial Union and the workers in that division have bent over backwards to help the hotels to get to a level so our people can not only have employment, but the hotel owners can get some returns on their investment, Mr. Speaker . And they talk about hoteliers, investors, finding it to be difficult to invest in Bermuda? Well, that is why David Allen brought the [Hotels] Concession Act back in 2000. He brought i t here to try to encourage
Bermuda House of Assembly investors to come to Bermuda, Mr. Speaker . In fact, you know, Holiday Inn Hotel (Club Med then) closed in 1988. In 1998 there was no investment from the pr evious Government. And Mr. Speaker , during that time—during our time in Go vernment —we had an investor for that hotel down in the East End. He came to Bermuda; he wanted that hotel. In fact, he flew us —the Union —to neg otiate in Atlanta on what he would like in a collective bargaining agreement. He even had benefits there for not only the workers, but if the workers had children, he said they could bring them to work; they would put a nursery there for them. That is the type of thing . . . and we do have some good employers, good investors. And what happened during the . . . it was what they called the black . . . whatever it was, they had a blackout on Wall Street, whatever, he lost his inves-tors anyhow. Those were some difficult times. So we lost that one. And we had others that were on the hook. It was not like the other side [w ho] would tend to make people believe that the Progressive Labour Party Government were not trying to get investors in this country. [We] tried. Every Minister we had tried to get investors in this country. They do not come because the PLP becomes Government. They do not come because there is an OBA Government. They come when they have money to invest. And some happened to come whilst they were in Government. And we applauded that, we supported that. In fact, it was the Honourable Minister Zane De Silva who said, Look, if we have got to stay in O pposition for 10 more years, if you can bring some i nvestors in this country and hoteliers, that would be great! So it is not there from any personal gain. In fact, Morgan’s Point . . . all those things started under us, but they matured under them. They started this new hotel that the investors were supposed to come there, but [the OBA] will not cut the ribbon, [the PLP] will cut the ribbon. That is how it goes. We inherited this. We are not complaining about what we inherited. When you seat a Government, you inherit some things. We inherited and we will do what we have to do in ac-cordance with that inheritance, Mr. Speaker . You know, they talk about the Grand Atlantic. A lot of plans they had. In fact, they had an investor on the hook to sell it for $9 million. Well, that fell through. We did not wish it would fall through, but it fell through. Mr. Speaker , they criticised that. They have not criticised what they have given— all the gifts—down at the airport. You gave away our post office down there, the depot, and said that if we are not out by a certain time we have got to pay $600,000. We are moving, but it is going to cost us. It is going to cost us $30,000 a month, plus $290,000 for fit -out— $650,000 for the first y ear. And we have got to pay $30,000 per month. They will not criticise this. Nor does the new spaper criticise it. Yet they can make a lot of hay b e-cause our Cabinet cost $150,000 more. They can give that three days of [coverage] in the newspaper, but they have no criticism for what the previous Gover nment did down at the airport. They gave everything away. In fact, we do not even know what they have given away; we are trying to find out now, Mr. Speaker. So, Mr. Speaker , as I said, I did not plan to speak, so I have said what I wanted to say and I guess I am going to sit down. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Minister Brown. Minister Brown, you have the floor. Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Like my honourable colleague who just took his seat, I had no intention of speaking, but the Honourable Member Moniz provoked me …
Thank you. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Minister Brown. Minister Brown, you have the floor.
Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Like my honourable colleague who just took his seat, I had no intention of speaking, but the Honourable Member Moniz provoked me to get to my feet because the comments made by the Honourable Member should not go unchallenged. First of a ll, the Honourable Member has pr ovided an imagined history of why tourism went into decline. It is a typical, right -of-centre argument that tourism went into decline because of the general strike in 1981. Everyone should know that there was a concerted eff ort by the then Government to actively promote international business because they saw that as the opportunity. And so when I hear comments that just denigrate the Trade Union movement because they were compelled by circumstances and by an i ntransigent Gov ernment to actually go on strike . . . Nobody wants to go on strike. And certainly a general strike is never the first step for anyone. It was the combination of circumstances provoked by the party of the OBA’s predecessor party.
An. Hon. Member: Mr. Moni z’s party.
Hon. Walton Brown: Mr. Moniz, I believe . . . I do not know if you were a Member of Parliament then, but —
[Inaudible interjections ]
Hon. Walton Brown: Not then. I am still going to hold you partly responsible. So, Mr. Speaker , it is an imagined history. Tourism went into decline for a multitude of reasons. But their Government was actively focused on the d evelopment of international business.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Point of order.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister, will you yield? Point of order, Mr. Moniz? 314 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I think the Honourable Mini ster is misleading the House. I said that the strike of 1980 was a factor. I then …
Minister, will you yield? Point of order, Mr. Moniz?
314 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I think the Honourable Mini ster is misleading the House. I said that the strike of 1980 was a factor. I then said there were a lot of factors, which is essentially the same thing as he has said.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMinister, continue. Hon. Walton Brown: That is exactly the point, Mr. Speaker . There were a multitude of factors, but the Honourable Member picked out one. So when you pick out one factor and you focus on that, it tends to give the impression and certainly for those who are …
Minister, continue. Hon. Walton Brown: That is exactly the point, Mr. Speaker . There were a multitude of factors, but the Honourable Member picked out one. So when you pick out one factor and you focus on that, it tends to give the impression and certainly for those who are listening that this is exactly the intent of the Honour able Member ’s comment, to focus on the trade union movement and the general strike. Mr. Speaker , the Honourable Member also spoke about this contentious matter involving the America’s Cup and the position that this party took with regard to the America’s Cup. For the sake of clarity, Mr. Speaker , the concerns expressed on this side about the America’s Cup had nothing to do with the potential for the development and growt h of tourism. It had nothing to do with the potential for real business opportunities. What it had everything to do with, or largely to do with, is the fact that you were taking state money —taxpayers’ money —$110 million (and yes, somebody can do a point of order and correct me on the exact amount) . . . $110 million and give it to the private sector. Mr. Speaker , give me $110 million and I can find a hundred businesses that would do very well. Of course, when you take state money and you give it to the pri vate sector . . . it was a windfall. How could things not be successful? Yet, the same Honourable Member condemned a whole series of policies that the Progressive Labour Party had engaged in over inappropriate use of funds. What was the $110 mi llion? A hig hly inappropriate transfer of wealth to the wealthy. I cannot speak for my partners, but my concern is that when you give tax breaks to billionaires to make millions, it is a problem. It is just a fundamental problem. So we have to address that. It is a l ittle bit of a stream of consciousness thinking, Mr. Speaker , because the Honourable Member also spoke about the disastrous tourism campaign under the Progressive Labour Party. The worst campaign we ever had was instituted by the Chairman, or outgoing Chai rman, of the BTA —Let yourself go! — roundly condemned by everyone involved with tourism . . . roundly condemned. So, you know, if you want to have an asses sment of where we are and why we are where we are today, at least let us start from a basis of looking at all of the relevant facts. Selective facts lead to a skewed argument, a weak argument, and an illogical argument, Mr. Speaker . And then we talk about the issue of workers, Bermudians, guest workers, and so forth. There was a sentiment expressed consis tently on the OBA side, although I am hoping that all the new Members in the OBA will embrace the same position, Mr. Speaker , that we need to bring in people because either we do not have the expertise or because our prices are too high. As the Minister responsible for Immigration let me make it very clear, Mr. Speaker —
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Point of order, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerWhat is your point of order? I recognise the Honourable Opposition Leader, go ahead. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading ] Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I think the Ho nourable Member inadvertently may be misleading the House. This was not the position . . . the stated pos ition was that …
What is your point of order? I recognise the Honourable Opposition Leader, go ahead.
POINT OF ORDER [Misleading ]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I think the Ho nourable Member inadvertently may be misleading the House. This was not the position . . . the stated pos ition was that we did not have sufficient manpower — nothing to do with the cost, nothing to do with ex pertise. It was that we did not have sufficient manpower.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister? Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . I am prepared to accept that. It matters not. The answer to the argument is we need to address the issue of labour. F rom this standpoint and as the Minister responsible for Imm igration let me say very …
Thank you. Minister? Hon. Walton Brown: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . I am prepared to accept that. It matters not. The answer to the argument is we need to address the issue of labour. F rom this standpoint and as the Minister responsible for Imm igration let me say very clearly and categorically, Mr. Speaker , that we value the contribution of guest wor kers and foreign workers in this country. We know that since 1609 people have come here t o work. Some came voluntarily, some did not. But since 1609 we had people coming here to work, to contribute to the economy. Our economy depends on it. We need pe ople to come here to work in all categories. What is problematic is when you have employers who either contrive to ensure that Bermudians do not get fair opportunity, or they simply want to ensure that they can get the lowest cost labour, as my honourable colleague spoke about earlier, cheap l abour and highly exploitable labour. So, for example, I just this week rejected a work permit application for somebody who wanted to bring in a nanny and pay them $900 a month. That is not going to happen. It is just not going to happen anymore. Because when you reduce the pay scales and opportunities and cond itions for foreign workers, you are providing a lower level for Bermudian workers.
Bermuda House of Assembly So, we want to have foreign workers, but they need to be treated with dignity and respect. You cannot allow a system that brings in people to have a highly exploitable labour force. We are not going to allow for that. And when I hear comments repeatedly about the cost of labour , the cost of labour, then you know that they want to bring in cheaper labour. I am also concerned about the notion of the expertise. Sometimes that i s just code language, Mr. Speaker . It is code language. Let me say categorically you do not need, and you will never get, the best person in the world for any job in Bermuda. Who needs the best person in the world for a job? That is just something you thro w out there. When I hear companies and other people say, We need the best person . . . No, you need a good, competent person. Out of seven billion people, you are not going to get the best person. But it is code language for saying we do not need or we do not want to hire locals. When I go around and look at restaurants, I see some restaurants which have an abundance of local employees. I give praise and thanks to those employers. They are doing what they should be doing, giving fair opportunities. But if you cannot find people legitimately, then, of course, you go overseas and you find people. Likewise in the professional arena. But it is all about intent. My final point, Mr. Speaker , is that the fundamental difference between the Progressive Labour Party and the One Bermuda Alliance is the emphasis on people versus the emphasis on profits. There is the recognition that yes, we all need to take care of people, but a fundamental purpose of Government is to address the needs and concerns of the people in this country. If all we focus on is profits, the people can be completely marginalised. And you will know, Mr. Speaker , that the people of this country came to judgment on that very issue on July 18 th. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. I recognise the Deputy Premier. Deputy Premier, you have the floor. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . I, like some of my other colleagues, was not expecting to have to speak only because . . . for a couple of reasons. One, this Bill …
Thank you, Minister. I recognise the Deputy Premier. Deputy Premier, you have the floor. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . I, like some of my other colleagues, was not expecting to have to speak only because . . . for a couple of reasons. One, this Bill reflec ts a level of optimism and hope and purpose for our country. It is a part of the reset that I am not just attributing to Members of the PLP, Mr. Speaker . I am actually attributing to a general understanding that seemingly came about over the last four year s as to what we have to do about tourism. This Bill represented that because there are Members on this side— and when I say “this side,” this side that was once the Opposition, that is now the Government —participated with the former Government to bring about this Bill in this way that it is. So that is a part of something positive. This Bill rep-resents something positive about the process that this House engages in, Mr. Speaker . But what has been unfortunate, I think, which has required a number of the Members on this side to get on their feet, is some of the poison that we have heard on this floor today around this very Bill from Members of the Opposition that sought to bring about an argument of reflection, which actually was more like castigation of Bermudian labour, Bermudian expectation —all these things. And that is unfortunate, Mr. Speaker , because this Bill is supposed to reflect something very different than that. And it is unfort unate that two of the culprits, I will call them, Mr. Speaker —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerLet us keep the tone up, please. Hon. Walter H. Roban: —Honourable Member s, are not in the Chamber.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerLet us keep the tone up. Hon. Walter H. Roban: I commend the Minister of Tourism and other Members. And Members on this side have actual ly tried to give proper attribution for the work on this Bill from Members of the other side because there is a genuine belief …
Let us keep the tone up.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: I commend the Minister of Tourism and other Members. And Members on this side have actual ly tried to give proper attribution for the work on this Bill from Members of the other side because there is a genuine belief that this Bill is something positive that this House can be proud of, that Bermuda can be proud of. But we have had poison insert ed into the debate with rehashing of —
[Inaudible interjections] Hon. Walter H. Roban: —old facts and failed talking points from Members of the Opposition about the past of labour, the past of tourism, right?
[Inaudible interjections ] Hon. Walter H. Ro ban: Oh, perhaps amnesia from some of the somewhat older Members of the Oppos ition who do not quite remember history the way it should be remembered. And perhaps July 18 th has hit them so hard that their memories . . . that they are suffering memory loss, Mr. Speaker . But, you know —
[Inaudible interjections ]
The SpeakerThe SpeakerMr. Moniz, Mr. Moniz. Hon. Walter H. Roban: I really did not want to have to get up because I thought this was almost like the low - hanging fruit of political optimism this Bill represented, that the Honourable Minister who sits here to my left was bringing the Bill …
Mr. Moniz, Mr. Moniz. Hon. Walter H. Roban: I really did not want to have to get up because I thought this was almost like the low - hanging fruit of political optimism this Bill represented, that the Honourable Minister who sits here to my left was bringing the Bill that everybody in this House would feel good about and we would hear complimen-tary messages from both sides of the House as to what is being accomplished here. 316 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly There is no di vergence of purpose here. This Bill was brought to bring about a reconfiguration of investment in Bermuda that will ultimately serve the Bermudian people [and] that will help the Bermudian people achieve. That is why the levels of employment are being purs ued, that is why the different varieties of investment are being pursued, to not only encourage foreign investment but internal investment, those Bermudians who have an aspiration to get into tourism, back in, this Bill is giving them a window, a door. But no, we are hearing this rehash of the past to somehow indict, to focus criticism about the former PLP Government or other trade unions, those who have stepped up to ensure that workers had a fair shake in what the economy was producing. All it does is t arnish the optimism this Bill truly does represent, Mr. Speaker . And that is sad. And as I have said before in this House, the Opposition has a choice on what they are going to represent in what we are trying to do in this Chamber going forward. They can r epresent the past upon which they sadly want to come here and misrepresent. They can represent their own failure, which their numbers represent. Or they can represent something different about going forward when peaceful legislation like this —the Tourism I nvestment Act 2017 —comes here to this House, which is actually the product of cooperation in this House. And they can stand in the spirit of that cooperation and see Bills like this go forward. And the Go vernment has proposed other opportunities for cooperation that we hope the Opposition takes up, but we shall see. But just to remain on this Bill, Mr. Speaker , this Bill, the Tourism Investment Act [2017] represents an opportunity to reset the dial for this country, to bring about a new environment that pr omotes inves tment, that promotes Bermuda being an open place for optimism in tourism, an industry that we in many ways taught many parts of the world how to do, and which we are now trying to reconfigure our own approach so that we represent what the futur e of this industry will look like in the way that we pioneered many decades ago. This Bill is a part of that process. There are many other things that will be i ncluded in that process —the National Tourism Plan and following through with that —and other eff orts by the Minister of Tourism, the BTA, and others to pr omote people coming in and seeing Bermuda as an area of opportunity. I myself, as the Minister responsible for Regulatory Affairs, have to deal with the question of energy and the cost of energy, wh ich itself is crippling the atmosphere of investment for this country, which not only affects investors but affects every living person who is trying to have a living wage and survive in this country. That is another piece too, and getting our citizens bac k [to] seeing tourism as an industry of opportunity. That is what is crucial to this. So castigating the workers of this country does not help that. Or criticising those who champi-oned the worker movement to assure they had a fair shake does not help that . Because those who are i nvesting will, perhaps, look at this debate and see that poison, Mr. Speaker , and say, Well, are they really serious about what can be achieved? Or is it just go-ing to be a political football?
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Speaker , I can only listen to so much of this —point of order.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYour point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: He is misleading the House. I presume he is talking about me when he speaks of poison. All I said was that Bermuda has a very high cost of labour, that Bermuda is a very high- cost juri …
Your point of order?
POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: He is misleading the House. I presume he is talking about me when he speaks of poison. All I said was that Bermuda has a very high cost of labour, that Bermuda is a very high- cost juri sdiction, and recently was found to be the highest cost in the world. There is no poison involved with that. It is merely the stating of a fact. So, you know, he is act ually repeating things that I said. In talking about the high cost of electricity, I said—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: We have a high cost of electricity here —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou got your point out. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: —and he apparently agrees.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Continue on. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . I do not recall mentioning anybody’s name. I am speaking to the issue. I am speaking to what we are trying to do here today. We are trying to bring a new atmosphere of optimism and opportunity …
Thank you. Continue on.
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . I do not recall mentioning anybody’s name. I am speaking to the issue. I am speaking to what we are trying to do here today. We are trying to bring a new atmosphere of optimism and opportunity to tourism in Bermuda that will benefit not only our investors, but also those who will benefit from the investment, not only foreign investors, but internal investors, not only foreign workers, but local workers. That is what we are looking to do here today, but that does not happen with some of the comments I have heard, particularly from those— [Inaudible interjection] Hon. Walter H. Roban: All the work that was done by the technical people, all the consultation that went into this Bill, that is what we should be celebrating. Not rehashing misstated facts of the past.
Bermuda House of Assembly So, Mr. Speaker , I stand today here because I am not going to stand on my feet any longer. Many of my colleagues have said the right facts and the right points about this Bi ll. We see this Bill as a tool of optimism for Bermuda for her future and we are going to follow through with that. The Opposition has a choice to follow through with us or to go in another direction, which seems to be to the dustbin of history. And so I congratulate the Minister. I congrat ulate the team which worked on this Bill from its very inception right up to this very day so that the Progres-sive Labour Party Government has, with pride, brought this Bill to this House so that it can be passed so that the new day of optimism of Bermuda tourism can finally be brought about for all of us to benefit. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. I recognise the Honourable Leader of the O pposition. Honourable Madam Opposition Lead er, you have the floor. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , my colleague at the very outset indicated that we were supportive of the Tourism I nvestment …
Thank you, Minister. I recognise the Honourable Leader of the O pposition. Honourable Madam Opposition Lead er, you have the floor.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , my colleague at the very outset indicated that we were supportive of the Tourism I nvestment Act [2017] as it was coming before this Honourable House. We recogni se not just the genesis of this Act, but the purpose for which it is being ad-vanced. We are supportive. The Honourable Member who just took his seat made great points in terms of not wanting to hear anything negative because the Bill was intended to be positive. It was intended to allow Bermuda to be competitive in an environment that assists in bringing i nvestment that had been difficult to come by historically. But we heard some of the historic challenges that existed. And I think that it is wonderful, on the one hand, to say, Let us look at only the positive that is enshrined in this legislation and to carry it forward, and we do. But we cannot neglect the fact that there were birthing pains to get to where we are. And I believe that in recognising that , when we hear the Member say, You all ought not to say anything, we sat this morning through four foolscap pages of a Ministerial Statement that did nothing but castigate the prior a dministration. And so that was convenient, at that point, for them to sa y. And now, because the facts are intending to be put out in a very cogent way, not being neces-sarily denigrating, but just to say this is the way things happened, and then for some reason that is being called foul. Well we cannot have it both ways. I am perfectly satisfied—
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Point of order, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerHold on, Minister . . . I will take your point of order. Take your seat. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: The Honourable Member is misleading the House. What was considered foul was not the, what she would call, “cogent” and denigrating. It was the referring of …
Hold on, Minister . . . I will take your point of order. Take your seat.
POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: The Honourable Member is misleading the House. What was considered foul was not the, what she would call, “cogent” and denigrating. It was the referring of a black man by the Honourable Member Trevor Moniz as “a boy.” That is what we find —
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Opposition Leader? Hon. Patr icia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , it is . . . the Honourable Member , if that was his point of order, then I certainly misunderstood what I heard coming from the Deputy Prem-ier. But with that said, …
Thank you. Opposition Leader? Hon. Patr icia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , it is . . . the Honourable Member , if that was his point of order, then I certainly misunderstood what I heard coming from the Deputy Prem-ier. But with that said, let me say that we support this Bill. What the Honourable Member just interjected was not what I heard. It was not what I heard in terms of where the negativity was coming from on that side. It did not speak to “a boy” it spoke to labour, it spoke to vilifying immigration policies, it s poke to exploiting workers, none of which we support . . . none of which we support. The Honourable Member did make a comment that the cost of labour in Bermuda is high. The cost of labour is high; that is a reality. It is high as against some other juris dictions, and jurisdictions for which investors have the choice to determine whether they are going to bring their investment to Bermuda or whether they are going to invest their money els ewhere which may —and I will not say “will,” which may—give them a larger return on their investment. So we as a country have to determine how best we can embrace our situation so that an investor coming in, as will happen under this Tourism Investment Act [2017], to be able to give them additional benefits to get their bus inesses going. The ultimate aim, as the Honourable Member , the Immigration Minister, indicated, is that we want to see our people working. And in the absence of effective industry that assists in that regard that will not happen. So I want to not just mak e sure that our people are working, Mr. Speaker , but that our people are working in an environment in which an investor does not feel as though he is being hard done by. We do not want people coming, determining whether they should or should not, which we saw quite a lot of it, not just through the former PLP admi nistration, but through part of the OBA administration, when people came to the table and determined that they would bring “X” investment and then, for various reasons, those investments fell away. Because what 318 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly we were able to offer in terms of helping them to seek a better return on their investment was not sufficiently attractive to them. And for varying reasons some of those deals fell away. So, this Investment Act now is attempting to put Bermuda on an even keel for us to be able to rank pari passu with other jurisdictions in which investors are likely to put their money. And that is the aim. To that we are supportive. You will have heard, Mr. Speaker , earlier that we have . . . you know, this w as something that has been in the works a fair while, and now it has come to fruition. We look forward to being able to not just debate the clauses of the Bill, but to seeing this Bill e nacted so that when it passes through another place that we now put ourselves and rank ourselves as a country on the forefront of the tourism industry. There are additional opportunities that Bermudians have. And I have to say, if I can declare an interest, I know that there are people in this Honour able House, including me, who have been able to take advantage of the new opportunities that have come with the likes of the Airbnb renaissance which has happened in Bermuda with our tourism industry. And I think that this is a good thing because we are now mirroring some of the t hings that happened way back in the 1960s and 1970s in terms of how tourism was able to positively impact the economy and how average people, such as myself, were able to get . . . have a few extra pennies coming in the door so that we did not have to go a nd stand in a bread line, Mr. Deputy Speaker . [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Deputy Speaker, in the Chair]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: So, I would just like to say that we recognise that this is a Bill that is important. We recognise for the benefit of the country that it is necessary to push it forward. And we recog-nise where we stand in the development of our tourism industry that will assist us by the passing of this Bill to be able to encourage the environment in which people are willing, able, a nd excited about investing in Bermuda. Very few people, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker . . . I have had more exposure to visitors over the course of the last three or four months, certainly since America’s Cup, than I probably have had on a direct basis prior in a l ong time. But very few people with whom I speak criticise anything about Bermuda. And as recently as two days ago, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker , I was walking down Front Street. There was a couple coming in the opposite direction . . . probably three days ago because they were heading back towards the cruise ship that was docked at Hamilton. And the gentleman said to his wife, This is such a nice country and the people are so nice. So, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker , this is the repu-tation. This is what we want to capture. T his is what we want to enhance and we want to encourage. And in order to be able to encourage that, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker , we need to have this Bill passed that has been, as I said, painstaking. It has taken a long time to get it right. Because we know that we are operating in an environment where people have choices. And in those choices we want to be able to have that added extra where we can come and say, Please bring your money to Bermuda. And, We are going to show you that we will embrace you, we will embrace your investments, because if you take your investment elsewhere it does not bode well for us because our primary objective is putting our people to work. That is all we want to do, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker . We want those investors to be able to have a reasonable return on their investment, but we want to put our people to work first and foremost. And we also want to recognise that to the extent that we do not have sufficient labour in the labour force to be able to fill the jobs that are required as a result of enhanced investment that we also provide a welcoming and a fair environment for people who may need to come to the country. I take your point, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker . You will know that I have come from a labour background. And in that labour back ground the one thing that was drilled down on me before anything else was that you treat people fairly. That is all I know and that is all I will ever encourage. So as we look at this Bill and look to have it enacted as we go through the various clauses, know that this Bill has the full support of this side, notwithstanding that, you know, some of our Members, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker , have a manner of artic ulating situations a little bit differently and people get very touchy. And whether justifiable or not, people have very thin skin. What people have to understand is that sometimes they throw out barbs and they can be pai nful, but we tolerate it. We tolerate it, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker . So all I am saying is that —
[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Patricia J. Gor don-Pamplin: I do not make any excuses for anybody. I am saying . . . I do not make any excuses for anybody. I am saying that when comments, when barbs are thrown at me, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker , I have to take it. So let us not be so thin- skinned that every word that everybody says somehow creates this great big, you know, offence that people will take when we sat through two hours this morning between Ministerial Statements and questions and criticism, and we took it. So let us not sit and be holier -than- thou and try to be righteous. Let us work on the Bill that we have be-fore us. Let us see what we can do to collaboratively have this Bill passed through Committee for the better good of the people of Bermuda.
Bermuda House of Assembly Thank you, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker .
The Deputy Spea ker: Thank you, Opposition Leader. Any further speakers? We recognise the Honourable Rolfe Commi ssiong.
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongThank you, Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker . Well, it has been a fairly interesting debate thus far. It has gotten somewhat heated. I jus t will echo the condemnations by some on this side who took issue with the former Attorney General characterising, by way of interpolation, one of our …
Thank you, Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker . Well, it has been a fairly interesting debate thus far. It has gotten somewhat heated. I jus t will echo the condemnations by some on this side who took issue with the former Attorney General characterising, by way of interpolation, one of our Members as “a boy.” I think the history was articulated by the De puty Leader of the Government, and I do not think there is any need to go any further, except to say that I found the comment extremely patronising and condescending at best. And so I would expect a veteran such as him to lead by example in that regard. Mr. [Deputy] Speaker , tourism remains an industry that poses a serious dilemma for Bermuda. I am one who is of the view that for us to really begin to change the direction of not only tourism but so many other issues that continue to challenge and bedevil us, we have got to start having the right kinds of conversation. I just heard the new Member here for constit uency 14 make a comment about the Mincy study. And I am only going to invoke it here because I think it is very relevant to this conversation. In the 1980s the Mincy study articulated that there was a change to the industrial composition of Bermuda’s economy. And that change saw the de-cline—structural decline now —going over close to four decades of tourism and the rise of international business. And while correlation is not causation, we know that, if you look at the two in tandem, while one has continued despite some ebbs over that period, one has continued to decline (notwithstanding what some of the Members on the other side have said about its results over the last two or three years) w hile the other industry has been like on steroids, that being the international business sector, continued and con-tinues to grow. Like I said, correlation does not mean caus ation. But there are a number of studies that say that when an economy begins to m ove in the direction of financial services it does have, over time, or can pr oduce a deleterious effect on all other economic sec-tors in that economy. The analogy they draw is that of the resource curse. Those countries who only have one economic pillar, s uch as oil or diamonds, and the negative impacts of that over -reliance on this one pi llar and the effect it has on those countries is profound over time. Well, they have got a new term now. They call it the “finance curse.” Now, do not get me wrong. I am not saying that international business is something that we do not need. Obviously, we do, half the time up here now we are legislating to ensure that it remains one of our pi llars. But I think we would be remiss in not, I think, r ealising that the relati onship between international business and financial services and our hotel sector has not always been a symbiotic one.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER
HOUSE VISITOR
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerHonourable Member , can you just pause a second? I just want to recogn ise the former Speaker of the House, the Honourable Kenneth Howard Randolph Horton, who is in the Gallery. [Desk thumping]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerCarry on, Honourable Member . [The Tourism Investment Act 2017, second reading debate, continuing]
Mr. Rolfe C ommissiongSo, Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker , the growth of international business has certainly led to a massive growth in income inequality in Bermuda, a rise (some would say ruinous) in the cost of living. And along with that has produced significant and sustained levels of inflation. Let us go back …
So, Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker , the growth of international business has certainly led to a massive growth in income inequality in Bermuda, a rise (some would say ruinous) in the cost of living. And along with that has produced significant and sustained levels of inflation. Let us go back to a time that Professor Mincy and his team highlighted in the 1980s, again, chroni-cling the beginning of the structural decline of tourism and the meteoric rise of international business. Mr. Robert Stubbs only r ecently highlighted that the two most massive periods of inflation in our country were, one, during that same period in the 1980s, and two, latterly in the 2000s. The 1980s represents a time when international business begins to really take off here. I r emember as a young man or a teenager hearing about this exotic business activity surrounding the growth of this business; terms such as “captive insurance,” and “catastrophe insurance” during the 1980s. That was round one of a massive inflation that rippled through the society. And so the second round of it occurred in the 2000s. Well, what occurred in the 2000s? What occurred in the 2000s was 9/11, followed by Hurricane Katrina, which saw a massive increase in the level of financial services and Bermuda’s role as a major f inancial service provider around the industry of rei nsurance and other forms of insurance —catastrophe insurance. It produced the sort of inflation that made it more difficult in this case in both periods for an indus-try like tourism to rem ain competitive. So this, to me, is the dilemma that we are still facing. You heard both Governments over the last ten years —or longer than that —keep talking about the need to diversify the economy. Is this the headwind 320 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly that makes that more difficult? I am not downing international business. I understand its critical role within Bermuda and how it supports so much of what takes place here. I am just saying let us not be blind cheerleaders and let us look at this in a more sober way. Because I believe that if we can do so then I think we can begin to take off the rose- coloured glasses in a way that will allow us to reengineer Bermuda in a way that can accrue to the benefit of Bermudians. So, in the 1980s tourism begins its decline. And I heard a Member tal king about the high cost of doing business in Bermuda, but he kept alluding to the fact that it had to do solely with the high cost of labour. But today I do not think anyone can say with a straight face that hotel workers —
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker .
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerYes, what is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: No one on this side said that it was solely due to the high cost of labour. In fact, Members on both sides have referred to the high cost of labour and the high cost of …
Yes, what is your point of order?
POINT OF ORDER Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: No one on this side said that it was solely due to the high cost of labour. In fact, Members on both sides have referred to the high cost of labour and the high cost of electrical power —those are just two of the high costs in Bermuda.
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongFair enough. I will say this, though. If one looks at the salaries that all of the major hotels and t he satellite industry around the restaurants are paying, I do not think anyone could claim that these people are being highly paid by any stretch of a measure. I …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I think the Member is inadvertently misleading the House. It is not a comparison with other salaries within this community; it is a comparison with our competitive jurisdictions like the D ominican Republic or like Costa …
What is your point of order?
POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I think the Member is inadvertently misleading the House. It is not a comparison with other salaries within this community; it is a comparison with our competitive jurisdictions like the D ominican Republic or like Costa Rica. You have to compare salaries here in the industry with salaries over there. Those are the comparisons.
Mr. Rolfe CommissiongBut yet these people act ually live in Bermuda. And if we are going to continue to have an industry that reaches a point where they are going to pay essentially by Bermuda standards poverty level wages, then we need to have a rethink. The other day (without going down …
But yet these people act ually live in Bermuda. And if we are going to continue to have an industry that reaches a point where they are going to pay essentially by Bermuda standards poverty level wages, then we need to have a rethink. The other day (without going down the road of reflection) I talked about how when Bermuda stops working for Bermudians then w e have a real problem. What is the point? And I think we may be almost at that point right now because if Bermuda is not going to work, as I said before (at the risk of reflection, going down the road of talking about), if Bermuda is not g oing to work for the waiter and the bartender and the housekeeper and the truck driver . . . I think I have made my point in that regard. So we saw those periods in the 1980s and in the 2000s. I think that the high cost of doing business in Bermuda . . . I will concede the point about the cost of energy. We need to find a way to substantively r educe it. I will not concede the point about the cost of labour, notwithstanding the comparative that the former Minister just articulated. But I will say this, that so much of the c ost of doing business in Bermuda is also predicated by the fact that we have an industry rooted in financial services which itself has been, historically, a generator of a high cost of living in Bermuda. We cannot get away from that. So this is the ongoin g dilemma we face in not only trying to revive tourism, but also trying to create an environment where we can begin to diversify this economy along other lines, because they face the same hurdle in terms of the cost of living . . . rather the cost of doing business in Bermuda. Getting back to the particulars of the Minister, and I want to commend him here. He has hit the ground running and he is doing his best here to try to begin that process of reengineering not only how we do business in Bermuda, but es sentially and more broadly reengineering what we are here in terms of what we have to offer the world. I will say that I am happy about the fact that he has intended by way of this Bill to ensure that, what I call the significant moral hazard by way of the concessions to a number of these properties is not going to go on ad infinitum . I think I will applaud that. The efforts to talk about the Bermudianisation piece on this is, again, something that we are always talking about. We need to make it work because that is one of the ways we are going to ensure that our young Bermudians —non- college educated Bermudians—are going to be able to work in their own country. Along with that, as Members have mentioned, in itiatives such as the living wage and other efforts on the part of this Government to reduce the cost of li ving, I think, are also going to help in that regard. And let us not forget the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Bermudians living in the UK and some other places. I am not talking about those with a c ollege education who, perhaps, are working out there. I am talking about many of them who only left Bermuda over the last five, six, or seven years because they essentially could no longer afford to live here. We need to ensure that we can create the condi tions and the incentives to bring a lot of them back so that they
Bermuda House of Assembly can play a part in revitalising the Bermuda we love so much. Thank you, Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker .
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member Mr. Commissiong. Any further speakers? Minister —oh, I am sorry, the Honourable Member — Hon. Michael J. Scott: Mr. Deputy Speaker —
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerYes, let me recognise you first. The Member from constituency 36, Brother Mike Scott. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker , good afternoon. Mr. Deputy Speaker , I know that certainly the technical officers and anyone else listening to the d ebate this afternoon did not contemplate …
Yes, let me recognise you first. The Member from constituency 36, Brother Mike Scott. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker , good afternoon. Mr. Deputy Speaker , I know that certainly the technical officers and anyone else listening to the d ebate this afternoon did not contemplate that the Tourism Investment Act [2017] was meant to be the foil under which we solved all the social, ec onomic, and historical issues in our Island. It has a specific focus and it would be useful, it will always be useful, as the role of us as legislators should be, for us to expand upon, breathe life into, give new ideas to the technical officers listening, and to the Minister who is to be commended for bringing this to our presence. The Investment Act Bill really still has not gotten it right in many respects, and I abhor the fact that we should seek to take the House and the debate in the House down some rabbit holes, as everybody on the Opposition side, surprisingly, the Shadow Attorney General and the former Economic Development Mi nister, have taken us down. I mean, that is not helpful. Let us try and understand how we can i mprove and enhance the developers of hotels in our country, the developers of restaurants in our country. The Bill, just like the Hotels Concession Bill, sought to do it by just pure figures of concessions and incentives. But really, and we have heard it today in this debate from Members of the Progressive Labour Party Government, with the singular and repeated focus, Mr. Deputy Speaker , upon making and enhancing the experience and the product in this country of hospital ity by the focus on the human resource side, the peo-ple who work in it and deliver the product. And this is where the ground zero is happening on this side of the House. And it is neither surprising nor is it illogical. As a matter of fact, it is entirely logical. We have all lived in this country long enough, including the Members of the OBA, to know that these kinds of debates about hospitality are about the product and those producing the product. And then we go into restaurants and hotels as we go about our daily lives regularly throug hout the year and we experience t he good, the bad, or the ugly of the current set up. And I have heard even you, Mr. Deputy Speaker , with your long experience in labour, you have lamented often about either the la nguage barriers, the absence of Bermudians in too large numbers across these fronts. I know, as everybody else knows, that the person standing and delivering the plate of food or the glass of wine, or working, sorting out your living accommodations in hotels, it all makes a difference if your experience is one that is diverse from New York where you come from, it is ethnically or culturally pleasant because it creates a memorable experience and you come back. The Bermuda situation, as we all recognise, has to be one where we have a mixed economy. So these references to Dominica or Costa Rica or lower cost jurisdictions are not helpful. We know that we have built Bermuda based on a mixed economy where our cost of living is higher than those destina-tions. And I abhor the comparisons also with these large metropolitan areas like New York and London. These comparisons are entirely inept, inappropriate, for Bermuda. We have set out in a Caribbean- like e nvironment to deliver a Caribbean- like experience, both architecturally . . . we should be focused on that. How are we going to ensure that the leisure dollars in modern 21 st century spenders of these leisure dollars spend more and come and choose this destination in which to spend it? What are we going to be doing in terms of both the architecture of our properties? And Mr. [Deputy] Speaker , may I say, again, the comparison with large metropolitan destinations is inept. We have a fixed and scarce space. We know where the geographic territory of hospitality houses is. We know where the large ones are. We know where the cottages and cottage i ndustries are and we have seen recently developing, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker , the Airbnb. But it is not endless. We do not have endless space. That which we have we should be working to ensure that it is optimum in its offering and we can afford to do it from a human resources position of Bermudians, first and mostly Bermudians. I mean, we have been generous or conservative, I think it is pro per to say that the 70 per cent mandate that we placed in this item has been generous. And I think it is not unrealistic because this is not a territory of two million people, it is a tiny territory. And it has always been said, ever since I have heard Members of the Progressive Labour Party tal king about tourism. We are small enough to ensure successes across these important criteria of full Bermudianisation. But we just do not work towards it. And if you listened to the two speeches that came from the Opposition benches, it is revealing, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker , as to what goes on at their tables. These tedious references to the bottom line and making sure that on the backs of labour is where we make this country’s investment attractive. And it should not be 322 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly happening. It should not be happening at lowering the cost of labour as the incentive to inward investment. It is wrong. It produces the very thing that we see happening in our country —the flight of Bermudian labour to everywhere in the world except to Devonshire and Pembroke or St. David’s. That is precisely what it generates and the influx of persons clicking mouses from across the world looking for employment coming into our country. It is a complete dysfunction of the makeup of our hotel investment product. Back to the mix. So, if governors of this country—and I mean the policymakers —have wisely made sure that we set off on courses where the economic mix is diverse, we have lost the thread and we have lost our way on so many instances across the years. But we have to recognise that because our planning ensures that our houses are built strong, we do not experience the deleterious effects that we see in juri sdictions where housing and planning are weak, and catastrophes of weather result in such damage to the hotel industry or the hospitality industry they have to rebuild. So, we have that important reality and it has been a good one that has served us well. We have the fact that our close proximity to a trading partner that is happy to be here to engage in wealth management and financial services is something that we have exploited. And what the PLP has always been on abo ut and beating the drum about is further divers ification so that the mix is even broader. But back to the Bill, where we are seeking to ensure that this high employer, the hospitality industry, works best. We want to ensure for the modern leisure seeker and leisure spender of dollars that their rooms, the bar area, the lounges, the booking- in area, are all functions that have new methods connected with them; either the artificial intelligence or information technology elements relevant to the modern leisure seeker in the room, in the lounge area. And that kind of technology mix delivered by Bermudians is entirely possible across the . . . how many hotels will we have here ultimately in this country? I mean the Fairmonts that are here—two are here. The development in St. George’s, the development at the Loren, and you know, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker , there is a fixed number, and we can afford to set them up so that they reflect what we have been calling for —high, culturally Bermudianised delivery of a product that leaves an impression and a memory that causes the visitor to come back. We do need to think about those three questions that were posed by the organisation that came and made its assessment. But I abhor the responses that the OBA policymakers of just a few years ago gave to those analyses, those metrics that were identified. The CBA (the collective bargaining agreement) is unfair, or price prohibitive. Immigration laws . . . I mean, did they not challenge some of these notions by these people? Did they not make the point that these things can be thought about in a different way? Or did they just buy them lock, stock, and barrel and say, We’re going to be responsive entirely? And this is where we must be careful on this side as Government. We must not be completely openhanded and say, Yeah, we are going to achieve these things, because it does result in . . . we will not have an immigration issue or challenges if we have more Bermudian employees who are trained, motiva ted, rushing into hospitality and being pr operly pos itioned so that they have motivation to move through the industry and move upward in the industry and en-tice their children and grandchildren because they are experiencing real value- added experiences as employees, managers in this industry. But we do not have, Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker . It is way past time that we broke this particular nut. I mean, we have been doing it for years and it is lamen-table that we have not got it right yet. And it is because we keep following these ridiculous narratives from outsiders telling us that this is what we need, who are following metropolitan concepts out of New York and everyplace that is neither relevant to what visitors are looking for in this country —which is a Caribbean- like experience in the look, in the pers onnel, in the smell, in the foods —and we should have had it right a long time ago. It is maddening that we still debate this. The Hotels Concession Act was not a Bill that solved and broke all of those nuts. This Bill has not gone as far as it needs to eit her. It continues to have this focus on the investment incentives that are going to respond and be responsive to bring your costs down. But there are more dynamic, imaginative and innovative ways to do that and to manage the demands of salaries from Bermudians on that very front. So, the technical officers are looking for i nformation and ideas during the course of this debate, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker . I heard one of the Members of the OBA, the former Minister of Economic Development, say that the industry just a few years ago, and less than that, was in crisis based on that analysis. And then Mr. Moniz, the former Minister of Justice, said that we are through the woods. And it cannot be both things. I mean, it is indicative of the problem that we really are facing with this topic and subject. All of that to say that the need recognised by and adopted by Minister Simmons in bringing this Bill is to be a pplauded. But it is our obligation and responsibility to infuse it with as much content that will improve it go ing forward. So much has to do in this sized jurisdiction, with the number of hotels that we have and cottages that we have, and now Airbnb, it is possible to make the experience memorable and it is achieved through the human touch. It is going to be enhanced by futuristic technology support in all of the places where h uman beings enter into Bermuda and then inhabit its properties. And these should be the subject of new
Bermuda House of Assembly hotel tourism investment acts and amendments ther eto. The real focus upon how we enhanc e the experience of the visitor who comes here from price point, from experience point, from deployment of technologies that are bound to start impacting . . . I beg your pardon, Mr. Deputy Speaker , they already are. And we should be having discussions and thinking, and have think tanks around how we can take the lead in using intelligence, artificial technology and otherwise, to make this place a story maker and a place that is talked about by the industry’s clients so that more come. And we all recognise , and it is a blessing rea lly, we have a capacity that we can only deal with . . . we are not going to be able to accommodate more than a kept level of tourists in this country. And so, again, the opportunity, because of our scale, is and remains one where we can get a better product and be a better provider of services provided by Bermudians. And so less talk about labour agreements that are outdated and going down these rabbit holes; more focus upon how the hospitality product can be enhanced and how investment can be enhanced and how this platform can be under the greater control, management, of Bermudian people and Bermudian know -how, Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker . And I think that would be a useful investment into how we improve the hospitality experience in Ber muda. Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker , I think with those o bservations I endorse the [Bill] and celebrate with the Minister on the bringing of this opportunity for us to assist him to continue to ensure that we enhance i nvestment in tourism in our country, but, more importantly, that we continue to invest in our people who are going to be the deliverers of the experience of those kinds that we hope to attract to our shores on aircraft. Thank you, Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker .
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member. Any further speakers? We recognise the Shadow Finance Minister, Mrs. Atherden. Carry on, Mrs. Atherden.
Mrs. Jeanne J. AtherdenThank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . Mr. Deputy Speaker , I want to say at the ou tset that I am very pleased that this Tourism Inves tment Act has been put forward because, as has been indicated earlier, this is something that results in col-laboration and it is moving …
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . Mr. Deputy Speaker , I want to say at the ou tset that I am very pleased that this Tourism Inves tment Act has been put forward because, as has been indicated earlier, this is something that results in col-laboration and it is moving forward and Bermuda wants to see it happen. And the only reason I am coming back is because it seemed as if something was lost as it relates to the persons on this side supporting or not supporting it. We believe as a party that this is important and, therefore, it is important that I reiterate that we know how it has evolved and we understand all the benefits that we ha ve here. But I do believe that if I do not turn around and remind ourselves about one or two points that were made, we might forget that there were some constructive observations made; construc-tive because I am mindful of the fact that there is a tendency to believe that every time an observation is made that it is destructive. And I just want to say that for me, personally, I was really pleased that there were some things that were put in this Bill that, if you will, make sure that we are putting Bermudians first. I was pleased, if you look on page 4 when it is talking about the exemption from the landholding tax, that it started after six years and that it made sure that whoever is getting it is in and has created the ability to have something on site and not at the beginning. Because in the past there was a tendency to give these concessions right at the begi nning and the person was getting the concessions b efore we got the benefit of them being here and the benefit of the revenues or the employment. So, t o me, having it come around and after six years means that you know that they are here, that they are employing people, and that they are meaning business. Also, I was pleased to see that there was talk that the hotel would have to verify to the Minister i n writing that in years 6 through 10, that 70 per cent of the hotel staff are Bermudian. But I say that even though I like that and I think that is a good idea, I just want to say two things to us as Bermudians and as people in this place here. In order to have 70 per cent of the people being Bermudians we have to make sure that we are going out and having enough Bermudian people—period. You already know if you look at this that right now we have guest workers, which means that there is a range of opportunities for our workers to be out there and decide which industry they want to be i nvolved in. There is going to be a competition for their work, a competition for their labour, so it is going to be very important for us to turn around and make sure that we do something to get them trained, to make sure that they are attractive, that the conditions are attractive, and make sure that they grow. And I mean I want Bermudians wherever I can. But I also, because earlier when we were talking about health, we were talking about workforce development, we know that there are shortages in lots of areas and everybody is going to make up their mind as to which area they want to go into. And so it is going to be important for us to make this attractive to Bermudians so that the employers also make it attractive. And I mean I used to be very pleased when I used to see some of the employers turn around and you would see them indicating that persons that come, they were on staff and they were being sent on internships in other places to other properties because it meant that they were committing themselves to the 324 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly employment and the ability for those persons to grow within their organisation. That is the type of thing that we want from people who come to Bermuda. When people come here, especially if they are part of large chains, et cetera, we want them to make sure that the workers get the training, that the workers could leave here and go anywhere else. And when I read articles in the paper about people who are going off to AB C and XYZ, whether they are front desk or whether they are middle management or some other area, I am saying that is the type of entrepreneur we want in Bermuda. We want the person that is going to work with us to grow the product. Because you are right, people do come to Bermuda and people do want to see Bermudians dealing with them. And I want to say Bermudians “helping” them, I do not want to say “ser ving” them, because people tend to think that serving is something negative. They want to see Bermudians helping them. But you also know that I look around and I say to myself, on the one hand you have to train people, on the other hand you do not have enough people because we know the birth rate is going down. And I am not advocating everybody rushing out and trying to change that trend. All I am saying is that we have to understand that these are some of the things that we have to deal with, Mr. Deputy Speaker . If I look around and I say to myself . . . if I go and there is a guest worker serving me—and we talk about people that sometimes have some language barriers, we talk about somebody who is not Bermudian— we have . . . we keep trying to do things to make sure that Bermudians are first. We want Bermudians to be first. And so I say to myself, Well, how does this happen? We put immigration laws in, we have things that say that people have to have English tests and all sorts of other things. So I am saying that we have to recognise that we have to continue doing all things that are important to make tourism, once again, rise to be the industry that was a pillar in our economy. We believe in this. I believe that across the aisle, from the very beginning, everybody wants this to happen. We want Bermudians to be first. We want people who are unemployed to be employed. We want people who want to change industries to be able to change industries. We want it to be attractive. So let us not let anybody be misunderstood in terms of “over here.” We want this to work, all right? So I just want to be sure as we go forwar d, there has been talk about Bermudians and nonBermudians and the workforce. And I just want to say that as long as we recognise that there are some things that we have to work on, we will be able to make this work collectively. But there is one observat ion that I would like to make. I would like to think that we will continue to keep having conversations with developers. The reason being that any of the changes that we make right now, other people are making changes elsewhere, because they are still tryi ng to get developers to come to them. They are still trying to make a better mouse trap. So we have to make sure that we keep having the conversations to make sure we got it right. And if we do not have it right we have to be flexible and ni mble enough to start making changes. So this is not the end of the Tourism Inves tment Act. I expect that it should evolve. I expect that things would be changed. And if we have people, whether it be in the Tourism Authority, or whether it be the other new . . . I know th at you as a Government have made a suggestion of another, I think it is an Economic Development Group, whatever you are coming up with, we have to make sure that we keep looking at this. It is not good enough to come up with something. We have to measure t he outputs to make sure that what we ask for we achieve. There is a tendency, and we all have this tendency, to start off to do something and say, O h, we have done this , but we do not look to see, Did we achieve what we wanted? Because doing something . . . and if you do not achieve what you want, then it means that you have not got it right. And we do not want to drop the ball. This is very important to us. So I would like to think that as we go forward, whichever groups are responsible for liaising with developers, liaising with the people that are on the Island or off the Island, that we make sure that we keep looking at whether we tweaked it and whether what we hope to achieve here is actually achieved. And so, Mr. Deputy Speaker , I just want to say th at I hope to think that we have . . . you know ,we started off understanding, focusing on this Bill going forward. And I would like to think that we could bring ourselves back now to saying that this is a good Bill, that we have some things to work on, and that all of Bermuda wants to see us get this going and all of Bermuda wants to see us make it happen. So with that, Mr. Deputy Speaker , I will take my seat.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member from constituency 19, Mrs. Atherden . Any further speakers? We recognise the Honourable Scott Simmons from constituency 32.
Mr. Scott SimmonsGood afternoon, Mr. Deputy Speaker . Mr. Deputy Speaker , first and foremost allow me to take the opportunity to congratulate the Minister on a fine Bill coming into this Honourable House t oday. [Desk thumping] Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Scott Simmons: And I also want to commend him …
Good afternoon, Mr. Deputy Speaker . Mr. Deputy Speaker , first and foremost allow me to take the opportunity to congratulate the Minister on a fine Bill coming into this Honourable House t oday. [Desk thumping]
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Scott Simmons: And I also want to commend him and his colleagues on the front bench for, as you know, Mr. Deputy Speaker , and as others may not know, the Ministers take great care in making sure that all of us within our caucus, especially us as bac kbenchers and new Members of the House . . . by ma king us aware so that we are able to share that information with our constituents. S o I want to thank the Minister and I want to thank the front bench for the time they take to make sure that we are aware of the Bills that come here. Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker , I wish as a furtherance to my honourable colleague to my immediate right on the opp osite benches who made it clear tonight and she stated that it started out right but it began to wane as the debate went on, I want to be clear here tonight, Mr. Deputy Speaker , that we have a responsibility in this House to advance the people’s business. And when we see and when we hear during the course of our debates when those opposite fail in memory, when those opposite begin to rewrite history and begin to create a mood and a tone and a tenor that is inconsistent with history and inconsistent with what we have experienced on the doorstep, then we are compelled as Members in this House —as Mini sters and Members in this House—to stand and to deal with it at that level. So, I want to also take the oppor-tunity to congratulate and to thank the BTA, those wh o have worked very hard on this Bill, and to thank them for being a part of what we find to be a very fine and positive piece. I am not going to speak for very long. I wanted to highlight several things within this particular Bill, but I will stick with tw o in particular. And the first one deals with where the honourable former Attorney General started us off on a negative vibe. And that was as it relates to international business and also to the wor kers in Bermuda. International business . . . we have to be very careful, Mr. Deputy Speaker , going forward in that in the past we have created a feeling in our coun-try that when international business or when emplo yers or even when foreign workers come to this country, they come with at first not knowing anything about Bermuda, but they arrive here with preconceived id eas that are planted in them. We saw part of it today. And that is destructive because I do believe that most of those who do come . . . and it goes against the work. It goes against the work of those in the BTA . . . it goes against the work of all of us working together with international business getting here. It undermines what they are trying to do positively bringing them to Bermuda, bringing what they offer, providing jobs and the rest. So I b elieve that what we need to do is to di scourage . . . and that is what happened this afternoon. [We need to] discourage Honourable Member s from setting the tone, because they are listening to this d ebate, by the way. They have individuals who are fol-lowing it, and they learn before they even get to Ber-muda, because it is reported before they even get to Bermuda that it is all right to promote, it is all right to push, the foreigner is all right without even considering the Bermudian. And so we have to discourage that, keep the mind- set on the fact that they must consider those that live in these jurisdictions. But the interesting point is I think what the Minister and what the honourable former Attorney General did not mean to do, but he did it by inference, in the fact that we create in them this feeling that it is all right to ignore Bermudians, it is okay to move past them. We have to make sure that they are open, that they are considerate of Bermudians in this country so that when they come here they abs olutely look out for their best interests. The second part of the first is also that, as it relates to Bermudians, we should never have a tone in this House that sends the message to Bermudians that we are encouraging international business or that we are going to be encouraging an environment that does not encourage them. They should be first. It is what we ran on, Mr. Deputy Speaker , and we will live up to it and we will encourage them, Bermudians, to apply for the jobs, to be a part of what we are doing. And I do not believe that it is the mantra. I do not believe it is the mind- set of those who work in the industry, those who produce this kind of Bill that we see today that there would be a discouragement be-cause I see within it. It reads quite clearly, that they wish to move for managers, to maintain managers, and to educate managers within that particular Bill. So I think that we can move forward in a positive way. The second part. So I want to encourage Bermudians to not listen to this debate and feel that we are not encouraging you. We are making sure as a Government that we are opening our doors and creating opportunities for you. But also opening the minds of those who come to Bermuda, who bring the expertise, who bring the ability to employ, opening them up that Bermudians, if they are not necessarily exactly the person and the people that you want, that you can work with them, they have an open mind, you can train them and that you can encourage them in your companies. And by doing so the quality of life in Be rmuda is increased and we move Bermuda forward in a positive way. On a second front, Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker , within this particular Bill it is quite clear that as it r elates to encouraging . . . and this is the area where I work, and that is to encourage hotels to invest inwar dly, to be able to not just invest in the personnel capital, but to also create an environment and tax breaks that offer opportunities for us to improve and for the hotels to improve their product. That is important and that moves the hotel forward. But it also encourages them because at the moment at the hotel of which I am part of—and I am prepared to disclose working at the Coral Beach and Tennis Club —we are doing extensive renovations, not necessarily from a huge physical 326 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly plant point of view, but we are refreshing the property so that it is in keeping with what we feel is the Berm uda product and an enhancement thereof, but making it so that the guests, because we are a private club, come and see a refreshed environment. Now, that said, I do believe that this is a good encouragement and the Government has pushed for it—we as a Government —and we have made certain that we put these things in place. So that has been very helpful. I believe that this new concession, this new Bill, is good for us. It is good for Bermuda. And I once again appreciate what the Minister has done, all those who have worked on it. And I know that we will find that as long as we continue in this vein this is a con-tinuance of what we promised, of what we know we can do for Bermuda. So every single session you will see us focusing in on the things that are, more i mportantly, what our electorate had asked for us to do. And then the housekeeping that we do . . . and I want to, before I take my seat . . . yes, let us give credit where credit is due. The Bill has been ushered through. It is a part of everybody’s work in here. But what we did see was the negativity that is around it, which is absolutely a snapshot of just what we are, which is something you speak about all the time, Mr. Deputy Speaker . So thank you so much for this time and as far as I am concerned I am happy going forward with this Bill. Thank you.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member Scott Simmons. Any further speakers? I recognis e the Minister in charge. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . I was raised by an axiom that when you start right, you end right. Today we started right and it ended wrong. Mr. Deputy …
Thank you, Honourable Member Scott Simmons. Any further speakers? I recognis e the Minister in charge.
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker . I was raised by an axiom that when you start right, you end right. Today we started right and it ended wrong. Mr. Deputy Speaker , we, the Shadow Minister and I . . . and let me go back and let me explain a little bit of my approach to tourism so that people can understand why there has been a change in our approach and the approach of how the Government deals with issues of tourism. When I sat as Shadow Minister in a seat across there, which I think the now Shadow Economic Development Minister (who is no longer here) sits, the one thing that I found intriguing when I used to debate Bills related to international business was that there was a tremendous amount of collaboratio n, understanding, and an attempt to bridge gaps and create common ground where we could come together with the same understanding and the same knowledge that this is a pillar of our economy that is important for the future of our people, and it must happen . Even if we quibbled on the means to reach the destination, we knew where we as a people wanted to go. And I said, you know, if I get the chance to sit in this seat, I would do my best to do the same in tourism. So we initiated, my Shadow Minister and I , that we would meet regularly. She will have access to my technical officers. She will have access to as much knowledge and understanding of where we are trying to go, so that if we can at least agree on the destination, we can quibble about the trip and how we get there. But we will agree on the destination. And I think that is critical. Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker , I think that this Bill is important for all the reasons that many Members have articulated. I thank all the Members for the contributions they have made. But I think that when we look at what we want in tourism, we want to see the project in St. George’s become a reality, we want to see Mor-gan’s Point become a reality. But just as important we want to see Bermudians who are capable and qual ified havi ng the full opportunity to participate at every level. I find unacceptable a mind- set that says, Well, you know, in some other places they’re not . . . they bring in foreigners too. When I am served by a waiter who cannot speak English, you cannot tell me [that] you could not find a Bermudian that could speak English and carry a plate! You cannot tell me that. And this Government will not be making excuses and trying to cover for those who do not want to hire Bermudians. That is it. We will not be entertai ning that foolishness. Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker , for years I have heard and we have seen, it may be a little politically passé in some circles to be openly racist. It is, however, not politically passé in this country to be anti -Bermudian. We are the only cat egory that can be denigrated by the actions of a few, as though there is some inherent flaw in all of us. Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker , I know that there are Bermudians who can run hotels, who can do the marketing for hotels, who can operate at every level. And that is why we are committed, as we laid out in our Throne Speech, to reform at the Bermuda Hospitality Institute to make sure that our Bermudian people have all of the resources and all of the support to move up and move in and be in their proper place— in charge, owning. That is what we are here for. Now, Mr. [Deputy ] Speaker , as we seek to go and make Bermuda more appealing to investors, a message that I have had to deliver to the world— Bermuda no longer perceives inward investment as having a certain look or a certain pedigree, because I know that wealth is becoming younger and browner and more open to new experiences than in the past. So you can have a Shaquille O’Neal or a Kobe Bryant alongside a Ross Perot and it is okay. It is okay. Mr. [Deputy ] Spea ker—
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMinister, speak to me. Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Forgive me, forgive me, Mr. Deputy Speaker , I definitely did not mean to disr espect you. It is said that failure is an orphan and success has many fathers. And while I think we may have to …
Minister, speak to me.
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Forgive me, forgive me, Mr. Deputy Speaker , I definitely did not mean to disr espect you. It is said that failure is an orphan and success has many fathers. And while I think we may have to do a little genetic re- sequencing to get some of the DNA out of some of the people who claim fatherhood, I think that we have come together and managed to produce something that will move this country forward. And as we move this country forward an d as we send the message to the world that we are attractive and appealing to investment, not just in tourism, not just in hotels, but in every aspect where people want to get involved with our community and contribute to building up and working with Bermudians as par tners—not as occupiers, not as tenants, as partners — because that is the way it should be. And the only way . . . and even with the performance today by certain Members and the sanctioning of it by the non- condemnation by other Members . . . I a m still committed to working with the Opposition as much as possible to do what is best for our people when it comes to tourism. I am committed to that because I think it is the right thing to do. But a message to the Leader of the Oppos ition: My grandpar ents had to put up with racism, I do not. I do not. And part of what we have to change to make Bermuda more appealing to investment is to rid ourselves of the mind- set of people who believe that it is acceptable and cute and something you should just get over to call a black man “a boy.”
[Inaudible interjection]
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberNot acceptable. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: When we see new money coming into this country, new interest coming to this country, they are not all going to look like me. But some will. They are not all going to look like my honourable colleague, Mr. Deputy Speaker , maybe a …
Not acceptable.
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: When we see new money coming into this country, new interest coming to this country, they are not all going to look like me. But some will. They are not all going to look like my honourable colleague, Mr. Deputy Speaker , maybe a little lighter than you too. But we will be a place that is open for business for everyone. But the mind- set of the racist and the white supremacist is not acceptable and we have no tolerance for that. And if no Member of the Opposition will condemn those remarks, then more pity is you. More pity is you. Mr. Deputy Speaker , I move that the Bill now be committed.
[Desk thumping]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. The Honourable Member , Mr. Commissiong, will take the Chair, please, to go into Committee of the whole House. House in Committee at 3:07 pm [Mr. Rolfe Commissiong, Chairman] COMMITTEE ON BILL TOURISM INVESTMENT ACT 2017
The ChairmanChairmanMembers, we are now in C ommittee [of the whole House] for further consideration of the Bill entitled the Tourism Investment Act 2017 . I now invite the Minister to proceed. You have the floor, Minister Jamahl Simmons. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman , I …
Members, we are now in C ommittee [of the whole House] for further consideration of the Bill entitled the Tourism Investment Act 2017 . I now invite the Minister to proceed. You have the floor, Minister Jamahl Simmons.
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman , I move clauses 1 through 5, please. And I will just notify, as I am sure Members are aware, we are doing an amendment to clause 5 in subsection (6). Does every Member have a copy?
The ChairmanChairmanCan you just repeat that, Minister? Hon. Jamahl S. Simmon s: I am sorry.
The ChairmanChairmanCan you just repeat that? Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I would like to move an amendment to clause 5 in subsection (6) at the a ppropriate time, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanOkay. Are there any objections to that? There are no obj ections, Minister. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Mr. Chairman, this Bill seeks to encourage developers of hotels, restaurants and tourism products, including attractions, natural sites, monuments, museums or historical structures, to invest in Bermuda by providing relief from customs duty …
Okay. Are there any objections to that? There are no obj ections, Minister. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Mr. Chairman, this Bill seeks to encourage developers of hotels, restaurants and tourism products, including attractions, natural sites, monuments, museums or historical structures, to invest in Bermuda by providing relief from customs duty and exemption from certain other taxes. Clause 1 is the title of the Bill. Clause 2 provides the definitions for the purposes of the Bill. Clause 3, the developer of a hotel may apply to the Minister under clause 3 for a touris m investment order. Clause 4 provides that a developer may qual ify for tourism relief based on the criteria provided in Schedule 1. Clause 5 provides that where the Minister is satisfied that the development is in the best interests of Bermuda he may, wit h the agreement of the Mini ster of Finance, make a tourism investment order gi ving full exemption from customs duty, hotel occupancy tax (where applicable), land tax (where applicable), and payroll tax, and the deferral of landholding char ges. It also prov ides for the Minister to impose terms or conditions on the order. 328 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly May I move the amendment now, or do we wait until everyone speaks on these, Mr. Chairman? I might otherwise speak on the clauses.
The ChairmanChairmanNo, let me inquire whether there are any Members that wish to speak to any of these clauses, 1 through 5. The Chair now recognises the Shadow Mini ster [sic].
Mr. N. H. Cole SimonsI just have a couple of questions, Mr. Chairman. Applications to the Minister clause 3(2). I was wondering if the Mi nister would entertain the possibi lity at some point in the future of including details on the developer or investor and details on their exper ience and financial strength …
I just have a couple of questions, Mr. Chairman. Applications to the Minister clause 3(2). I was wondering if the Mi nister would entertain the possibi lity at some point in the future of including details on the developer or investor and details on their exper ience and financial strength as part of the information required to complete the application form. And, in addition, I would add another line that would also provide some confidence to us that the financing is in order or that they have got the financing lined up as another item under subsection (f) of that same clause. Going over to clause 5(5)(a) customs duties, I looked at other jurisdictions and they provided customs relief on vehicles. So, is this legislation and the customs relief going to be extended to include vehicles that a hotel developer might want for their prem-ises, i.e., shuttle buses, hotel cars, or e ven boats or sailing activity; or something like Princess has, a boat that will move from Hamilton Princess to Southampton Princess? Will they be eligible to have customs relief on that as part of their tourism package?
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. And I just want to correct for the record that the Shadow Minister is Ms. Leah Scott. [Inaudible interjection]
The ChairmanChairmanNo, I agree. I am just correcting the record; that is all. Does anyone else wish to speak to these clauses?
The ChairmanChairmanThe Chair now recognises the Member from constituency 20.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a question around sort of dates and timelines. It s eems to me, especially when it comes to the definition of “opening date” that when I look through the legislation it seems as though these dates are quite vague and could have the …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a question around sort of dates and timelines. It s eems to me, especially when it comes to the definition of “opening date” that when I look through the legislation it seems as though these dates are quite vague and could have the potential to extend over a long period of time. When I look at “opening dat e” as a definition or interpretation, in (b) it seems that it is left up to the discretion of the Minister. And knowing how these po-sitions and titles change from time to time, it would be quite expedient for a developer to be able to extend their time . . . sort of within the investment order wit hout having any real deadline in place. And then I was just really curious, too, in [clause] 5(5)(c), in particular, where you are looking at a refurbished hotel and having an “opening date” and just wondering what really constitutes the opening date at that point as well, like how do you know when it is open. So, if the Minister can address those questions, thanks.
[Inaudible interjection]
Ms. Susan E. JacksonThe Member mentioned when a ribbon gets cut. Well, we have got a couple of buildings out there in development — [Inaudible interjection]
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Member. Are there any other speakers to these clauses . . . no? Okay, then the floor is yours, Minister. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just to answer the Honourable Member Cole Simons, to address his question, [clause] 5(5) of the Bill allows the Minister …
Thank you, Member. Are there any other speakers to these clauses . . . no? Okay, then the floor is yours, Minister.
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just to answer the Honourable Member Cole Simons, to address his question, [clause] 5(5) of the Bill allows the Minister to determine what you need to put in p lace on the applicant to make sure that they reach those standards. And I think the point you make about proof of financing is important. We have seen that movie before, so we get that. In terms of “ opening date” it is defined in paragraph (b). Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Minister, are you ready to move the amendment now? Go ahead. AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 5 Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I would like to move the following amendment: That the Tourism Investment Bill 2017 be amended as follows: in clause 5 in subsection (6) by Bermuda House …
Thank you. Minister, are you ready to move the amendment now? Go ahead.
AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 5 Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I would like to move the following amendment: That the Tourism Investment Bill 2017 be amended as follows: in clause 5 in subsection (6) by
Bermuda House of Assembly deleting “4” and substituting “5.” Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanAre there any Members that wish to speak to this amendment? No. You may proceed, Minister. [Motion carried: Amendment to clause 5 passed.] Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I would like to move clauses 6 through 17. I am sorry; I move that clauses 1 through 5 be approved as amended.
The ChairmanChairmanThe Minister has sought to have clauses 1 through 5, as amended, approved. Are there any objections? [Gavel]
The ChairmanChairmanApproved. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 through 5, passed as amended.]
The ChairmanChairmanResume, Minister. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I would like to move clauses 6 through 17.
The ChairmanChairmanThe Minister has indicated that he is prepared to move clauses 6 through 17. Are there any Members who wish to speak to this? The Chair now recognises the Junior Minister from constituency twenty . . .
The ChairmanChairmanMs. Leah Scott, you have the floor.
Ms. Leah K. ScottFirst of all I want to say that I do not commend the language that was used in this House. And if anybody knows me, they know that some of the things that go on, I do not agree with. [Desk thumping]
Ms. Leah K. ScottSo, I think that was inappropriate. I think that this debate has been extended far longer than it needed to be, and I apologise for the time that has been wasted.
The ChairmanChairmanPoint taken, Shadow Minister. You may proceed.
Ms. Leah K. ScottI just have a couple of questions, Minister. Under [clause](6)(1)(c) “if any goods which were imported subject to customs duty relief by virtue of the order are used for purposes which do not relate directly to the development . . .” How are you going to police that? How do …
I just have a couple of questions, Minister. Under [clause](6)(1)(c) “if any goods which were imported subject to customs duty relief by virtue of the order are used for purposes which do not relate directly to the development . . .” How are you going to police that? How do you monitor that? How do you know if goods that have been imported and have been relieved are being used contrary to what they are supposed to be used for? And then the sec ond one is under the land tax relief , which was supposed to be 100 per cent starting in year 6 and would be subject to the hotel verifying to the Minister in years 6 through 10 that 70 per cent of the hotel staff is Bermudian. I know that the verific ation is going to be in writing, but how is that verific ation that Bermudians are employed going to be substantiated? What evidence is going to be provided to you other than a letter that satisfies you that they are actually employing Bermudians? Thank you.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Shadow Minister. Are there any other speakers? The Chair now recognises the Member from constituency 8. You have the floor, sir.
Mr. N. H. Cole Simons[Microphone not on.] In preparation for the debate I did some r esearch and I found that in other jurisdictions the Mini ster of Tourism, on receipt of an application to develop or operate a tourism product, must within 90 days of the receipt of the application either notify the …
[Microphone not on.] In preparation for the debate I did some r esearch and I found that in other jurisdictions the Mini ster of Tourism, on receipt of an application to develop or operate a tourism product, must within 90 days of the receipt of the application either notify the applicant in writing of its approval or refusal; or request that additional information be submitted. So, in the regulations will we have a clause that will address the turnaround date or a period of time by which the developer will be assured that he will have some type of response from Government?
[Inaudible interjection]
Mr. N. H. Cole Simons[That he can] be assured that he can have some type of response, so would it be 90 days, would it be 120 days . . . either it is approved, rejected, or they would require more information. So it is embossed in the regulations.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Member. Does anyone else care to speak to the clauses? The Chair now recognises the Member from constituency 20.
Ms. Susan E. JacksonMr. Chairman, I still have an issue with the timeframe. And in clause 6 where the 330 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Minister has the power to amend or to revoke a tourism investment order, to me there should be some clause added to that …
Mr. Chairman, I still have an issue with the timeframe. And in clause 6 where the 330 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Minister has the power to amend or to revoke a tourism investment order, to me there should be some clause added to that which allows that the projects need to be completed in a certain period of time. The last thing we need in Bermuda is to have some form of construction that remains unfinished on a property because the developer . . . it is in his or her best interests not to complete the project in order to continue to get the benefits of this order. So, I really feel as though there needs to be som e kind of timeline put on anybody who is making application for an i nvestment order.
The ChairmanChairmanAre there any other Members who care to speak to these clauses? No? The Chair now recognises the Minister. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just to answer the last question first, Sche dule 1 speaks to timelines for completion of the project. And I think that the …
Are there any other Members who care to speak to these clauses? No? The Chair now recognises the Minister.
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just to answer the last question first, Sche dule 1 speaks to timelines for completion of the project. And I think that the Honourable Member . . . you know, there is a concern, because we have seen this movie before. But Schedule 1 deals with that. To the Honourable Member , the Shadow Mi nister of Education, regulations are not in place, but the Ministry will be providing guidance. In terms of the question by my Shadow Mini ster, the Collector of Customs under [clause] 6 moni-tors this in conjunction with the Minister. And hotel inspectors alongside the Ministry of Workforce Development will be monitoring and reporting back.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister. [Inaudible interjection]
The ChairmanChairmanThe Chair now recognises the Shadow Minister. You have the floor, Madam.
Ms. Leah K. ScottThank you . The other question about how you are going to verify the verification of Bermudians, other than a letter being sent to you? Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I am sorry. I thought that was actually a question that was answered. The hotel inspectors will be doing the monitoring …
Thank you . The other question about how you are going to verify the verification of Bermudians, other than a letter being sent to you?
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I am sorry. I thought that was actually a question that was answered. The hotel inspectors will be doing the monitoring of that. But they also are monitored by the Ministry of Workforce Development.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Jamah l S. Simmons: No problem.
The ChairmanChairmanAre there any other Members that would care to speak to these clauses?
Ms. Susan E. JacksonJust speaking to Workforce Development . . . so is there any way that the Wor kforce Development is going to be tracking B ermudians and their training and development on the job from the very beginning and that it is not just an audit that comes up from time …
The ChairmanChairmanSorry, you have the floor. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Yes, thank you. The Gover nment, and the Act lays this out, is committed to monitoring and enforcing this and ensuring that Bermudians are receiving adequate training. And that is something that we are committed to with the use of the …
Sorry, you have the floor.
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Yes, thank you. The Gover nment, and the Act lays this out, is committed to monitoring and enforcing this and ensuring that Bermudians are receiving adequate training. And that is something that we are committed to with the use of the hotel inspectors as well as the collab oration between the two Ministers to make sure this happens.
The ChairmanChairmanAgain, are there any other Members that wish to speak to these clauses? There being none, you may resume, Minister. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Mr. Chairman, I move that clauses 6 through 17 now be accepted as written.
The ChairmanChairmanMembers, the Minister has asked that clauses 6 through 17 be approved as written. Are there any objections? There being no objections. [Gavel]
The ChairmanChairmanApproved. [Motion carried: Clauses 6 through 17 pas sed.]
The ChairmanChairmanYou have the floor, Minister. [Crosstalk ] Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I would like to move the Schedules.
The ChairmanChairmanAre you going to move all three of them . . . all four of them, I should say? Okay. The Minister has indicated his desire to move all four of the Schedules in question. Are there any objections? There being no objections, go ahead, Mini ster. [Motion carried: Schedules …
Are you going to move all three of them . . . all four of them, I should say? Okay. The Minister has indicated his desire to move all four of the Schedules in question. Are there any objections? There being no objections, go ahead, Mini ster.
[Motion carried: Schedules 1 through 4 passed.] Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I move that the Bill now be reported to the House as amended.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: The Minister has now asked that the Bill be reported to the House as amended. There being no objections —
[Gavel]
The ChairmanChairmanAnd for the Schedules as well. The Bill will now move back to the House i tself. [Motion carried: The Tourism Investment Act 2017 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and passed with amendment.] House resumed at 3:23 pm [Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the …
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood afternoon, Members. Any objection to the Tourism Investment Act 2017 being reported to the House? No objections. Approved. The next item —[Order] No. 2 on the Order Paper —No. 3 on the Order Paper, rather, is the second reading of the Proceeds of Crime A mendment (No. 3) Act …
Good afternoon, Members. Any objection to the Tourism Investment Act 2017 being reported to the House? No objections. Approved. The next item —[Order] No. 2 on the Order Paper —No. 3 on the Order Paper, rather, is the second reading of the Proceeds of Crime A mendment (No. 3) Act 2017. The Minister of Health, you are leading this? Minister of Health, you have the floor.
BILL
SECOND READING
PROCEEDS OF CRIME AMENDMENT (NO.3) ACT 2017 Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , I move that the Bill entitled the Proceeds of Crime Amendment (No. 3) Act 2017 be now read the second time.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerProceed, Minister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. Mr. Speaker , I am pleased to introduce to this Honourable House the Proceeds of Crime Amend-ment (N o. 3) Act 2017, hereinafter referred to as “the Bill,” to address matters pertinent to Bermuda’s compliance with international standards set by the Financial …
Proceed, Minister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. Mr. Speaker , I am pleased to introduce to this Honourable House the Proceeds of Crime Amend-ment (N o. 3) Act 2017, hereinafter referred to as “the Bill,” to address matters pertinent to Bermuda’s compliance with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The Bill amends several pieces of legislation, namely: the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997; the Pr oceeds of Crime (Anti -Money Laundering and Anti -Terrorist Financing Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2008; the Trustee Act 1975; the Financial Intelligence Agency Act 2007 ; the Charities Act 2014; the Casino Gaming Act 2014; the Proceeds of Crime (Anti -Money Laundering and Anti -Terrorist Financing) Regulations 2008; the Charities Regulations 2014; and the Char ities (Anti -Money Laundering, Anti -Terrorist Financing and Reporting) Regulations 2014. Mr. Speaker , as part of our ongoing eff orts to enhance Bermuda’s compliance with FATF standards on combating money laundering and terrorism financ-ing, this Bill seeks to strengthen the bonds that co nnect Bermuda’s competent authorities that must work together for this purpose. To that end the amendment of the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997 will designate the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission as a member of the National Anti -Money Laundering Committee (NAMLC). This comes at a critical time as currently the Commission is evaluating Bermuda’s first application for a casino gaming licence. The Commission has been participating in all of NAMLC’s initiatives to enhance the anti -money laundering, anti -terrorism f inancing (or the AML/ATF) framework and to prepare for the 2018 evaluation of Bermuda’s AML/ATF framework by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force. It is therefore important that the legislative framework entrenches the Commissioner’s role as one of Bermuda’s watchdogs to protect Bermuda against money laundering and terrorism financing in this ne w sector. Mr. Speaker , the Financial Action Task Force mandates that casino gaming must be subject to r obust regulation for AML/ATF purposes as this is a sector internationally recognised as having the potential to be vulnerable to such abuse. Therefore, further amendments to the Financial Intelligence Agency Act 2007 are intended to support the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commissioner’s careful monitoring of the c asino gaming product when it is introduced to Bermuda so as to minimise its possible abuse for mone y lau ndering and terrorist financing purposes. One amendment will allow the Financial Intelligence Agency to share intelligence with the Casino Gaming Commission. Additionally, an amendment to the Casino Gaming Act 2014 will require casino oper-ators to monitor the activities of casino patrons and file currency transaction reports with the FIA for transactions that reach the $10,000 threshold. As a cons equence, the FIA will also be authorised to receive, store, analyse, and disseminate information related t o currency transaction reports filed by casino operators and others. Mr. Speaker , some of the amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Anti -Money Laundering and Anti - Terrorist Financing) Regulations 2008 are also de-signed to enhance the AML/ATF controls in pl ace, specifically for casino operators. Therefore, in keeping with best practices, additional activities that are known 332 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly to increase vulnerabilities for money laundering in c asinos are included in the list of activities that are pr ohibited from occurring in casino operations in Berm uda. Specific monetary thresholds for gaming and be tting in casinos are also being imposed in these regulations as the trigger points for customer due diligence to be conducted by casino operators. Amendments to the Regulations w ill also pr escribe the circumstances in which casino operators will be required to apply enhanced due diligence on patrons and transactions and to implement risk -based measures. Some of these new requirements are very much in line with best practice establ ished in the most respected gaming jurisdictions and Bermuda is adopting these enhanced measures to protect Bermuda’s international reputation, and also to send a clear message that we are serious about preventing the abuse of our gaming sector. Mr. Speak er, the Proceeds of Crime (Anti - Money Laundering and Anti -Terrorist Financing S upervision and Enforcement) Act 2008 is also being amended by this Bill. This amendment seeks to clarify that the existing powers under the Act can be used by a supervisory auth ority to ensure that certain nonfinancial businesses are not conducting business in a manner that contravenes the provisions of that Act. Mr. Speaker , the Bill contains additional amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Anti -Money Laundering and Anti -Terro rist Financing) Regulations 2008 which will have wider application to all the sectors that are subject to our AML/ATF obligations. These amendments primarily aim to enhance the customer due diligence requirements, especially in relation to customers that are legal persons (such as companies and partnerships) and legal arrangements (such as trusts). These amendments specify the full range of information that FATF mandates should be obtained on such customers as part of the customer due diligence process to ensure that this control measure is fully compliant with the international standards. The goal underlying the other amendments to these regulations is to ensure that they adhere more precisely to the FATF requirements. Mr. Speaker , recognising that some aspects of the FATF standards apply to non- professional persons when it concerns trusts that are established or managed in Bermuda an amendment is also being made to the Trustee Act 1975 to address a gap in r elation to those trustees who act in that capacit y for no reward. Mr. Speaker , the FATF standards are aimed at ensuring that legal arrangements, such as trusts, are not misused for money laundering and that the law enforcement and other competent authorities in Bermuda have the ability to detect and take appropr iate action if that is suspected to have occurred. Therefore, the amendment to the Trustee Act will r equire non- professional trustees to document the i nformation they have about the identity of settlers, ben-eficiaries, and protectors under the tr ust they are r esponsible for and to keep these records throughout the duration of the trust relationship. They will also be required to keep records of the transactions that they carry out under the trust. Some exemptions from these obligations will be all owed in specific circu mstances, such as where a co- trustee to the trust in question is a licensed trustee, or where the record keeping obligation is delegated to a licensed trustee. Mr. Speaker , in 2016 the FATF standards were amended to require that AML/ ATF controls applied to non- profit organisations and that they should be risk -based. The purpose was to minimise the negative impact of the imposition of a costly AML/ATF pr ogramme on all charitable organisations regardless of risk with the likely result t hat charitable works could be stymied in areas where there was no terrorist financing risk in particular. To that end, amendments are now being made to the Charities Act 2014 to authorise the Regi strar General to implement risk -based supervision of the ch arity sector and to require the Registrar General to establish and publish the criteria that will be used for risk -profiling of the sector. These amendments will also give the Registrar General the necessary tools to be able to effectively monitor the sect or for compl iance with the AML/ATF requirements and take en-forcement action where necessary. As a cons equence, other amendments to the Charities Act and Regulations 2014 and to the Charities (Anti -Money Laundering, Anti -Terrorist Financing and Reporting) Regulations 2014 are also necessary to do the follo wing, Mr. Speaker : 1. Immediately exempt from certain AML/ATF requirements, charities that have a gross i ncome of $50,000 or below. 2. Strengthen the Registrar General’s powers to impose remedial measures on a charity, i ncluding the power to freeze the payments to and from a charity without tipping off the pri ncipals of the charity in order to prevent prej udice to any investigation. The ability to exercise this power without giving prior notice to the charity will only be permitted where the Registrar General reasonably suspects that the charity’s assets are being used for money laundering, terrorist financing, or fraud. 3. Enhance the Registrar General’s powers to require enhanced reporting by a charity that has been classified as having a higher risk for money laundering or terrorist financing. This is to facilitate more focused monitoring by the Registrar General having regard to the speci fic money laundering and terrorist financing risk posed by the charity in ques tion. To reiterate, Mr. Speaker , the proposed amendments will, among other things: • lay the foundation for sound cooperation b etween Bermuda’s competent authorities in r eBermuda House of Assembly lation to the AML/ATF control of casino gaming in Bermuda; • it will strengthen the AML/A TF control measures that will apply to casino operations; • it will strengthen the customer due diligence requirements in relation to customers that are legal persons and legal arrangements; • it will require non -professional trustees to document and keep cer tain records in relation to the trust that they are responsible for; • it will implement a risk -based supervisory r egime for charities in Bermuda; and • provide the necessary tools and powers to the Registrar General to effectively carry out such supervision. Mr. Speaker , I might add at this time that this Bill was subject to very wide consultation, both during the policy development as well as during the drafting stage, and that included the charities, financial and non-financial sectors as well as. So there was very wide consultation to get us to where we are at this point. Mr. Speaker , in closing, Bermuda remains committed to working to achieve full compliance with the international standards, and this Bill is one step further to the journey to achieving such compliance. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Minister. Does any other Member wish to speak? We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 9. Honourable Member Mr. Moniz, you have the floor. Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Yes, Mr. Speaker , this is another piece of le gislation that was being developed …
Thank you, Minister. Does any other Member wish to speak? We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 9. Honourable Member Mr. Moniz, you have the floor.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Yes, Mr. Speaker , this is another piece of le gislation that was being developed during my time as Attorney General. It enables us to comply with the necessary requirements for our assessments under OECD and the FATF requirements. We do have ar eas of challenge. This enables the various organisations to better cooperate with each other. It gives the Gaming Commission a seat on NAMLC, which is a good development. We still have . . . this is not, of course, the end of the road. This is another step in the road of enhanced due diligence. I think we have probably, with respect to the Gaming Commission, taken the standard from the US where that magic figure is $10,000, which I think is what is reportable in the US if you are transferring cash pa yments, et cetera. So anything over $10,000 is a transaction that is reportable. We do have issues here. We have ongoing problems, on the one side, with charities. We have issues with charities. And I know [it has been] a period of time since the Charities Act had a major overhaul; it probably needs another fine- tuning at this point in time. We have had a lot of problems with charities and there has been the inability to really deal with it. If you take the case, for example, of the Committee of 25 there were continuing allegations of large amounts of money having disappeared and the authorities never managed to reach any sort of successful conclusion on that. There was not really a combined way of dea ling with these issues so you never resolved them. So they are still out there. You still get the complaints. With the Committee of 25 at one point they removed themselves from being a registered charity, then they sort of jiggled around some of the executive and tried to get re- registered and there was never any successful resolution of that. We have had other ar eas, too, where people decide that some undertaking, some business undertaking is a charity, when really it probably is not. So people are still being given too much leeway. So in terms of the Registrar General, we are probably ultimately going to need to continue fineturning the powers that he has under the Charities legislation to deal with this. Because, certainly, if you were in a situation of misdealing with money that would be an attraction. So it is w here the rubber meets the road rather than the high level where you have the framework. I know we have an outstanding problem with betting shops, with respect to the policing of betting shops and where the money comes from and where it goes to. And that i s going to be an area that Gover nment is going to have to come to grips with and bring into the modern age . . . the framework. And I am sure that is, hopefully, in train as we speak. You know, this whole area of gaming is a diff icult one. And, again, I have always been one that is very wary of all the risks. We have all seen the r umours that were floating around the papers recently with respect to, you know, a trip. And there have been denials of any trip and discussions about cashless gaming that have been going on and whether Berm uda wants to get involved in cashless gaming. So all of those issues, it is going to be a big area of concern with money laundering when we enter into that. And I know at the moment we are waiting for the Gaming Regulations, which are substantial in nature, and I am sure the Gaming Commission are very anxious for those to be brought to the table. But they are complex. I know at the time that we were dealing with their drafting [that it] was not necessarily easy to translate them into Bermuda law from the desired US legal model. So I would like to congratulate the Minister on being able to finally bring this to the table. I see Members of Chambers here, and I see Ms. Tyndale here, the NAMLC coordinator; Mr. Richardson from Cha mbers; and I would like to congratulate them on their very hard work. This took quite a while to pull toget her. As the Honourable Minister said, there has been a lot of consultation on this. But, of course, it is a step in 334 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly the road and there is further yet to go. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Honourable Member . Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? We recognise the Minister of Tourism. Minister Simmons, you have the floor. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , the provisions within this Act that relate to gaming are significant, not just …
Thank you, Honourable Member . Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? We recognise the Minister of Tourism. Minister Simmons, you have the floor.
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , the provisions within this Act that relate to gaming are significant, not just because of them meeting the standards that we need to meet to protect our reputation and our industry, but as som eone who does not game, as someone who did not vote in su pport of gaming, I believe that we must set the standard and go beyond the standard in terms of cleanliness, corruption- free, money laundering — impossible, or as close as you can get it, as we should be. Mr. Speaker , the reputation of Bermuda is very dear to me and to this Government. And it is b eyond the pale that anything could be allowed to dimi nish that reputation. And the commitment I make, as the Minister of this Government responsible for gaming, is that we will make sure that this is a criminal free zone. Make no mistake. I have no tolerance for corruption and criminality. And any department, including the Gaming Commission, will have no tolerance for any form of corruption, malfeasance, or anything of that nature. Mr. Speaker , we have seen the issue of gaming as it has worked its way through the process. It has been to the detriment of many people in this Chamber . . . several people in this Chamber, I should say. We have seen a Premier resign surrounding gaming. We have seen rumours and allegations , substantiated and unsubstantiated, floating around this. And I must say we have to make sure collectively — both sides of the House —that we keep this clean, as clean as possible. Mr. Speaker , I may never step foot in a cas ino. I may never step foot in one. The first one that opens, I have no interest in it. But I do have an interest in the reputation of my country and the knock -on effect that the diminishment of that reputation will have on my people. So I am very pleased to see that the Health Minister has brought this forward on behalf of the Attorney General. I am glad to see that we are meeting and ticking all the boxes to get us in line of where we need to be to protect our —
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I am sorry. I am easily distracted, Mr. Speaker , the hour is late. [Inaudible interjection] Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I am not used to—
The SpeakerThe SpeakerContinue, you will be all right, just keep speaking to me. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Mr. Speaker , I am not used to being here this late lately. It has been an i nteresting experience.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerI was hoping we would be gone at this time today as well. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Well, I am going to pet ition the Deputy Speaker because you know we are going into overtime now. But, having said all that, I think that it is clear what our responsibility …
I was hoping we would be gone at this time today as well. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Well, I am going to pet ition the Deputy Speaker because you know we are going into overtime now. But, having said all that, I think that it is clear what our responsibility is when it comes, not just to the gaming aspect, but getting the job done to ensure that we protect our economy. There is no greater risk than the loss of the opportunities that our reputation and our structure provide. We have to do it and this is a good first step in that direction. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Does any other Honourable Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 19. Honourable Member Atherden, you have the floor.
Mrs. Jeanne J. AtherdenThank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , I just wanted to make two o bservations. I, like everyone else, know why we have to do this. And as I said before when we were talking about some of t he anti -money laundering legislation I knew that many more …
Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , I just wanted to make two o bservations. I, like everyone else, know why we have to do this. And as I said before when we were talking about some of t he anti -money laundering legislation I knew that many more things were going to come. I think the only observation that I want to make, and I make it now because I think it is appr opriate in what I call the general discussion, is the fact . . . and I think I just looked at it. This was talking about, when we were talking about the charities, I am mindful of the fact . . . and this is the amendment to the Charities Act. I am mindful that I am talking in general terms. But with respect to the charities I know that I have been speaking to people who are involved in charities. And, whether we like it or not, people in Bermuda have used the formation of a charity as a lmost a way in which to have business enterprises. So that when you turn around and you say that the gross income is $50,000 . . . lots of people do have gross incomes of $50,000 —charities —because they are out there fundraising from everybody. They are getting grants, et cetera. And as I understand [it], gross i ncome would include grants, et cetera. So I am pleased that . . . I know that we had to set $50,000. And lots of what I call smaller charities will probably be exempted by that. So I was pleased
Bermuda House of Assembly when we talked about those ones who might get grants and might have other things making $50,000 or more that we have now developed the, what I call . . . it says, “in consultation with the NAMLC, the criteria to be used for determining the AML/ATF risk profiles of charities, in order to facilitate risk -based supervision” because I think that is very important. It is very i mportant that once you start looking at —not just using the criteria of the $50,000 —but when you start looking at where their money is coming and how they get it, you will be able to look at the risk in terms of other persons using these charities as a way to funnel money in there and use them for terrorist or money laundering opportunities. So, I just want to say that this, to me, is a good response and we are like everybody else. We want to make sure that Bermuda’s reputation is not tarnished and we do not want people to somehow think that because we are a jurisdiction which is small that they can slip in and do some things, and then we find our reputation tarnished. Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 6. Honourable Member Furbert, you have the floor. Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , first of all let me congratulate the Minister for bringing this B ill. …
Thank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? We recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 6. Honourable Member Furbert, you have the floor.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker . Mr. Speaker , first of all let me congratulate the Minister for bringing this B ill. And I understand, again, that the former Government and the Honourable and Learned Member Trevor Moniz were involved also, so congratulate yourselves. But you know most people, when we talk about proceeds of crime and money laundering, do not even know what we are talking about. And bas ically money laundering is turning “dirty” money into “clean” money. That is basically what it means. So you are taking . . . and basically “dirty” money mainly comes from drug trafficking (probably one of the key elements out there). So individuals try to find a way to get this “dirty” money into institutions to make it “clean.” That is where the “laundering” comes from. The way I understand it, this industry is about a $500 billion industry annually —$500 billion— which is significant. So they have got to find someplace to put it. I came across where it says the facts that are identifying money laundering operations needs to conceal the origin and the true ownership. And so that is why a lot of times people are looking i nto blaming overseas islands, like Bermuda, who have offshore companies here. So they have to hide the origin from who put it in place, maintain control of the proceeds, and they will need to change the form of the proceeds in order to street . . . use a volume of cash because it really is a cash business. So it is out there floating all around there. Some people have probably got it under their beds. But then they have got to find a way to do it, so it is a cash incentive. And most of the time they find a way. And banks are probably one of the primary sources where they are trying to get their money because that, at the end of the day, is where they are trying to end up because that is where money is being washed and they are saying . . . And there is no doubt that I am sure that Bermuda is not . . .because we know that the drug trafficking in Bermuda is huge. So they have to try to find a way to get it into that circle. And I saw where The Guardian reported in March . . . Honourable Member Grant Gibbons, do you have something to say?
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsI said, How helpful is this? Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Well, because I am talking about banks. Is that not . . . you are not interested in that? All right. Okay. Just very, very short. So the point is that we find out that there is a whole aspect …
I said, How helpful is this? Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Well, because I am talking about banks. Is that not . . . you are not interested in that? All right. Okay. Just very, very short. So the point is that we find out that there is a whole aspect of finding a way to get this money into a clean basis. So you could be going and trading and buying [expensive] jewellery with cash, buying di amond rings worth a significant amount of money which gets into t he retail sector. And then it ends up in the banks . . . Clarien Bank, or a few other banks around here. Then you also could be buying [expensive] antique goods. So the proceeds of crime [Act] is finding a way to find its check and balance to ensure that w e have a clean jurisdiction. Hence, why we talk about the idea of charities and putting money into charities or putting the money into . . . people go into . . . because most times they trade into . . . well, you go into a casino and you are buying chips. So you buy these chips and at the end of the day you may win a few, you may lose a few. But then you cash out and you have got the cash and it looks like the funding is com-ing from an organisation which is clean. So, again, I just thank the Minister for doing this. But I think it was important that, because I do not think most . . . there are a lot of Bermudians out there that do not even know what we are talking about when it comes to proceeds of crime and money laundering. They just think it is transfer of money because they can come and give me a couple of thousand dollars and I walk down to the bank and they think that, O kay, Wayne is a reputable person, he puts it in the bank and it is clean and then later on may come borrow it. I am just saying things could happen like that. But I am glad that these proceeds of crime Acts . . . and as time goes on they become more s ophisticated. So this is not the first time that we brought Proceeds of Crime amendments and I am sure there will be more as time goes on to try to block these s ophisticated ways of, like I said, turning “dirty” money into “clean” money. Thank you .
336 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: Thank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? I recognise the Honourable Member from constituency 1. Honourable Member Ming, you have the floor.
Mrs. Renee MingGood evening, Mr. Speaker . I probably just have very brief comments with regard to the Proceeds of Crime Amendment (No. 3) Act 2017. I believe that this is one of those Acts, Mr. Speaker , where we are evolving as a country. We are evolving in terms of the …
Good evening, Mr. Speaker . I probably just have very brief comments with regard to the Proceeds of Crime Amendment (No. 3) Act 2017. I believe that this is one of those Acts, Mr. Speaker , where we are evolving as a country. We are evolving in terms of the anti -money laundering, the anti-terrorism financing, and all those regulations that are starting to come into place. I probably disagree a little bit with my co lleague when he says that people do not necessarily know about these things because—I am going to declare my interest right now. I work in a financial instit ution. And if you have a bank account these days you know what it is like to have to submit every piece of being . . . almost soon it is going to be your blood type.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerYou said it is a nuisance, right?
Mrs. Renee MingRight from your passport, your util ity bill —
Mrs. Renee MingIt is what we have to do, all right? So, Mr. Speaker , even if our people may not be knowledgeable in terms of the grand scheme of anti-money laundering, just the fact that it is . . . you are a customer, you do your due diligence, and stuff …
It is what we have to do, all right? So, Mr. Speaker , even if our people may not be knowledgeable in terms of the grand scheme of anti-money laundering, just the fact that it is . . . you are a customer, you do your due diligence, and stuff like that, by virtue of what they are being . . . their eyes are being opened to a wider picture of why we have to have legislation such as this before us today. The key . . . and I think what may have been said, is that it comes with some education. Because I believe that as people begin to understand why we are doing it and it is part of a wider global scale and that we are one small country here in Bermuda. But in the world this is how it is. And to be quite honest this is going to be the norm . And even if we think it is a nuisance—
Mrs. Renee Ming—when you want to compete globally and outside of Bermuda and we think ever ything is all wonderful being international, this is what you have and this is now what you now have to deal with. So I want to say that I had an opportunity to actually go through …
—when you want to compete globally and outside of Bermuda and we think ever ything is all wonderful being international, this is what you have and this is now what you now have to deal with. So I want to say that I had an opportunity to actually go through and make sure that I read this Act thoroughly. And I can definitely say that . . . I mean, obviously it is my party. But I throw my support behind it and I do think that, like I said, there is an educational component that will come. I do sit on some charities and sometimes these things are very difficult for char ities to understand why they need to do so much, why they have to have a compliance officer, why they have to keep reporting. And so the educational component is what I am speaking to today. I think it is extremely important that we make sure we consider that with these things. And with regard to gaming, I think we have to get it right. And so I do not want us in any way to think that we need to race and that we have to hurry up and do something because we do have to get it right and you only have one reputation. And once we have one thing that sort of smears it . . . eventually yes, people forget about it, but it is there and it is always som ewhere even behind you. So with those brief comments, Mr. Speaker , I just want to say that I thank the Minister and I just think that it is one of those evolving things that is where we are going to find ourselves. Thank you.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? No? Good. Minister, would you like to wrap up? Thank you. I recognise Minister Wilson, you have the floor. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker , and thank you to the Honourable Member s for their contributions …
Thank you, Member. Does any other Member wish to speak? No? Good. Minister, would you like to wrap up? Thank you. I recognise Minister Wilson, you have the floor. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker , and thank you to the Honourable Member s for their contributions and participation. I think I want to start by trying to attempt to clarify something contrary to what people may believe. Fortunately, because of Bermuda’s robust regime as it relates to anti -money laundering and anti-terrorist f inancing, drug trafficking is not a huge phenomenon in Bermuda as it relates to money laundering. There are areas of vulnerability that Bermuda and other jurisdi ctions are facing every day with respect to money laundering and terrorist fin ancing. However, legislation such as this is Berm uda’s way of trying to remain current with international standards, standards that have been set by the F inancial Action Task Force, as well as it represents Bermuda’s commitment to ensuring that we have a robust anti -money laundering, anti -terrorism regime and that we are, in addition to being compliant, that we ensure that the reputation of Bermuda remains intact so that people do not feel that this is a jurisdi ction that can be deemed as it being easy to infiltrate our banking systems, our financial systems, our trusts, our legal, our real estate and our charitable systems
Bermuda House of Assembly here in Bermuda with respect to money laundering and terrorist financing. Another question that was raised with respect to an issue concerning the charities . . . and I am going to just segue into the education element. Kudos to The Centre on Philanthropy who held many, many, many open free sessions with many of the charities in Bermuda to help to educate them on the legislation that was coming down the pipeline and on the need for them to be compliant with this legislation. And as the Honourable Member that sits opposite me indicated with respect to the $50,000 gross threshold, it is something that was heavily discussed within the char ities and it is best practice, and there will be a number of charities that will not even . . . because of the type of charitable organisation that they have, will not even ever actually gross that amount, but then of course there will be others that will and, therefore, they will be placed in this regime. But what is really critical is that under the legislation it does speak to the fact that the Registrar General (who is the competent authority for the char ities) has to look at the implications of the AML/A TF regime as it relates to risk. And under the Financial Action Task Force’s recommendations the thing that underpins all of their 40 recommendations is this whole issue about risk and that countries and organi-sations need to adopt a risk -based analysis of their industry because they recognise [that] resources and human resources are limited. And so the Registrar General and/or the country themselves are required — and this is going to be one of the points that will be looked at when we have our mutual evalua tion in the fall of 2018 . . . is Bermuda operating on a risk -based approach? And throughout this whole consultation period Bermuda has recognised that, because of some of the FATF recommendations, that there are potential vu lnerabilities within the charit ies sector, which is why we are seeing this legislation here as well. So in addition to Bermuda as a country ensuring that we adopt a risk-based approach, so too will the requirement be for the Registrar General as he looks at evaluating the charities and the organisations that fall within the charitable remit. So with that, Mr. Speaker , I am thrilled and I thank the Opposition for their support with respect to this piece of legislation. It is critical. It will help Berm uda as we prepare for our mutual eval uation. These are things that the assessors will be looking at when they come in the fall. It is an evolving matter. This has been going on for several years, and there will no doubt be more pieces of legislation that will come before this Honourable House to ensure that we are r emaining compliant with respect to the FATF standards. And, again, Mr. Speaker, this Bill represents the Government’s continued commitment to ensuring that we are ready ourselves for the mutual evaluation and that we remain consist ent and committed to a pplying the FATF standards, and again, I thank the O pposition Members for their support because they, too, obviously recognise the need for us to work together on this very, very important piece of legislation. And with that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to move that the Bill be committed.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerThank you. Minister, Deputy, will you take the Chair [of Committee]? House in Committee at 6:01 pm [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Chairman] COMMITTEE ON BILL PROCEEDS OF CRIME AMENDMEN T (NO. 3) ACT 2017
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Members, we are now in the Committee of the whole [House] for further consideration of the Bill entitled Proceeds of Crime Amendment (No. 3) Act [2017 ]. I call on the Minister in charge to proceed. Minister, yo u have the floor. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, Mr. Chairman. …
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to moving clauses 1 through 5? There appear to be none. Continue, Minister. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, the preamble explains that the Bill seeks to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997, the Proceeds of Crime (Anti -Money Laundering and Anti -Terrorist Financing Supervision and Enforcement) …
Any objections to moving clauses 1 through 5? There appear to be none. Continue, Minister.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, the preamble explains that the Bill seeks to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997, the Proceeds of Crime (Anti -Money Laundering and Anti -Terrorist Financing Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2008, the Trustee Act 1975, the Financial Intelligence Agency Act 2007, the Charities Act 2014, the Casino Gaming Act 2014, the Proceeds of Crime (Anti -Money Laundering and Anti -Terrorism Financing) Regulations 2008, the Charities Regul ations 2014, and the Charities (Anti -Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorist Financing and Reporti ng) Regulations 2014. Mr. Chairman, clause 1 is the citation. Clause 2 amends the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997 by (1) correcting an error which arose because of a reference to a provision in the Criminal Code Act 1907 and has been replaced by a provision in the Criminal Jurisdiction and Procedure Act 2015; and (2) adding the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission as a member of the National Anti -Money Laundering Committee (NAMLC) to ensure that this agency is fully part of Bermuda’s AML/ATF regime for the purposes of policy and national coordination. 338 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly Clause 3 amends the Trustee Act 1975 to r equire non- professional trustees to maintain throughout the trust relationship identifying information about the settlor, protector, and beneficiaries of the trust for which they are trustees. The provision also requires non-professional trustees to keep records of all transactions they carry out under the trust and to retain such records for five years from the date of each such transaction. These requirements will allow adhere nce to the FATF standards for trusts that are not managed by the non- professional trustees who are persons not required to be licensed by the Bermuda Monetary A uthority. The provision also specifies that a non - professional trustee will be exempt from the s pecified AML/ATF obligations if he or she is a co- trustee of the trust in question and another co- trustee is a licensed trustee or if he or she has designated a licensed trus-tee to maintain the records of the trust in question. In this context, a non- professional trustee is a natural person who acts as trustee without reward in the context of family or friendship. The provision also imposes a civil penalty of up to $7,500 on a non- professional trustee who knowingly and willingly does not comply with these obligations. Clause 4 amends the Financial Intelligence Agency Act 2007 to authorise the FIA to receive, gather, store, analyse and disseminate information relating to currency transaction reports filed with them by casino operators and high value dealers. Under a concurrent amendment to the Casino Gaming Act 2014, casino operators will be required to monitor their patrons’ gaming activities and to report to the FIA through a currency transaction report the total of any gaming transactions carried out by a patron within a 24-hour period that equals to or exceeds $10,000. In the case of high value dealers who are registered with the FIA section 9 of the Proceeds of Crime (Anti - Money Laundering and Anti -Terrorism Financing S upervision and Enforcement) Act 2008, mandates such persons to file a currency transaction report with the FIA whenever they undertake a cash transaction with a customer that equals or exceeds $7,500 and the provision also amends the FIA Act to authorise that the FIA to disclose information to the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission to facilitate the discharge of their statutory functions. Finally, Mr. Chairman, clause 5 amends the Proceeds of Crime (Anti -Money Laundering and Anti - Terrorist Financing Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2008 to str engthen the powers of competent author ities to be able to ensure that non- financial businesses do not conduct business in contravention of the r equirements of section 9 of that Act.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers for clauses 1 through 5? There appear to be none —
The ChairmanChairmanYes, we recognise the Honourable Member, Grant Gibbons.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsThank you, Mr. Chai rman. Not a large issue, but in clause 5, specifically under Part 3 Powers, 18A. It reads, “The powers pr ovided in Part 3, Chapter 3 may be exercised by the competent authority to enable it to establish whether regulated a non- financial business or profession, …
Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. Not a large issue, but in clause 5, specifically under Part 3 Powers, 18A. It reads, “The powers pr ovided in Part 3, Chapter 3 may be exercised by the competent authority to enable it to establish whether regulated a non- financial business or profession, specified in Schedule 2, is carrying on business contrary to section 9.” I think it is misworded. My sense is that after the word “whether” you want to insert “a regulated” —get rid of the “a” after regulated. Otherwise, it does not read appropriately. I can repeat that, Mr. Chairman, if people—
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsSo, under Part 3 Po wers, 18A, it says, “The powers provided in Part 3, Chapter 3 may be exercised by the competent a uthority to enable it to establish whether,” and then it says, “regulated a non- financial business . . .” I think it should read “whether a …
So, under Part 3 Po wers, 18A, it says, “The powers provided in Part 3, Chapter 3 may be exercised by the competent a uthority to enable it to establish whether,” and then it says, “regulated a non- financial business . . .” I think it should read “whether a regulated” —get rid of the “a” after regulated so, “whether a regulated non- financial business or profession, specified in Schedule 2, is carrying on business contrary to section 9.”—“a” is in the wrong place, in other words.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, I see that point and I do take that. I think that is something that can be corrected under the slip rule.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Continue. Hon. Kim N. Wils on: Thank you for that.
The ChairmanChairmanContinue, Minister. [Clauses 1 through 5 passed.] Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to now move clauses 6 through 9, but there are two amendments being proposed in clause 6 and in clause 7.
The ChairmanChairmanYes? AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 6 Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Clause 6, Mr. Chairman, in clause 6 of the Bill, section 132A(5) by deleting and substituting the word “may” with the word “shall.” Bermuda House of Assembly Clause 6 amends the Casino Gaming Act 2014, inserts a new provision requiring casino …
Yes?
AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 6
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Clause 6, Mr. Chairman, in clause 6 of the Bill, section 132A(5) by deleting and substituting the word “may” with the word “shall.”
Bermuda House of Assembly Clause 6 amends the Casino Gaming Act 2014, inserts a new provision requiring casino oper ators to maintain a record of the aggregate of all of the patrons gaming related transactions whereby he pays to or receives from the operator $10,000 or more wit hin a 24- hour period in a casino. The operator is mandated to s tart recording and monitoring a patron’s gaming activities the moment that patron has paid to or received from the casino operator $3,000 in a given day. The provision also requires the operator to file a currency transaction report with the FIA containing the record of transactions with the patron that reach or exceed the $10,000 threshold. And, Mr. Chairman, with respect to the amendment at clause 6 of the Bill, it is in [new section] section 132A(5) by deleting the word "may" and substituting the word “ shall.” I think that amendment has already been circulated.
The ChairmanChairmanAny speakers . . .any objections to that amendment? No objections? The amendment is . . . Continue, Minister. [Amendment to clause 6 passed.] Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. C hairman. I will move to clause 7, and again, there is an amendment there as well.
The ChairmanChairmanMm-hmm. AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 7 Hon. Kim N. Wilson: In clause 7(a) of the Bill, Mr. Chairman, the paragraph (da) and (db) by deleting and the words “AML/ATF” and substituting the words “money laundering or terrorist financing.” Clause 7 amends the Charities Act 2014 to read: (1) authorise the Registrar …
Mm-hmm.
AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 7
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: In clause 7(a) of the Bill, Mr. Chairman, the paragraph (da) and (db) by deleting and the words “AML/ATF” and substituting the words “money laundering or terrorist financing.” Clause 7 amends the Charities Act 2014 to read: (1) authorise the Registrar General to implement money laundering risk -based supervisory or monitoring programme for charities and to establish and i nform the charities sector of the criteria to be used in determining the risk profiles of charities in order to facilitate the risk -based supervision; (2) give the Re gistrar General the powers appropriate for a supervis ory authority to monitor t he registered charities with a view to determining whether they are in compliance with the requirements stipulated within the charities legislation and to take action to enforce compliance with those laws wherever a breach is identified. These powers include the ability to do on- site inspections and to impose civil penalties. It also empowers the Registrar General to use an existing power under the Act to freeze payments to and from a charity but wit hout giving notice to the charity in order to protect the interest of beneficiaries or to prevent an investigation from being prejudiced. However, the exercise of this power will only be permitted where the Registrar General reasonably suspects that the charity’s assets are being used for money laundering, terr orist financing, or fraud. The provision gives the charity the power to appeal to the Supreme Court when such power is exercised by the Registrar General. It also authorises the Registrar General to require a charity to wind up its affairs and transfer any remaining net assets to an existing regi stered charity with similar aims and purposes. This provision is designed to address the undesirable ci rcumstances where the Registrar, under the provisions that currently exist in section 23 of this Act, is able to exercise a discretion to cancel the registration of a charity but that has no power to protect the public i nterest by ensuring that the assets of the charity that might have been acquired from public donations are still applied for the intended charitable purpose. This amendment remedies this and ensures that such assets are not dissipated irresponsibly. It also exempts charities that have an annual gross income of $50,000 or less from the obligations to appoint a compliance officer, establish and impl ement AML/ATF systems and controls, and retain spec ified records for the prescribed period, and to give the Registrar General the ability to consider a pplications for registration that are made by entities established by private act or by schools in Bermuda. Therefore, notwithstanding the general exemption from the application of the Charities Act which applies to such entities, the Registrar General may register such entities or schools upon their application if he or she is of the view that it would be in th e public interest for them to be registered and be subject to the r equirements in the Act. Thank you.
The ChairmanChairmanAnyone will speak to that? Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Chairman, the Minister spoke to clause 7 there. One of the concerns was at the latter part of it which speaks to the Registrar General’s power to order a charity to wind up its affairs and all the various things. …
Anyone will speak to that?
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Chairman, the Minister spoke to clause 7 there. One of the concerns was at the latter part of it which speaks to the Registrar General’s power to order a charity to wind up its affairs and all the various things. There do not seem to be any punitive measures set out there in terms of an offence to say, Well, I will order you to do this. If you do not do it you have committed a criminal offence and you will be liable on prosecution to go to court and go to prison. So, it just seems to lack teeth. So, there is the power of the Registrar General to make the order for the charity to wind up its affairs and order the transfer of the charity’s remaining assets, but what if they just do not do it?
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Minister, any response? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, I want to just . . . I am tr ying to get the answer to that. I believe that the offence is actually . . . or, sorry, the provisions that provide the 340 6 October 2017 Official …
Any further speakers? Minister, any response?
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, I want to just . . . I am tr ying to get the answer to that. I believe that the offence is actually . . . or, sorry, the provisions that provide the 340 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly penalty for this offence is in the Charities Act itself. But I am going to seek some guidance in just a m oment.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Minister, are you— [Pause] Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Modern technology. [Laughter] Hon. Kim N. Wilson: So much for “modern”! [Laughter] Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Ah, yes. The answer to the Honourable Shadow Attorney General, the penalty is not suitable for something to this regard a nd the …
Any further speakers? Minister, are you—
[Pause]
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Modern technology. [Laughter]
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: So much for “modern”!
[Laughter] Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Ah, yes. The answer to the Honourable Shadow Attorney General, the penalty is not suitable for something to this regard a nd the penalty is already in place, that being cancellation. So, the charity effectively loses its status and they become cancelled. So, therein lies the penalty.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: But the difficulty is, you know, they lose their status as a charity, so you still have a group of people with a bank account open, they have money in the bank account and now they are no longer a charity. I mean, this is what we went through with a Committee of 25. They were a charity, they were asked to produce their accounts, they failed to pr oduce accounts, they were de- registered. They simply kept doing business as a private entity. They were no longer a charity and they just kept on operating. So, you know, that is exactly the situation. So, you may not be able to deal with it on the floor at the moment. I just raise it as a concern.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Honourable Member . Minister? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. Just in an extension to the question as was read in the Statement and as we have seen in actual recent cases with respect to charities, the Registrar General would then thus have the power to take the …
Thank you, Honourable Member . Minister?
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. Just in an extension to the question as was read in the Statement and as we have seen in actual recent cases with respect to charities, the Registrar General would then thus have the power to take the money from that charity and a pply it to another charity that has the same aims and objectives of the charity that just received its cancell ation. Hon. Tr evor G. Moniz: Yes, but . . . if I might address that? And I accept that this is sort of a civil thing, but when you are dealing with money, our experience is that the Registrar General may need more teeth than that , in order to get people to do things bec ause normally what people do, if they think there is the opportunity, is they just do nothing and he will go away. And going through the court system may take years. So, it is just, he may need more teeth. That is all I am suggesting. Thank you.
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for those comments. I think I can add that the penalty, obviously, for the charity would be that if they continued to operate when they do not have charitable status, then it is unlawful. But I take the Learne d Honourable Shadow Attorney General’s points and will take that on board. Mr. Chairman, may I continue by moving clauses 9 to . . . excuse me, where do they end off? Is it 9? Can I —
The ChairmanChairmanHas the amended clause been agreed to? Any objections to the amendments?
The ChairmanChairmanThere appear to be none. Continue, Minister. [Motion carried: Amendment to clause 7 passed.] Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Yes, I would like to now move, Mr. Chairman, the remaining clauses . . . clauses 8 through 11, and there is an amendment at clause 10.
The ChairmanChairmanContinue. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. Clause 8 amends the Proceeds of Crime (A nti-Money Laundering and Anti -Terrorist Financing) Regulations 2008 to define certain terms relevant to casino gaming, to strengthen the customer due dil igence requirements to specify the range of infor-mation to obtain in relation to …
Continue. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you. Clause 8 amends the Proceeds of Crime (A nti-Money Laundering and Anti -Terrorist Financing) Regulations 2008 to define certain terms relevant to casino gaming, to strengthen the customer due dil igence requirements to specify the range of infor-mation to obtain in relation to legal persons, companies, partnerships, et cetera, and legal arrangements, trusts, to require CDD (customer due diligence) to be conducted on persons purporting to act on behalf of a customer —for example, in situations involving powers of attorney —and to ensure that they verify that they are in fact so authorised, and also to clarify the language in the provision that stipulates when not to conduct CDD to avoid tipping off customers —all in order to fully comply with recommendation 10 of the FATF standards. This clause also seeks to improve the prov isions concerning the AML/ATF controls for casino gaming operations such as strengthen ing the controls in relation to the timing of verification of the identity of patrons of casinos and in relation to the opening and operations of patrons’ accounts. Additionally, the amendments will expand the activities and transactions that are prohibite d from being undertaken within a casino so as to strengthen AML controls. For i nstance, the following activities are added to the pr ohibited list: the placing of bets on behalf of third parBermuda House of Assembly ties; the use of safety deposit or credit facilities by patrons who do not have a valid patron account; the acceptance of more than one currency during any single transaction; payment out in a currency other than the currency of use during the transaction; placing of bets by a patron whose identity has not been proven; and finally the provision prescribes the circumstances under which a casino operator is obliged to undertake enhanced due diligence on a patron or transaction and the conditions for the application of risk -based measures. These amendments will more closely a lign the provisions with the FATF requirements for casino gaming and, in some cases, exceed them in order to match AML/ATF best practises established by highly reputable casino gaming jurisdictions. Implementing best practises that exceeds the FATF requirements in some cases is vitally important in order to ensure that Bermudian banks retain correspondent banking rel ationships after casino gaming is established here as correspondent banks require assurance that Berm uda’s casino gaming product will adhere to these more rigorous standards to minimise the risk to correspon dent banks. Clause 9(c) of the Bill requires . . . excuse me, regulation 9(1)(d) by deleting “AML/ATF” and subst ituting the words “money laundering or terrorist financing.” Clause 9 amends t he Charities Regulations 2014 by prescribing the threshold for reporting by charities as $50,000 instead of the $35,000 that is currently in place. The amendment also gives a di scretion to the Registrar General to exempt a charity that is above the prescri bed audit threshold from having to file audited financial statements if he or she is satisfied that having to submit such statements would cause severe financial hardship to a charity, it might undermine its viability as a going concern, but also if it would not prevent the Registrar from not being able to access the charity’s fitness to be registered and if he or she also deems that the charity to be of low risk for money laundering or terrorist financing. Clause 10 amends the Charities (Anti -Money Laundering, Anti -Terrorist Financing and Reporting) Regulations 2014 to allow the Registrar to be able to require enhanced reporting for charities classified as having a high money laundering/terrorist financing risk profile and to be able to specify additional details on the activities of such charities that is to be provided in their annual reports to facilitate more focused monitoring of their risk by the Registrar. Clause 11 is the commencement clause.
AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 10
Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, the amendment relates specifically to paragraph 3 of the form that was submitted and I have an amendment to the amendment. It is, again, simply a typo. In clause 9(c), that should actually read 10(c) of the Bill, regulation 9(1)(d) by deleting “AML/ATF” and substituting the words “money laundering or terrorist financing.” Thank you.
The ChairmanChairmanAny speakers? No, there appear to be none. Continue, Minister. [Amendment to clause 10 passed.] Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, I now move that the Preamble and the Schedules —Preamble, excuse me—
The ChairmanChairmanNo, you have to move the clauses first. Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Okay. I move clauses 1 through 11, with the amendments.
The ChairmanChairmanThe proposed amendments —any objections to approving clauses 1 thro ugh 11? No objections. Continue, Minister. [Motion carried: Clauses 1 through 11, passed as amended.] Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move the Preamble.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to the Preamble? Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Mr. Chairman, I move that the Bill be reported to the House as amended.
The ChairmanChairmanAll Members in favour of the motion please signify. Any objections to this Bill? There appear to be no objections. [Motion carried: The Proceeds of Crime Amendment (No. 3) Act 2017 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and passed with amendments.] House resumed at 6:24 pm [Hon. …
All Members in favour of the motion please signify. Any objections to this Bill? There appear to be no objections. [Motion carried: The Proceeds of Crime Amendment (No. 3) Act 2017 was considered by a Committee of the whole House and passed with amendments.]
House resumed at 6:24 pm
[Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., in the Chair]
REPORT OF COMMITTEE
PROCEEDS OF CRIME AMENDMENT (NO. 3) ACT 2017
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood evening, Members. Is there any objection to the Bill being reporting to the House, as amended? No objections. Okay, approved. 342 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly We will now move on to the next item. The next item is [Order] No. 1 on the …
Good evening, Members. Is there any objection to the Bill being reporting to the House, as amended? No objections. Okay, approved. 342 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly We will now move on to the next item. The next item is [Order] No. 1 on the Order Paper because we changed around the order. It is the Supplementary Estimates, and the Minister of Finance, Mr. Premier, will lead us on these. Mr. Premier, you have the floor when you are ready.
Hon. E. David Burt: Good evening, Mr. Speaker.
The SpeakerThe SpeakerGood evening, Premier. BILL SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATE ( NO. 1 ) FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2017/18 Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 43(4) and 43(5), I move that the Su pplementary Estimate (No. 1) for Financial Year 2017/18 be approved as printed. I ask that we move …
Good evening, Premier.
BILL
SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATE ( NO. 1 ) FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2017/18
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, in accordance with Standing Order 43(4) and 43(5), I move that the Su pplementary Estimate (No. 1) for Financial Year 2017/18 be approved as printed. I ask that we move into the Committee of Supply.
House in Committee at 6:26 pm [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Chairman]
COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY
SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMA TE (NO. 1 ) FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2017/18
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Members we are now in the Committee of Supply for consideration of Suppl ementary Estimate ( No. 1) for the Financial Year 2017/18. There are four items in this Supplementary Estimate to be considered. I call on the Minister in charge of [Order No.] 1 to proceed. Hon. E. …
Honourable Members we are now in the Committee of Supply for consideration of Suppl ementary Estimate ( No. 1) for the Financial Year 2017/18. There are four items in this Supplementary Estimate to be considered. I call on the Minister in charge of [Order No.] 1 to proceed.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chair man, this schedule identifies four items totalling $13,095,124 to be included in Suppl ementary Estimate (No. 1 ) for [Financial Year] 2017/18 made up of $10,651,970 on Current Account and $2,443,154 on Capital Account. The Ministry of Finance policy is to place su pplementary estimate requests before the legislature just prior to the conclusion of the financial year. Ho wever, considering that there has been a change in Government, it is prudent to table a supplementary estimate at this time in order to highl ight the suppl ementary estimates that are the responsibility of the former Government. Supplementary Estimate (No. 1) [for Financial Year] 2017/18 is a combination of unbudgeted ex-penditure items. This supplementary request directly relates to contractual commitments of the former Government for the America’s Cup, the World Triat hlon Series, the Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission, the Bermuda Airport Authority Capital Grant, and a Memorandum of Understanding for the St. George’s hotel development. Honourab le Members will recall that the crit eria for determining debatable supplementary est imates requires all items on Current A ccount to be debated if the total Curren t Account spend of a Ministry shows an increase of greater than 10 per cent or $250,000 when c ompared to the original estimate. All capital items are debatable. Applying the criteria that I have just described, all four items on the Current Account and both capital account items are debatable. I would therefore move approval of the items as follow s: Current Accounts 1 and 2 which are all debatable, and Capital Account 3 and 4 which are all debatable.
The ChairmanChairmanContinue. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am assuming that the Premier—
The ChairmanChairmanSorry? [Inaudible interjections]
The ChairmanChairmanI am sorry. I was wondering . . . Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the requirement for suppl ementary estimates often indicates unforeseen cha llenges or unplanned expenses a Ministry or Depar tment of the Government has to meet in any given year. As indicated …
I am sorry. I was wondering . . .
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the requirement for suppl ementary estimates often indicates unforeseen cha llenges or unplanned expenses a Ministry or Depar tment of the Government has to meet in any given year. As indicated in the Supplementary Estimate (No. 1), the former Ministry of Tourism, Transport and Municipalities is seeking approval of supplementary estimates relating to the Current Accounts of the Mi nistry Headquarters in the Department of Marine and Port Services. Supplementary Estimate (No. 1) also seeks approval for a supplementary relating to the Hea dquarters Capital Account to enable a capital development grant to the Bermuda Airport Aut hority. Co -Head 48, Ministry Headquarters —
An Hon. Member An Hon. MemberItem 1. HEAD 48 Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Item 1, Head 48. Mr. Chairman, the original operational est imate for the Ministry Headquarters totalled $39,467,000. Bermuda House of Assembly The supplementary estimate of $4,675,530 represents 12 per cent of the original estimate. The bulk of the Ministry Headquarters supplementary estimate …
Item 1.
HEAD 48
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Item 1, Head 48. Mr. Chairman, the original operational est imate for the Ministry Headquarters totalled $39,467,000.
Bermuda House of Assembly The supplementary estimate of $4,675,530 represents 12 per cent of the original estimate. The bulk of the Ministry Headquarters supplementary estimate pertains to Current Account expenditures related to the World Triathlon Series, Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission, Bermuda Sail Training Associ ation (or Tall Ships), and the JetBlue cooperative marketing agreement. The previous Government supported Berm uda’s request to host the Triathlon World Champion-ships in the form of three World Triathlon Series [WTS] events in 2018, 2019, and 2020 and t o bid on the World Triathlon Series grand final in 2021. It authorised entering into contracts with the International Triathlon Union totalling just over $12,100,000 in sup-port of the WTS events between 2018 and 2021. The WTS is an annual worldwide series of nine triathlon races that culminate in a grand final. The events are anticipated to generate a total economic impact of $87,400,000 with each event attracting friends, family, support crew, and technical teams. In the 2017/18 budget year, payment r equirements totalled $2,885,530. As the budgetary pr ocess had already been completed at the time of approval to proceed, the necessary funding was not i ncluded in the budget allocation of the then- Ministry of Tourism, Transport and Municipalities. Given the Government commitment, a supplementary estimate in that amount is required. The Bermuda Casino Gaming Commission (or the “Commission”) has been in operation since Se ptember 2015. Its funding model is based on revenue from licence and associated fees. As Bermuda does not yet have any casinos, the Commission had i ntended to rely on a loan for operational purposes. However, it was determined that the legislation and loan agreement as originally devised could be consi dered structurally incomplete. As a result, the Commi ssion has relied on a series of grants instead. The le gislation was amended earlier in the year and the Commission had entered into an interest -free loan agreement with the Bermuda Government. In the 2017/18 budget year, an amount of $1,600,000 is to be extended to the Gaming Commi ssion. Again, as the budgetary process was completed prior to finalisation of the agreement, there is no budget allocation for it and a supplementary is r equired. In 2017, Bermuda played host to Rendezvous 2017 Tall Sh ips—sorry, that is incorrect. Bermuda Government pledged to assist the organisers, the Sail Training Association, and the supplementary reques ted now is in the final amount of $100,000 to support the host port and Tall Ship contracts. At the beginning of this year, JetBlue Airways Corporation committed to increasing the inventory of seats into Bermuda from the gateway cities New York and Boston, including serving Bermuda from Logan Airport all year round. JetBlue’s commitment is r e-flected in vacation air arrivals out of New York and Boston being on the rise. Mr. Chairman, while the BTA focuses on i nbound vacation arrivals, JetBlue is seeking assistance to ensure that outbound service in Bermuda is similar-ly healthy. In discussions with JetBlue, the then - Ministry and BTA determined that a local spend would be appropriate to support this important partner. A cooperative marketing agreement was entered into which specifies a marketing spend as broken down as follows: $90,000 in year one; $75,000 in year two, and $60,000 in year three. The funds will be payable to JetBlue and used for on- Island marketing efforts such as sponsorships, advertising, promotional stunts, buzz activities and promotional materials. The term of the agreement is 1 January 2017 to 31 D ecember 2019. The cooperative marketing decision was made and agreement finalised after the budget pr ocess was completed and therefore a budget allocation was not established. The supplementary requested now represents the first year’s instalment of $90,000. The total supplementary estimate required for the Current Account of the Ministry Headquarters for the Gaming Commission and three tourism projects is $4,675,530. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Honourable Member Grant Gibbons.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsThank you, Mr. Chai rman. Mr. Chairman, a couple of us are going to speak on some of these issues. But I would like to start with the Triathlon supplementary of $2.885 mi llion. The Honourable Member set out some of the issues here. I think just to put it …
Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. Mr. Chairman, a couple of us are going to speak on some of these issues. But I would like to start with the Triathlon supplementary of $2.885 mi llion. The Honourable Member set out some of the issues here. I think just to put it in context, and for the benefit of those in the House, we were approached by the Ironman Triathlon organisation and some other individuals following the very successful October 2015 World Series. So, in essence, the Triathlon opportunity that we have here comes about directly as a con-sequence of Bermuda’s handling—successful ha ndling— of that World Series event. I think as they put it at the time, if you can handle the America’s Cup, you should be able to handle a tri athlon. As the Honourable Member said, we essentially were awarded this after we expressed interest in August 2016. The Minister of Tourism went to Madrid in December 2016 and we were awarded the three WTS events in 2018, 2019, and 2020 with the poss ibility of bidding for the final in 2021. The Honourable Member talked about the economic benefit to Bermuda, and that was basically a little over $60 . . . close to $70 million for the three events, and if we are awarded the finals in 2021, roughly another $35 million, bringing the whole thing 344 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly to something on the order of $100 million. The exposure is quite extraordinary. It usually gets broadcast to about 162 countries and I think it sort of follows on the heels of the America’s Cup as a programme that the Bermuda Tourism Authority, as part of broadening their international sporting events, was very, very supportive of. In fact, they have been intimately i nvolved in a lot of the discussion on it. Now, I would like to just sort of tackle a couple of issues here. The first is the timing of the event, and the actual first event is not scheduled until April 2018. Honourable Member s will be aware, what that means is it actually falls into the next budget year and so, there is certainly, I think, a question mark here as to whether the full amount of $2.8 million should be ex-pensed in this particular budget year. I suspect that the answer to that is probably no. I think the other thing that needs to be recognised here is that with the expense of operating the World Series event in April —it is the end of April, actually, 2018 —there is also revenue that comes in as well and that was budgeted at something on the order of $325,000. So, really, what you are looking at here is something that is much closer not to $2.885 b ut something which is closer to essentially $2.5 million. So, when you look at this in terms of what I will call appropriate budgeting, frankly, we should not be— it would be completely wrong to budget the entire amount, even $2.885, in this budget year. I t should be split potentially between this year and next year. And it would be much more appropriate, in fact, if rather than in his haste to try and point fingers at the former Government, if the Minister of Finance were prepared to leave this supplementary until the end of this budget year which is March 31 st so that we would have a much clearer figure as to how much was actually spent in this year. Now, a couple of other points here. I do not think we are disputing the fact that there will be money spent before the actual event at the end of April next year. There are marketing expenses, there is a retai ner, as I recall having been very involved with this, for the Ironman group— it is not the Ironman group an ymore, but Christian Toetzke and Phil Schmidt to actually manage this. But the fact of the matter is there are also quite a few setup costs which will occur in April of next year. Basically, things like scaffolding, tents, pr oduction services . So, I think it would be both inappr opriate and essentially an abuse of process to try and budget the entire thing in this particular year. Let me move on, Mr. Chairman, to the next point which is the Casino Gaming Commission. Again, I think what we are looking at here is an amount essentially of $1.6 million. As t he Honourable Member , the Minister who speaks for Tourism said, this was intended by the former Government to be a loan advance intended to be repaid once the Commission recouped fees and taxes from their fees and licensing. Now, we are all aware that from the very beginning the Commission was supposed to be self -supporting. It was supposed to be self -supporting on the basis of licence fees and the taxes that it was going to impose. In essence, again, we are moving much too quickly here because as I think all Honourable Member s know, the Commission is currently reviewing the Pri ncess Hamilton Hotel application for a casino licence. That application has already been reviewed and my sense is that they are very close, if they have not a lready done it, I do not know for a fact, they are al-ready essentially close to giving them a provisional licence. As Honourable Member s will know from the Casino Fees regulations, that comes with a fee of es-sentially $1.4 million. So, already in this calendar year we have the p otential for a $1.4 million fee. In addition to that, the Princess is obviously keen to be the first out of the blocks. Their application for a full casino licensing fee, again, according to the fees regulation, is $600,000. So, if you add those two together, and there is a reasonable presumption that those two fees will land in this particular budget year, it will more than cover the $1.6 million we have here. So, again, I think this is essentially an abuse of process to essentially move forward with this fee now when we can easily wait until the end of this financial year, which is the end of March 2018, and then have essentially an off - setting licence fee for the provisional licence and a licence fee for the application. I am going to shift now to the Bermuda Sail Training (Tall Ships), the amount of $100,000. To be perfectly honest, I am a little perplexed here and I am hoping the Minister can explain this one. My understanding was that in order to manage the Tall Ships we were approached by the Sail Training Association. They were effectively given $400,000 from the Mini stry and, in addition to that, they were given $200,000 from the BTA, for a total of some $600,000. I do not know whether they have been paid the $200,000 from the BTA, but my understandi ng is they have been paid the full amount or pretty close to it, the $400,000, from the Ministry. I do not understand, frankly, where the $100,000 is coming from. It just does not make sense in terms of the numbers that were essentially allocat-ed to the Sa il Training —the Tall Ships exercise. I think that Honourable Member s will reme mber that this occurred during the America’s Cup. We had the Tall Ships here —a rather spectacular di splay—and the Bermuda Sail Training did a superb job in terms of managing that with all the other events going on about the same time. So, again, a question for the Minister, not sure where the $100,000 is coming from. Perhaps he can explain that. As far as the JetBlue cooperative marketing agreement, I guess I understand the log ic there. But I think the former Government would probably assume that the BTA would have picked that up as part of their cost. I will stop there. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Minister? I am sorry. Any further speakers? One second, let me recognise the Honourable Kim Swan from constituency 2.
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanYes, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a few . . . [I] would like to weigh in a bit on this supplementary estimate as it relates to the Tourism and Transport, the Tourism Development. I will just start with the Tall Ship education, first off, this $100,000 supplementary. I hope …
Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Just a few . . . [I] would like to weigh in a bit on this supplementary estimate as it relates to the Tourism and Transport, the Tourism Development. I will just start with the Tall Ship education, first off, this $100,000 supplementary. I hope the next time—and I am sure there will be a next time—the Tall Ships come to Bermuda, we would seize the real opportunity that presents itself about education. It is a spectacular sight when you look down at Hamilton Harbour and particularly the ancient town of St. George’s Harbour, but if you look at it at night —
The ChairmanChairmanMinister, we have to stick . . . we are not in general debate, you know.
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanYes, I am just speaking to this supplementary that if, in fact, we do have to find supplemental monies, let it be for money well and purposefully spent with regard to the educational opportunity that presents itself. And, if we are not taking the opportunity to tie Tall Ships in …
Yes, I am just speaking to this supplementary that if, in fact, we do have to find supplemental monies, let it be for money well and purposefully spent with regard to the educational opportunity that presents itself. And, if we are not taking the opportunity to tie Tall Ships in to the period in which they served the Earth to its fullest potential, those ships, then we are doing a disservice to our Bermuda people in not providing them the information, the young people in particular and some of us older — me of us older —
The ChairmanChairmanMinister, again, we are not in general debate.
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanThank you. As it relates to the comments made that this supplementary es timate should not be coming here now, that we should wait, Mr. Chairman, let me say that this is a new Parliament and, as such, as one who formerly held, ran a quango for government, there are …
Thank you. As it relates to the comments made that this supplementary es timate should not be coming here now, that we should wait, Mr. Chairman, let me say that this is a new Parliament and, as such, as one who formerly held, ran a quango for government, there are six months left in this fiscal year starting O ctober 1 st. And i t makes eminent good sense for the Government having just attained such on July 18th to round up all the supplementaries that might have origin in the previous administration so that they do not get confused when we come around to looking at the budgetary estimates, when they come around, and supplementaries that might come forth then. So, from that point of view, I certainly have to support the fact that the Honourable Finance Minister and Premier felt it not robbery to bring these suppl ementaries here t oday, now at this particular time. With regard to the World Triathlon Series, the $2.8 million that has been committed, Mr. Chairman, I certainly feel that this would make the case for why an Event Authority would find favour as we look forward. I know persons would say this is the role of the BTA. But let me say that event marketing and—
The ChairmanChairman—talking about the actual figures.
Mr. Hubert (Kim) E. SwanYes, and I am talking about the . . . because comment has been made, Mr. Chairman, about the $2.8 million and whether or not it is money well spent. As a professional athlete by trade, I would never be one to come up here and say you should not …
Yes, and I am talking about the . . . because comment has been made, Mr. Chairman, about the $2.8 million and whether or not it is money well spent. As a professional athlete by trade, I would never be one to come up here and say you should not be, but the how’s and the why’s would be better spent from people who are targeted with doing that and zeroing in on those numbers to make sure that they work and putting it i n the contents of this budgetary year that we are in now which is the 2017/18 fiscal year. We need to make sure that we fully examine and drill down. And as I get to take my seat, Mr. Chairman, let me say this, that I am sure that the opportunity might pr esent itself for us to find out more about whether or not these funds are actually committed or will be utilised in this budgetary year or the next. So, those are my comments on this.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Honourable Member. You may take your seat. Any further speakers? Opposition Leader. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to underscore that these supplementaries . . . well, three of the four, the Minister indicated that they had been approved after …
Thank you, Honourable Member. You may take your seat. Any further speakers? Opposition Leader.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to underscore that these supplementaries . . . well, three of the four, the Minister indicated that they had been approved after the budget had been completed. Hence, they could not have been included in the budget. And my honourable colleague’s comment with respect to whether it was appropriate to have these in this fiscal year which is effectively accounting for this on an ac-crual basis rather than a cash basis. The concern as to whether any cost overruns are likely to be comingled with what the new Government’s respons ibility is, is really a nonstarter because there is always the ability to do a specific, separate supplementary. So, if we can get to February or thereabouts, by which time any of this money will have actually 346 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly physically been spent and we are able to determine that there is in fact a legitimate overspend based on what had been previously budgeted, we would then be able to know what the number is. We can always maintain that separately, and if there is anything that requires a supplementary based on post July 18th, that can come in as a Supplementary (No. 2). So, there is no possibility . . . or there is no necessity to comingle. We can always keep it separate. But I think it is appropriate to ensure that the monies have actually been expended. Based on what the Minister has indicated, that is not the case. Ther efore, I believe that these supplementaries may be premature. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Minister —
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsIt is all right. Sorry, I know I am right off the port side here. I guess another two points, and that is bas ically that my honourable colleague, Pat GordonPamplin, I think to some degree, made this case as well. But the fact of the matter is, if we …
It is all right. Sorry, I know I am right off the port side here. I guess another two points, and that is bas ically that my honourable colleague, Pat GordonPamplin, I think to some degree, made this case as well. But the fact of the matter is, if we actually wait until the end of this budget year, which would be normal for supplementaries, because we are still in the same financial year regardless of whether we had an election or not, the fact of the matter is some of these may actually disappear, or they may be reduced to such a low level that there is no need to do a s upplementary. The other point I would like to make is that Honourable Members would be aware that the BTA in its budget for this particular year, which is the 2017/18 year, received an additional $2.4 million and—sorry, I beg your pardon, $2.3 million—and that money was given to essentially assist with events. The BTA had an international sporting strategy they wanted to approach. So, some of the money that may be spent — and we do not even know if it will be in this particular year for the WTS, the World Tr iathlon Series, may actually, or should be picked up by the BTA. Partic ularly the preliminary amounts here because I know they are providing back office support to help with the organisation. So, it might only be appropriate to have some of this picked up actually directly by the BTA. Thank you.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Shadow Finance Minister, Ms. Atherden.
Mrs. Jeanne J. AtherdenYes, Mr. Chairman. I think the point that I wanted to make was something that is important for us to remember when we talk about down at the bottom of the supplementary estimate which says that Ministry Current Account which exceeds the original estimate of the Ministry by either 10 …
Yes, Mr. Chairman. I think the point that I wanted to make was something that is important for us to remember when we talk about down at the bottom of the supplementary estimate which says that Ministry Current Account which exceeds the original estimate of the Ministry by either 10 percent or $250,000, recognising that this talks about the Ministry’s entire Curr ent Account. So, if there were savings that the Ministry had during the year . . . that is why in the past people have waited until the end of the year before they determined there is a supplementary. And I think that is the point that we are trying to ma ke, that savings . . . there have always been, in different areas, something that was unforeseen and then the ministries are having to look and say, Okay, can we find some savings. I remember, and I was pleased when I heard the Minister of National Securit y talking about going out and looking for savings because he knew that he wanted to make sure that his Current Account was balanced. So, I think it is i mportant especially bearing in mind the fact that there are some things which are subject to offset and there are some things here which, if they do not relate to the year under review, then would not normally be in the accounting that the Ministry would have to look at with respect to determining whether their Ministry budget is exceeded by either 10 percent or the $250,000. Now, I understand that the Finance Minister might have decided that he wanted to put the marker down to say that the previous Government might have had some of these projects, et cetera. But, if in the end, the Ministry goes over and there is a supplementary, there is still the opportunity to turn around and explain —just like it was explained here—that there was an overrun, et cetera. But, if there is not an overrun, because there were other offsets, et cetera, then it does two things. I t proves that the current Gover nment, like other Governments, have had things that came up where they have had to balance off and then made sure, you know, you find some savings. My only concern is that when you do som ething like this where you put a big supplementary down like this . . . I worry that there could be a ten-dency to say, W ell, we got that supplementary there and therefore, we do not have to worry quite so much about trying the balance the rest , and I am just saying that this would be my concern. And I am sure the people of Bermuda would be concerned, too, because if you have supplementaries and then you still spend all what is in your budget, then you end up having things like having to borrow, et cetera. Nobody wants to borrow. So, those are my observations, Mr. Chai rman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Any further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Member Leah Scott.
Ms. Leah K. ScottThank you , Mr. Chairman. I am not going to say much. I just want to say . . . and this is not meant to be chastising or condeBermuda House of Assembly scending or lecturing. We do know that in the past, the PLP when they were the Government …
Ms. Leah K. ScottRight? But, what I would just encourage is . . . do you actually really need these supplementals? If you do need them and they are necessary, then I support the request. But, I would ask that you look at them —take into consideration some of the things that we …
Right? But, what I would just encourage is . . . do you actually really need these supplementals? If you do need them and they are necessary, then I support the request. But, I would ask that you look at them —take into consideration some of the things that we have said, you know, the Casino Gaming licence. If you are going to get $1.6 million from Hamilton Princess, do you need this supplement? Take into consideration whether you really need it, whether you need it now, whether it can come at another point and is it fiscally responsible to present it at this time. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Any further speakers? Minister, the Chair calls upon you. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, not to reflect on a previous debate, but the issues raised by the Oppositi on have been addressed by this House and the Premier and Minister of Finance. He …
Thank you. Any further speakers? Minister, the Chair calls upon you. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, not to reflect on a previous debate, but the issues raised by the Oppositi on have been addressed by this House and the Premier and Minister of Finance. He stated categorically his const itutional responsibilities under [section] 96(3) of the Bermuda Constitution, and used that as the justific ation for doing this now. This is not the time to try and hide or conceal things. This is a marker down about what we have to pay for and deal with on our plate since we arrived. And I understand the Opposition not being happy about that. But, them’s the breaks. Now, as to the issue surrounding the Tall Ships, I have been advised there were two payments of $90,000 and $10,000 for fiscal year 2017/18 that were not budgeted for. Those are the facts related to that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanThe Honourable Grant Gibbons. Hon. Dr . E. Grant Gibbons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. Mr. Chairman, I do not think the Honourable Member has given a satisfactory answer to the fact that this is an abuse of process. We are in the same budget year. They are asking for …
The Honourable Grant Gibbons. Hon. Dr . E. Grant Gibbons: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. Mr. Chairman, I do not think the Honourable Member has given a satisfactory answer to the fact that this is an abuse of process. We are in the same budget year. They are asking for supplementary spending for monies which have not been spent at this particular point, may not be spent, and may be more than covered essentially by either licence fees in the case of the Gaming Commission, or indeed, other sources with respect to the World Triathlon Series. I think t his is something that the new chairman of the Public Accounts Committee should take up with the Auditor General because this is certainly, from my perspective, ultra vires to the process of supplemen-taries. And I think I understand the political point. I understand that the Government gets its way. But, frankly, this is the kind of action which will come back to haunt the current Government if they proceed on this basis.
Madam Opposition Leader.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplinopposition leaderYes, I just have one question, and given the Minister’s response earl ier in terms of what the Constitution requires, my question is, Can the Minister advise us, as of this point in time, as of today with this supplemental, how much of the $2,885,530 has been spent relating to …
Yes, I just have one question, and given the Minister’s response earl ier in terms of what the Constitution requires, my question is, Can the Minister advise us, as of this point in time, as of today with this supplemental, how much of the $2,885,530 has been spent relating to the World Triathlon Series? How much of the $1.6 million to the Gaming Commission has been spent? How much of the $90,000 for the JetBlue cooperative [marketing agreement] has been spent as of today when we are requesting a S upplemental (No. 1)?
The ChairmanChairmanMinister, do you want to— Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I will make an undertaking to get those answers for you shortly.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsMr. Chairman, yes, thank you. So, the Minister has come here today and he cannot even speak to the amount of money which has been spent in those particular categories? I think that is quite extraordinary.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Minister, do you want to respond? Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We will conclude there.
The ChairmanChairmanOkay. It is permissible, regardless of what you think, it is permissible. Go ahead, go ahead. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: You said it is permissible for him to not answer the qu estion —
The ChairmanChairmanI understand. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: —and that I u nderstand that it is his right not to answer the question. I think what is important is that the people of Bermuda need to know that the Minister has failed to come pr epared to let us know how …
I understand. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: —and that I u nderstand that it is his right not to answer the question. I think what is important is that the people of Bermuda need to know that the Minister has failed to come pr epared to let us know how much money has been spent that he is asking us to replenish the kitty so that the money is topped up, and he does not know how much it has been diminished by. 348 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly I think that this is not just extraordinary, it is poor accounting practic es, and it is completely outside of what he should be doing in terms of accountability. If the Government has insisted that they want to be accountable, then he should at least —at the very least —be able to say, of two point six . . .two point eight, eight five million, five hundred and thirty tho usand dollars , we have spent two million eight hundred and eighty five thousand five hundred and thirty [dollars], therefore a supplemental today is appropriate. I do not believe that money has been spent. In fact, based on what the contracts were, the money may have been committed, but it has not been spent.
The ChairmanChairmanBe careful. Honourable Member Lawrence Scott.
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottThank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I understand what the Minister is doing. The previous administration has committed this Government, or committed the country, to spending, in total, $13 million. So, what the Minister is doing is informing not just this Honourable House, but the people of Bermuda on what …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I understand what the Minister is doing. The previous administration has committed this Government, or committed the country, to spending, in total, $13 million. So, what the Minister is doing is informing not just this Honourable House, but the people of Bermuda on what the previous admi nistration has committed us to. Whether we have spent that money or not right now is somewhat beside the point. But we need to make sure that we are able to meet any commitments. So, therefore, the fact that you have America’s Cup, which was $4.3 million o ver budget, when we were told that it was going to be—
The ChairmanChairmanYes. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading ]
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsThe Honourable Member is misleading the House. Not only have we no t gotten to this point but his facts are completely incorrect.
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottMr. Chairman, this is a supplementary for estimates, right? And that means that this is money that was either outside the budget or, fo r a simpler matter of fact, put us over budget. And if $4.3 million is on this sheet of paper —
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Member, we are speaking on Head 48.
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottOkay. I will speak to Head 48. Thank you for your direction. So that means that we are basically . . . we have $2 million, $1 million, $100,000, so you are looking at, let us say, roughly $4 million over budget, which predicament the previous administration put us in. …
Okay. I will speak to Head 48. Thank you for your direction. So that means that we are basically . . . we have $2 million, $1 million, $100,000, so you are looking at, let us say, roughly $4 million over budget, which predicament the previous administration put us in. All right? Therefore, what needs to be understood is that the Minister is doing his constitutional responsibility and not just informing the people, but letting them know the accountability of the former Gover nment, a Government which ran on principles of being the ones who could run this country like a business.
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Member, stick to the—
Mr. W. Lawrence ScottThank you, very much. I am sticking to it. So, therefore, I think that for us, what we need to make sure of is that we are able to meet our contr ibutions or our commitments as a country and as a Government to this, and this is a good …
The ChairmanChairmanThe Honourable Opposition Leader,
Mrs. Gordon- Pamplin.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -PamplinThank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, it is unfortunate that the Honourable Member fails to grasp the principle of what is required, because when you get through to the whole complete financial year you may have offsets. You will have revenues that will come in. You will have a bot-tom-line …
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, it is unfortunate that the Honourable Member fails to grasp the principle of what is required, because when you get through to the whole complete financial year you may have offsets. You will have revenues that will come in. You will have a bot-tom-line number that will not equate t o the number that is being asked for. So it is basically like going to your boss and asking him to give you $8.2 million t oday, but never mind the fact that next year is when we are actually going to need to spend that money out, and you are going to need to put it into the budget for next year, because that is when it is going to be spent. So, I think that there is a fundamental misunderstanding as to what is entailed in this budgeting process and the purpose for which we are requesting supplementaries. S o the money is not spent. It may be a contractual arrangement that has been made for these four amounts. And we are not disputing that. What we are saying is that when you ask for suppl emental, it has to be done against the backdrop of all of the accounting having been done. And when all of the accounting is done, I think my understanding already is that within the first quarter of accounts the revenues are up and expenses are down. So that would basica lly say that there would be extra money at the end of the [AUDIO SKIP 5:04:38] against which some of these expenses will be able to be offset. So, I think that it is premature, irrespective of how we want to frame it. From an accounting perspective, I do not believe that the approach is correct.
The ChairmanChairmanOkay, let’s be clear now, House. We are not going to be here all night repeating ourselves. I have heard that many times. All right? Minister, do you want to continue? Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Gaming Commission, we just transferred the …
Okay, let’s be clear now, House. We are not going to be here all night repeating ourselves. I have heard that many times. All right? Minister, do you want to continue?
Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Gaming Commission, we just transferred the last $800,000, and from here on out they will have to rely on their revenues. As it relates to the other, the matter of the triathlon, the BTA has already entered into the contract and has paid $1.4 million taken from the BTA grant. The second payment from the BTA is due before fiscal year end; therefore, we will need the funds replaced.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Just for clarity. The Honourable Member indicated that $1.4 million has been paid out of the BTA grant, so that is not going to come out separately out of the consol idated fund? I am just trying to understand what he said.
The ChairmanChairmanMinister? Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: It has been taken from the BTA grant.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsThe $1.4 million that has already been spent on the World Triathlon Series seems like an extraordinary amount, given the fact that it is not until nex t April, and that there are going to be all kinds of charges that are going to be set up. So I just …
The $1.4 million that has already been spent on the World Triathlon Series seems like an extraordinary amount, given the fact that it is not until nex t April, and that there are going to be all kinds of charges that are going to be set up. So I just find that a very hard number to believe. It clearly is way over budget if it is going to run at that rate from now until next March.
The ChairmanChairmanMinister ? Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Honourable Member, if he had perhaps stayed around a couple of more months later and if his Government had been successful at the polls, would recognise that the bulk of the spending is going to be s pent in …
Minister ?
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The Honourable Member, if he had perhaps stayed around a couple of more months later and if his Government had been successful at the polls, would recognise that the bulk of the spending is going to be s pent in the first year in the initial setting up of the events.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Minister, do you want to move the Head, please, that item? Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that Head 48 be now approved. The C hairman: Any objections to item 1, Head 48? There appear to be none. [Motion carried: Head 48, Ministry …
The ChairmanChairmanThe next is Head 30. I call on Minister Roban. HEAD 30 Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chair man. Mr. Chairman, the requirements for suppl ementary estimates are to indicate unforeseen, un-planned expenses, which a ministry or department of government has to meet for any given year. In …
The next is Head 30. I call on Minister Roban.
HEAD 30
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chair man. Mr. Chairman, the requirements for suppl ementary estimates are to indicate unforeseen, un-planned expenses, which a ministry or department of government has to meet for any given year. In the 2017/18 budget year, the former Ministry of Tourism and Transport and Municipalities was seeking a pproval for a number of supplementary estimates relat-ing to its current and capital accounts. I will speak to the current accounts supplementary for the Depar tment of Marine and Ports, Head 30, and later, the capital accounts supplementary for the Bermuda Ai rport Authority, Head 65. Mr. Chairman, for the fiscal year 2017/18, the Department of Marine and Ports received an oper ational budget allocation of $20,097,138. The suppl ementary estimate of [$1,674,440] represent s 8 per cent of the original estimate. The addition of the America’s Cup event ferry boat schedule which operated in conjunction with the full ferry service schedule, plus the running of the many ferries all but exhausted the Department’s budget allocati on in the areas of fuel, inventory, and overtime. This is because funding needed to support both the America’s Cup and the ferry had to be taken from budget allocations already assigned to fuel, i nventory, and overtime. With respect to the America’s Cup, the D epartment operated a total of nine ferries at the week-end, compared with the normal schedule of four weekday ferries and two weekend ferries. The addi-tional list caused an excessive burden on the Depar tment’s budget which did not have additional funding to cover the America’s Cup event costs. With respect to the Millennium ferry, the D epartment was allocated $862,000 towards the ferry contract. However, actual costs will be $1.5 million for the six -month period. This amount consists of the ferry’s b ase contract price of $1. 250 million together with international crew travel costs, housing, fuel , and vessel delivery fees. To meet a contractual instal ment payment plan due in June of this year, the Department transfer red funds from the f uel, inventory , and overtime cost centres. It is these very areas that are now impacted by the budget shortfall. Mr. Chairman, specifically as a result of the expenses associated with the America’s Cup and Millennium ferry, Marine and Ports requires additional funding for the following: fuel, $551,000; ferry and tug services overtime, $725,440; inventory, $400,000, for a total supplementary required for the current account 350 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly of the Department of Marine and Ports, Head 30, is $1,674,440.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Any furth er speakers?
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsYes. The first comment I want to make, Mr. Chairman, is that I hope everybod y notices the fact that there was some $725,000 that was spent on overtime. So much for the theory that the America’s Cup did not help blue collar workers; that is an extraordinary contribution to …
The ChairmanChairmanHono urable Member, Honourable Member, let’s speak to the specifics of Head 30.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsI just wanted to make that point. I worked out, if you look at about 70 emplo yees . . . that works out to over $10,000 extra apiece. But I will let the Minister tell me whether I am on the money or not. Mr. Chairman, what is not …
I just wanted to make that point. I worked out, if you look at about 70 emplo yees . . . that works out to over $10,000 extra apiece. But I will let the Minister tell me whether I am on the money or not. Mr. Chairman, what is not entirely clear here is what time period we are looking at. Is this from the beginning of the year (in other words, from the begi nning of April through the end of June)? Are we ta lking about the whole quarter? Are we talking about just the period around the America’s Cup? Are we talking about just the . . . let me step back for a second. I think, Mr. Chairman, as you know there were two types of ferry services that were being offered. In fact, you made a point in the questions the other day. There was the online booked ferry service, where, as far as we knew, there was something on the order of about 62,000 bookings that were made. In the House the other day you made a point about some 67,000. So I think we are referring mostly to the online booking. So there were offsetting revenues involved with that as well. I guess the question for the Minister is, Is it just the online booked, the extra ferry service, that took so many of those people off the road and onto the water, which I think helped the event out to an extraordinary degree? Or are we also talking about the ferry service in relation to the normal ferry service where extra runs were put on? So, what is the period that we are talking about here? Is it just the month around America’s Cup for the five weeks? Is it from the beginning of the year as well? Are we talking about the online book service? Or are we talking about the online book service and the regular ferry service as well, to Dockyard, which also served the America’s Cup? I am trying to get an understanding of that. And then, what about offsetting revenue? B ecause, clearly, if there is additional revenue, which there would have been, and I think you even cited a number of over $600,000, then, clearly, that should essentially be offset against the revenue . . . sorry, the cost that we have here.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further . . . the Honourable O pposition Leader, Mrs. Gordon- Pamplin. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a question if the Minister would be good enough to explain. What is the nature of “i nventory” items? We are talking about $400,000 for …
Any further . . . the Honourable O pposition Leader, Mrs. Gordon- Pamplin.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just have a question if the Minister would be good enough to explain. What is the nature of “i nventory” items? We are talking about $400,000 for “inventory.” I understand fuel, and I understand overtime. I do not understand “inventory,” if he would give us some indication.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Minister, do you want to respond to that? Okay, the Honourable Member, Michael Scott. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We will recall responding to the Member for Paget . . . we will recall in this House, before the House dissolved, that the Honourable …
Any further speakers? Minister, do you want to respond to that? Okay, the Honourable Member, Michael Scott. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. We will recall responding to the Member for Paget . . . we will recall in this House, before the House dissolved, that the Honourable then Acting Minister of Education stood in this House and urged the country to take the ferries as opposed to trying to get buses. This was being driven by the fact that the buses were slowly falling off of the perch and in connection with the question as to whether the bookings represented online matters. I attended America’s Cup on one occasion, with several guests. All of these bookings were online. I would v enture to say that the level of online bookings was predominately the choice of the persons who attended the America’s Cup. I am sure that the Minister of Transport will have greater precision, I trust, to that question of online booking. I am sure that t he Honourable Member Dr. Gibbons is aware of how the motion of ocean and the floating of the boats were taking place. He was then Minister and attending these events. The time period I am sure we are going to determine . . . it seems almost a rhetorical question. I mean all of this would have taken place, Mr. Chairman, during the period of America’s Cup, that month period. And I am sure that is what we are going to determine. But back to my point, we were invited by this House by the then Acting Minister, Mr. Simons, to d efer to taking the ferry because it was actually indicated that the buses were not going to be able to absorb the capacity.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Honourable Scott Simmons. Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Scott Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The one challenge that I am having with all of this, and so I am struggling to understand, is where the former Government was with this one, in that I do believe …
Any further speakers? The Honourable Scott Simmons.
Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Scott Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The one challenge that I am having with all of this, and so I am struggling to understand, is where the former Government was with this one, in that I do believe there were announcements as it relates to the America’s Cup long in advance. I think there was a committee formed. I think there were individuals who fashioned themselves as being aware and ready to go ahead with it. What I am concerned about is this: If it relates to this particular supplementary, why did it not show itself before this? I may stand to be corrected, but why did it not show itself in previous budgets, in at least one, that would have signified that this could have been taken care of rather than being a suppl ementary for this time? I recognise that there are things that happen along t he way when you do have projects like this. But there should be been a lot more forward thinking and there should have been a lot more work that should have been done to cover this so you would not have—
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Member, I am being very lenient with you.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you. Minister? Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As it relates to the question about the $725,440, that represents not just the America’s Cup, but the cost of also running the ferries as well from the regular runs, which I stated in my Statement, and the additional …
Thank you. Minister? Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. As it relates to the question about the $725,440, that represents not just the America’s Cup, but the cost of also running the ferries as well from the regular runs, which I stated in my Statement, and the additional runs, and money had to be taken from those cost centres of which had to make extra money to pay for that. Those monies, that $725,000, repr esent running not only the America’s Cup. So no one is trying to tie this all in with the America’s Cup, but also the additional requirement to run the Millennium ferry and the rest of the fleet during that period of time.
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Opposition Leader . Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Honourable Member’s r esponse is not very helpful, given the presentation on the supplementary, which is Head 30, current account, America’s Cup, colon, and the three items r elating to America’s Cup. So if …
Honourable Opposition Leader . Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, the Honourable Member’s r esponse is not very helpful, given the presentation on the supplementary, which is Head 30, current account, America’s Cup, colon, and the three items r elating to America’s Cup. So if there is a breakout of something that is not related to America’s Cup, can we please have the breakout of the number that is related to America’s Cup and that which is not related to America’s Cup so that we understand what supplementary it is that we are actually approving?
The ChairmanChairmanHonourable Minister? Hon. Walter H. Roban: I said very clearly in my Statement to support these budgets that the addition of the America’s Cup event ferry boat schedule, which operated in co njunction with the full service ferry schedule, plus the running of the Millennium ferry. All of this was …
Honourable Minister? Hon. Walter H. Roban: I said very clearly in my Statement to support these budgets that the addition of the America’s Cup event ferry boat schedule, which operated in co njunction with the full service ferry schedule, plus the running of the Millennium ferry. All of this was the cost related to us running all of those, not only the regular schedule, but the additional schedule and the Millennium ferry, of which the additional money was not provided to run it for its full cost.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsThank you, Mr. Chai rman. Mr. Chairman, I do not have to say this, but I have to say that this was money well spent. It contri buted significantly to the smooth running of the event, getting people to go by water. And I think I have to say that …
Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. Mr. Chairman, I do not have to say this, but I have to say that this was money well spent. It contri buted significantly to the smooth running of the event, getting people to go by water. And I think I have to say that my hat is certainly off to the ferry and tug people who dealt with not only the passengers, the many spectators, but also to many of the addit ional ships that came in. I do not think the Minister actually commented on this very round number of $400,000 for inventory. And before I take my seat, in answer to the question from the Honourable Member, [Scott] Simmons, about lack of prior planning, I think those that were involved in this would be rather horrified by that. There actually was a very detailed Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] —
The ChairmanChairmanYour comments . . . we shut down Simmons, we have to shut you down.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsI was just saying there was a very detailed MOU which dealt with the rel ationship between the ACBDA a nd Marine and Ports, which basically dealt with expenditure.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Minister? Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you. In addressing the point concerning the question about inventory, the reason why the $400,000 cost of inventory . . . that has to be money replaced. We had to take money from the inventory because of the shortfall not being …
Any further speakers? Minister? Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you. In addressing the point concerning the question about inventory, the reason why the $400,000 cost of inventory . . . that has to be money replaced. We had to take money from the inventory because of the shortfall not being provided for the contract for the Millennium ferry. We took money from where we had it, in inventory, that we had not spent and paid to deal 352 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly with the Millennium ferry contract in particular. So that is what that $400,000 represents; money that we took from one place in our budget and paid for something else of which we had an obligation to pay.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Deputy Premier. Any . . . the Honourable Shadow Finance Mi nister, Atherden.
Mrs. Jeanne J. AtherdenMr. Chairman, I guess my question then relates to if the monies were taken from the inventory budget because, presumably, at that point in time there was, if you will, some extra i n the budget, then I guess my question becomes, At this point in time, has the Ministry …
Mr. Chairman, I guess my question then relates to if the monies were taken from the inventory budget because, presumably, at that point in time there was, if you will, some extra i n the budget, then I guess my question becomes, At this point in time, has the Ministry determined that they will not be able to go to the end of the year with that budget? Because under normal circumstances you would wait and if you had the money in ther e to take it, you are taking the money because you believe that you do not think you are not going to spend it. So if they do not use it all up then there might not be the need to have a supplementary and, therefore, move that money.
The ChairmanChairmanAny fur ther speakers? Minister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Chairman, I am not coming here to ask for these funds because it is imagi-nary. It is not an imaginary request. This is money that is not available to the ferry service right now. It cannot continue to be able …
Any fur ther speakers? Minister. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Chairman, I am not coming here to ask for these funds because it is imagi-nary. It is not an imaginary request. This is money that is not available to the ferry service right now. It cannot continue to be able to reach the rest of the fiscal year because we took money from other very essential areas to cover an obligation that we had to make for the commitment of the people of Bermuda which was done well. We had to take money from other parts — inventory, fuel, and what is listed here— to pay for that. Those areas are now depleted. To make it through the rest of the fiscal year we need to have the additional supplementary funds. That is what our pe ople and team in Marine and Ports are telling us. These are real monies that are needed to ensure that we can run the ferry service as expected, the regular ferry service, as expected for the rest of the fiscal year.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further questions? No further questions? Minister, do you want to move that item Head, item 1, Head 30? Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I ask that Head 30 for Marine and Ports for the supplementary year 2017/18 be moved.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections? There appear to be none. [Motion carried: Head 30, Ministry of Mar ine and Ports passed.] The Chairman: We can do Head 95. Minister responsible. Item 2, Head 95. Mini ster of Economic Development. HEAD 95 Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For the Ministry Headquarters, …
Any objections? There appear to be none. [Motion carried: Head 30, Ministry of Mar ine and Ports passed.] The Chairman: We can do Head 95. Minister responsible. Item 2, Head 95. Mini ster of Economic Development.
HEAD 95
Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For the Ministry Headquarters, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Supplementary Estimate is for $4.3 million to deal with the America’s Cup sponsorship guarantee, which we will recall, this amount had to be budgeted as a result of failing to take advice on the amount that should have been budgeted for the America’s Cup sponsorship.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Chair recognises the Honourable Grant Gibbons.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsThank you, Mr. Chai rman. I think it would be useful to just provide a little bit of context here, because I think people listening probably do not have any sense of what this is. But way back in December of 2014 we explained very clearly that in order to …
Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. I think it would be useful to just provide a little bit of context here, because I think people listening probably do not have any sense of what this is. But way back in December of 2014 we explained very clearly that in order to be taken seriously we needed to be able to put sponsorship money out to essentially make a viable bid for the America’ s Cup. And there were two parts to that. The first part was essentially the initial bid, which happened early in 2014. And that was $15 mi llion. We knew that had to have at least that kind of sponsorship to be able to get into the game. As we get further into the year 2014, you will remember the announcement was made in December. We found ourselves up against some pretty heavy hitters, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, and others. And it was pretty clear at that point that we had to up the ante. So, as a consequence, rather than putting in additional funds directly, what we did was we said that we would undertake a guarantee of $25 million in addition to the $15 [million]. And that $25 million was somewhat special in the sense that we could recoup some of that by introducing sponsorships. So what we are talking about here specifically is that $25 million guarantee. I think I have explained before that, essentially, that guarantee was going to be reconciled in A ugust of this particular year. In fact, it was. So, we are quite prepared to pay the full $25 million, but anything that reduced that $25 million would certainly be a win and would reduce the amount of money that Gover nment had to spend against the overall sponsorship, which would be $15 [million] and $25 [million], or some $40 million. We were successful, as you know, in reducing that guarantee by essentially the amount of $5.7 million by sponsorships that we introduced.
Bermuda House of Assembly Back in January of this year we had to make, essentially, an educated guess as to how much that $25 million would be reduced by. The budget number was $15 [million]; it came in, essentially, at $19.3 [mi llion]. So what we are looking at is the difference between what was budgeted back in January, which by any standard was a guess timate, we are perhaps something on the optimistic side, it did not work out as quite that much of a reduction, which would have been $10 million. It worked out closer to $5.7 [million]. But, in essence, it would have been very diff icult back in January t o give a precise number on that reduction because many of these sponsorships had performance related elements to them. In other words, the sponsorships that Goslings gave would have been reduced by selling additional bottles of rum. Vineyard Vines was anot her one where it was based on the performance of sales. In addition there were other factors involved with gate receipts and others which we would have got to help recoup against that $25 [million]. So, in January, when the budget was put to bed, our best guess was $15 [million]. To suggest somehow that we had advice that it should be $18 [million], which is what I believe the Honourable Premier said, and perhaps the Minister reiterated, simply was not the case. The ACBDA would never have gi ven a precise number. They did not know really what it was either. We had quite a bit of discussion about this. Certainly, $18 million, as a number that was suggested to me, is news to me. When I checked, frankly, with the CEO, it was news to him as well. So I do not know where the $18 million number came from. I think it would be fair to say that there is certainly di scussion about it. We took, I will say, what I will call a reasonable number in $15 [million] and now we are looking at the difference between $15 [million] and the number it actually got reconciled at, at $19.3 [million]. I think the other really important point to mention here is that not only is this below budget, and to put it in a context that Members on that side will u nderstand, not only are we not up to $77 million, we are actually much closer to $71 million as a consequence of this reduction. But there was also sufficient surplus, considerable surplus, in the ACBDA budget —over $8 million —that will more than cover this particular tec hnical overspend, as it is being referred to. In fact, there is sufficient surplus money in the ACBDA budget to cover not only this, but also the ferry supplementary we just talked about, and also the World Triathlon Series. And that is a consequence of very prudent budgeting by the ACBDA and everybody else. So, in point of fact, we do not need. . . the Go vernment knows full well that we do not need to find additional money here because it sits very nicely wit hin the ACBDA, which is about to be wound up fairly soon as I under stand it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? The Honourable Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to comment as the former Minister took his seat, the former Minister of Finance, because, clearly, we understand the r equirements of the Constitution and why we have to …
Any further speakers? The Honourable Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, very much, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to comment as the former Minister took his seat, the former Minister of Finance, because, clearly, we understand the r equirements of the Constitution and why we have to do what we have to do coming up here. But I find it abs olutely incredible that that former Minister would take his seat recognising that we are talking about th is $4.3 million and say that he does not know where the numbers came from. Well, let me enlighten him. As a former Minister of Finance he should know when budgets are put together, technical offi cers give advice, and the advice was given that the former G overnment should have budgeted at least $18 million. Unless he is telling me that the Financial Secretary is lying to the Minister of Finance.
The ChairmanChairmanWhat is your point of order, Dr. Gi bbons? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading]
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsThe point of order is that the Honourable Member is misleading the House. I never spoke to the Financial Secretary about this particular amount. He certainly never gave any advice to me as to at least $18 million, and when I discussed it with the Minister of Finance at the …
The ChairmanChairmanCarry on, Mr. Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: And here is what I am going to say, Mr. Chairman. The reason why we are here is because, clearly, they did not want to show how m uch it was actually going to cost before the election. That is the reason …
Carry on, Mr. Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: And here is what I am going to say, Mr. Chairman. The reason why we are here is because, clearly, they did not want to show how m uch it was actually going to cost before the election. That is the reason we are here, and it is very simple. And that is the reason why. So, when we have this $4.3 million suppl ementary for a $19.3 million guarantee where the for-mer Government only budgeted $50 million. That is the reason why we are here. They were given advice that the minimum they should have budgeted was $18 million. They decided to be optimistic and say, Oh, we’re going to get to $15 million and reduce it. They were wrong. That is the reason why we are here. It is a very simple thing. So, when we look at this $4.3 mi llion figure, it should have been $1.3 million, but non etheless, we would have been here for a supplemen-tary because they ignored advice and that is why we are here. The facts remain, $19.3 million. What do we have? We have many different things that I am going to make sure I stay on the wicket and say the $4.3 354 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly [million], because I do not want to talk about the $40 million empty island that we are paying $325,000 worth of in terest on per month.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsMr. Chairman, the Honourable Member was not there during those discussions. He certainly does not know. The Financial Secretary would have had no better advice than those of us who were more closely involved with it, which were the ACBDA and myself who were very involved with the sponsorship. He …
Mr. Chairman, the Honourable Member was not there during those discussions. He certainly does not know. The Financial Secretary would have had no better advice than those of us who were more closely involved with it, which were the ACBDA and myself who were very involved with the sponsorship. He could not have given advice that it should have been at least $18 million because he would not know. And, as I have said before, at that particular point no one really knew what it was going to be. We knew it was going to be below $20 million. We perhaps took a slightly optimistic look at it at $15 [million]. I will admit that. Slightly optimistic. But the fact of the matter is ther e was no advice at $18 [mi llion], because no one could have put their finger on such a precise number at that point because of the complexities of the sponsorship clawback arrangements. Anyway, the point is that we came out wo nderfully ahead, we are way below the $77 million, when we add it all in, and I think that is a testament to the wonderful job of ACBDA, others and the Ministry did. Thank you.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Honourable Premier. Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the only place where $71 million plus $3 million for a house for a VIP suite for the Government, plus $40 million for an em pty island is less than $77 million is in the head of the former …
Any further speakers? Honourable Premier.
Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Chairman, the only place where $71 million plus $3 million for a house for a VIP suite for the Government, plus $40 million for an em pty island is less than $77 million is in the head of the former Minister of Finance. It is not reality, Mr. Chai rman.
[Desk thumping]
The Chairm an: Any further speakers? The Honourable Leader of the Opposition.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Just for clarity, Mr. Chairman, the $77 million which was deferred earlier was not with respect to the Moresby House, which actually still remains part of government assets, or the $40 million relating to Cross Island, which also r emains an asset of the Government, or with WEDCO. However, we are talking about what was referred to specifically, the $77 million relating to the America’s Cup commitment.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speakers? Minister, do you want to continue? Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Mr. Chairman, clearly, somebody is being economical with the truth here. Our technical officers —
The ChairmanChairmanMinister, I am satisfied . . . will you move the it em if you are prepared? Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I am guided by your wi sdom, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanGo ahead. Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I move that Head 95 be moved.
The ChairmanChairmanItem 2, Head 95. Any objections to item 2, Head 95, being approved? No objections. [Motion carried: Head 95, Ministry of Economic D evelopment passed.]
The ChairmanChairmanWe are going to item 3, Head 65. HEAD 65 (Item 3) Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With respect to Supplementary Estimate (No. 1), the form er Ministry is seeking approval for a supplementary related to the Ministry Headquarters, capital account, for capital development by the Ber-muda …
We are going to item 3, Head 65.
HEAD 65 (Item 3)
Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. With respect to Supplementary Estimate (No. 1), the form er Ministry is seeking approval for a supplementary related to the Ministry Headquarters, capital account, for capital development by the Ber-muda Airport Authority. Specifically, as part of the Airport Redevelopment Project, the Bermuda Airport Authority [BAA] is responsible for certain retained government services. One such service is the weather radar. As many mar iners will know, the weather radar has been in inco nsistent service for extended periods. Attempts have been made to repair it, without long- lasting success. As a result, the BAA requires funding towards a new weather radar system. In the transition from the Department of Ai rport Operations to the BAA, an allocation for weather observation fell away at the end of the fiscal year. A supplementary in the amount of $253,154 is reques ted. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Deputy Premier and Mi nister. Any speakers? Hon. Dr. Grant Gibbons, you have the floor.
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsThank you. I am not sure why I am doing all these, but the fact of the matter is, I am on my feet. Thank you. I appreciate the Minister’s co mments on this one. I do not think there is a dispute on Bermuda House of Assembly this. I …
Thank you. I am not sure why I am doing all these, but the fact of the matter is, I am on my feet. Thank you. I appreciate the Minister’s co mments on this one. I do not think there is a dispute on
Bermuda House of Assembly this. I think as the Honourable Member may have mentioned, there was actually an amount for $370,000 in the last fiscal year that was allocated for capital for the Bermuda Radar, the Doppler system. And that fell away. So I think part of what we are deal-ing with here is an issue of timing. As we all know, a lot of us depend on this, particularly if you are on a bicycle, Mr. Chairman. You often want to look at the radar if it is suggesting that a shower is coming. So I assume that the $253[,000] will get it back into shape for the time being. I guess the question that I do have is, Are there plans afoot to r eplace the thing so that we do not have what I will call, continual outages, which I think has been a nuisance, not only to the weather people down there, but to everybody else as well. So are we going to replace it or not?
The ChairmanChairmanAny further speak ers? Minister, will you . . . Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Chairman, as per my Statement, this is money towards a new weather r adar, not repair —towards a new weather radar.
The ChairmanChairmanAny further . . . Minister, you want to move that item and the Head please? Hon. Walter H. Roban: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move Head 65, as part of Supplementary Estimate (No. 1) for fiscal year 2017/18.
The ChairmanChairmanAny objections to that? There appear to be none. [Motion carried: Item 3, Head 65, Ministry of Tra nsportation passed.]
The ChairmanChairmanWe will go onto item 4, Head 65. Minister Burch. HEAD 65 (Item 4)
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Chairman, the Ministry of Public Works has two departments, Public Lands and Buildings, and Works and Engineering, included in Supplementary [Estimates] (No. 1) for the financial year 2017/18. In the case of Lands and Buildings, the unbudgeted sum is in the amount of $290,000; and Works and Engineering, the …
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Public Works has two departments, Public Lands and Buildings, and Works and Engineering, included in Supplementary [Estimates] (No. 1) for the financial year 2017/18. In the case of Lands and Buildings, the unbudgeted sum is in the amount of $290,000; and Works and Engineering, the unbudgeted sum is in the amount of $1.9 million. The total for the Ministry of Public Works in Supplementary Estimate (No. 1) for the financial year 2017/18 is $2.19 million. Mr. Chairman, the supplementary funding for Public Lands and Buildings is required to complete the relocation of the mail processing facility f rom the L. F. Wade International Airport to the New Venture [House] located at Mills Creek in Pembroke. The following is a breakdown of the cost of the relocation: six-months rent at $25,409.83 per month, totalling $152,458.98; six -months service charge at $9,414.00 per month, totalling $56,484.00; IT relocation costs of $6,750.00; air -conditioning improvements of $41,500.00; trucking, $8,000.00; new security system, $10,317.40; installation of loading bay lift, $12,000.00; signage, $1,500.00. In addition to the above work, there is a further $146,660.00 being spent by the landlord to fit out the space to meet the requirements of the Bermuda Post Office [BPO] and HM Customs [HMC]. This i ncludes construction of a secure HM Customs area and all electrical, IT , and network connections based on the BPO and HMC layout. The lease is for a five- year term from the first of October 2017. However, there is a minimum term of three years and the lease can be terminated at any time on or after the first of October 2020 ( the third year). Should the lease be terminated prior to the full term of five years, Government will be required to r epay on a pro- rata basis the portion of the landlord’s fit - out cost. This is calculated by straight line depreci ation, i.e., each month. After the third- year anniversary that Government remains in occupation the total amount decreases by $6,110.83 per month. No funds were budgeted for this project in the 2017/18 budget year. Mr. Chairman, the supplementary funding for Works and Engineerin g was required for commitments that the former administration made with Hotelco Bermuda Holdings Ltd., the developer of the new St. Regis Hotel in St. George’s. The commitment was made by way of an amendment to the Master Deve lopment Agreement in which the former Government had agreed to complete specific works. The obligations of the Government are as follows: drilling one additional water well on the site of the property and install a generator as back -up ancillary power in the event of power outage, at a maximum cost of $650,000; construct and pave a new public access road to realign Barry Road and create a roundabout and public parking spaces with adequate lighting and drainage up to an amount not to exceed $850,000; repair, in as far as is reasonable, non- public access roads in the area of the property, including access roads to Fort Victoria and Fort Albert in an amount not to exceed $300,000; remove large illegally dumped refuse items in the vicinity of Fort Albert and Fort Vi ctoria as soon as is reasonably practicable. This cleanup is estimated at the amount of $100,000. Mr. Chairman, the 2017/18 current account Supplementary Estimates sought for the Ministry of Public Works is $2.19 million. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The ChairmanChairmanThank you, Minister Burch. Any speakers? 356 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly There appear to be none . . . yes, the Leader of the Opposition. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I obviously did not have first - …
Thank you, Minister Burch. Any speakers? 356 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly There appear to be none . . . yes, the Leader of the Opposition.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I obviously did not have first - hand information, but I did seek to get clarity on this relocation move from the then Minister. The information that came to me at the time was that there had been an intent to look at relocating the property from the airport to the Hamilton location, and, hence, there was no intention to rent outside premises because it was recognised that the outside premises would cost additional money. And that determination was made because, apparently, there had been the utilisation of the Hamilton Post Office prior as a temporary site, and, therefore, it was deemed that i t would be adequate and appropriate. So, the $290,000 that is now being [sought] for relocation, while the Minister has given quite detailed information in terms of what it comprises, it is still difficult to understand the necessity to rent outside space when there is government inventory available that would perhaps be able to be repurposed in order to accommodate this particular facility. There are some drawbacks, as we listened to the Minister’s Statement this morning, in terms of one of the options being a challenge with respect to par king and the like. My understanding was that parking was being looked at. But the bottom line is that the information that the then Minister got from the civil servants, basically at the time, was the concern about parki ng of the vehicles. And that was being worked on. But it was also determined that that particular faci lity would be adequate. So I was just curious because they did say. . . I think according to the Statement this morning, we heard that they are looking f or alternative premises other than this $290,000 property that we landed on, that the Government has landed on, that looking for alternative premises was done early July by the tec hnical officers in conjunction with the then Minister to make sure they woul d be able to do, not just the i nvestigation of availability, but also to ensure that by the time the facility was required to be moved out of the airport where it was, that there would be ample time. Obviously, as time went on and events overtook that did not happen. But there was never any intention to use anything other than government stock for the relocation. Therefore, the $290,000, while we understand what it entails, we just question the decision to move the property to that location for $290,000.
The ChairmanChairmanI do not think we are going to have any debate on that; we have had enough on that, and the Minister has given much explanation on that. Let’s deal with the specifics of the $290,000. I am okay with it. Yes. But not the reasons why. That has already …
I do not think we are going to have any debate on that; we have had enough on that, and the Minister has given much explanation on that. Let’s deal with the specifics of the $290,000. I am okay with it. Yes. But not the reasons why. That has already been explained to this Honourable House. Any further speakers? Minister, do you want to respond?
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchMr. Chairman, just ever so briefly, that the recommendations that I gave in my Statement this morning were recommendati ons from the Department of Public Lands and Buildings that were provided to the Minister of Public Works on the 7 th of July 2017. I did not become the Minister …
Mr. Chairman, just ever so briefly, that the recommendations that I gave in my Statement this morning were recommendati ons from the Department of Public Lands and Buildings that were provided to the Minister of Public Works on the 7 th of July 2017. I did not become the Minister of Public Works until the 20th of July 2017. And that recommendation was to move to New Venture [House]. So, with those comments, Mr. Chairman, I move that —
Hon. Dr. E. Grant GibbonsYes, I understand where the Honourable Minister is going here, but in fairness, at that point in July the substantive Minister would not have been able to make any decisions anyway. He would have been a caretaker minister. So, the point that you are making clearly does not hold water.
Lt. Col. Hon. David A. BurchThe point I am making, Mr. Chairman, is do not suggest to me that they were advised to go into this general post office. The Mini ster still would have had access to his office and this recommendation even though he would not have been able to make a decision …
The point I am making, Mr. Chairman, is do not suggest to me that they were advised to go into this general post office. The Mini ster still would have had access to his office and this recommendation even though he would not have been able to make a decision on it. So, do not suggest that t he recommendation came only to this Gover nment after the 20 th of July. I move, Mr. Chairman, that Head 65 be approved.
The ChairmanChairmanIn item 4. Any objections to that? No objections. [Motion carried: Item 4, Head 65, Ministry of Public Works passed.]
The ChairmanChairmanI call on the Minister of Finance. Hon. Walter H. Roban: Mr. Chairman, I move that the total amount of Supplementary Estimate (No. 1) for financial year 2017/18 for all the heads that have been moved in the amount of $13,095,124, be moved.
The ChairmanChairmanIt has been moved that Supplementary Estimate (No. 1) for the financial year 2017/18 be approved by the Committee and report to the House as printed. Is there any objection to that motion? There are no objections. Agreed to. Bermuda House of Assembly [Motion car ried: Supplementary Estimate (No. 1) …
It has been moved that Supplementary Estimate (No. 1) for the financial year 2017/18 be approved by the Committee and report to the House as printed. Is there any objection to that motion? There are no objections. Agreed to.
Bermuda House of Assembly [Motion car ried: Supplementary Estimate (No. 1) for the Financial Year 2017/18 was considered by the Committee of Supply and passed without amend-ment.]
House resumed at 7:49 pm
[Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Deputy Speaker, in the Chair]
REPORT OF COMMITTEE
SUPPL EMENTARY ESTIMATE (NO. 1) FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2017/18
[Supplementary Estimate (No. 1) for the Financial Year 2017/18 was considered by the Committee of Supply and passed without amendment.]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerI think all of the orders have been . . . oh, I’m sorry. Orders 4 and 5 are both carried over? [Inaudible interjection]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerOrders 4 and 5 are carried over. The third readings. Minister. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move that the Bill entitled Tourism Investment Act 2017 be now read the …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections? There appear to be none. [Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING TOURISM INVESTMENT ACT 2017 Hon. Jamahl S. Simmons: I move that the Bill do now pass.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThe Bill is approved. Any objections? No objections. [Motion carried: The Tourism Investment Act 2017 was read a third time and passed.]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMinister? SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 21 Hon. Kim N. Wilson: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I move that Standing Order 21 be suspended to enable me to move that the Bill entitled Proceeds of Crime Ame ndment (No. 3) Act 2017 be now read the third time by its title …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections? There appear to be none. [Motion carried: Standing Order 21 suspended.] BILL THIRD READING PROCEEDS OF CRIME AMENDMENT (NO. 3) ACT 2017 Hon. K im N. Wilson: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move that the Bill do now pass.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections? The Bill passed. [Motion carried: The Proceeds of Crime Amendment (No. 3) Act 2017 was read a third time and passed.]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMr. Premi er. ADJOURNMENT Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. [ Deputy ] Spea ker. Mr. [ Deputy ] Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn until Friday, October 20th.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny objections? [Inaudible interjections]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWith adjour ning to the 20th. No objections. [Inaudible interjections] Hon. E. David Burt: I move that the House do now adjourn. 358 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly The Deputy Speaker: The Chair recognises the Ho nourable Minister, Diallo Rabain. RACIST AND DEROGATORY STATEMENT UTTERED …
With adjour ning to the 20th. No objections.
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. E. David Burt: I move that the House do now adjourn.
358 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly The Deputy Speaker: The Chair recognises the Ho nourable Minister, Diallo Rabain.
RACIST AND DEROGATORY STATEMENT UTTERED IN THE HOUS E
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, earlier today there was some sad language used in this House that I think all of us should be very concerned about. Today we had the eye- opening experience of the Honourable Member, who has left these Cham-bers, Trevor Moniz, one of the OBA's older white Members, refer to myself as a “boy.” This utterance was predictably met with immediate protestation from this side. The fact that this past -middle -age-white male allowed that word t o slip past his lips speaks volumes to any person of colour in Bermuda. Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, it is not some Freudian slip from this over -aged white male of the One Bermuda Alliance. It not only gives us a glimpse of the mind -set of that Member, but serves to present us with an even more concerning issue, the issue that if a white Member has the audacity to speak to a black Member in this House in that tone, we can only imagine how he speaks about us, and us black people in Bermuda, in the comforts of his personal spaces. Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, a larger issue here is one of greater concern. And that is that the Opposition Leader, an older black woman, when given the opportunity to admonish that Member, only defended him. Her decision —
Hon. Patricia J. Gord on-Pamplin: Point of order, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker .
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: The Honourable Member is misleading the House. I did not “ defend” the comment. I specificall y said, I am not defending the word that was said. So, the Honourable Member cannot stand there and …
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerCarry on. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. [Deputy] Speaker , an apologist by any other name is still an apologist. The fact that the Opposition Leader essentially told me to, toughen up, and not be upset by such words, was more disappointing than the original thing that was said. …
Carry on.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. [Deputy] Speaker , an apologist by any other name is still an apologist. The fact that the Opposition Leader essentially told me to, toughen up, and not be upset by such words, was more disappointing than the original thing that was said. Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, I will have that Member know that the days of a black m an in this country bo wing his head, averting his eyes, or shucking and jiving for a white man has been past. In 2017, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, we will not —and should not —tolerate that. So what I want to say is that what that white Member said was racist and derogatory in its tone, and the Opposition Leader’s decision to be an apol ogist for that language is something that I just cannot accept. Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, the Opposition Leader is dead wrong when it comes to me and my fellow colleagues on this side. If that is what she feels is necessary to gain acceptance by the white Members of that side, then so be it. But this side will not bow our heads, avert our eyes, or shuck and jive to get acceptance by any white member of this society. Thank you, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker. [Desk thumping]
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. The Chair recognises the Opposition Leader, Ms. [Gordon] -Pamplin. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, I am perfectly capable, willing, and able to accept responsibility for anything for which I am r esponsible. The Honourable Member obviously either misunderstood or chose to misrepresent what I said …
Thank you. The Chair recognises the Opposition Leader, Ms. [Gordon] -Pamplin.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, I am perfectly capable, willing, and able to accept responsibility for anything for which I am r esponsible. The Honourable Member obviously either misunderstood or chose to misrepresent what I said when I stood. However, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, what I find to be more egregious, as opposed to what the Honour able Member has just stood and said, is that when Members of his team, two weekends ago, stood on the floor of this House and made tremendously derogatory remarks to me, as a black woman, coming from a white man on that side. Let me say, that I, as a black woman do not tolerate comments of a derogat ory nature coming from a white man. So I do not need validation by anybody. I have said that before and I will say it again. I have heard not one word of condemnation coming from any of the Members on that side. So, it is interes ting that they can give and it is okay, but they cannot take, because it is inappropriate. Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, inappropriate language is inappropriate language. And when I could stand here and [have] somebody make the kind of comment to me that that Honourable Member made . . . and, you know, I looked very carefully at the Hansard so that I was aware of exactly what it was that the Member said, because I did not want to misrepresent it. Because when I left here on the day, I actually had conversation wi th somebody and repeated what I thought I heard. When I got the Hansard it occurred to me that what I thought I had heard, that perhaps I had overreacted. The Hansard itself showed differently than what I had actually recounted to the person to whom I was recounting the information. So, I ended up having to call that person and say, I retract what I said. But the exact words were
Bermuda House of Assembly this. There was never a name called. But the inference in terms of Members opposite having a piece of property and you wondered how they got that property, and members of families who were doing things that were not legal, that Member’s family members were into drugs and, therefore, I wonder how that Member got their property. Did I hear any comments coming back from that side? No! Maybe they need to show that they have a white Member to show that they are embracing of people, and it is okay for them to accept the fact that their white Member —the one that they have—can speak to me in that kind of manner, and it is okay. So, when Members opposite start to feign indignation, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, I find it not just offensive, I find it duplicitous and hypocritical. And that is something that I will not tolerate. The Honourable Member, when he was speaking on the motion to adjourn, bas ically was speaking to the fact that he will not discuss his personal business with anybody, irrespective of what the circumstances were. As I said at the time, you know, I can understand that fully. And there are times when members of your family might do things that you do not know about. I did not ask the Honourable Member, How much does a private investigator cost? Because that might have been inappropriate. I did not ask the Member about any other thing that he may have been involved with because that would have been inappr opriate. But I am not going to stand here, allow those types of insults and debased language to be used to me, and have Members opposite have the audacity to stand there and criticise to say that I defended som ething that I did not defend; that they are offended by something that somebody said. Take it up with the person that you have issue with. Don’t take . . . you know, there is no necessity to take it out on me or to suggest that I was defending somebody. But then to say that I nee d to be accepted by white people in my party . . . Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, let me say, without fear of contradiction, I do not need to be accepted by anybody on my party. I do not need to be accepted by anybody over on that side, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker. And I certainly do not have to sit here and be insulted by the one white Member that they have been able to garner on their side. You know, Sesame Street says, One of these things is not like the other. One of these things just doesn’t belong. And when I look at that individual, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, I can say the things that I have heard, that that was what the Honourable Member was alluding to, but I am just supposed to sit here and swallow it. Well, I won’t! And the next time I hear that kind of language coming from that Honourable Member, that is obv iously supported and agreed to and encouraged by Members opposite because of their silence, which, to me, speaks acquiescence, then I will put more of the details and the sorted details in the public domain and I will feel no way about having to withdraw it. Thank you, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerThank you. The Chair recognises the Honourable Member from constituency 36, Mr. Scott. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker. Mr. [Dep uty] Speaker, in this House where we enjoy absolute privilege for statements that we make, it has been legend that Members of the PLP Oppos ition …
Thank you. The Chair recognises the Honourable Member from constituency 36, Mr. Scott. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker. Mr. [Dep uty] Speaker, in this House where we enjoy absolute privilege for statements that we make, it has been legend that Members of the PLP Oppos ition have singled out the former Premier of this country about the drug cartel, that cache that came into this count ry in one of his company’s containers. The comparison of the Honourable Opposition Leader, who holds a constitutional position in this House to uphold the standards of this House for decorum, particularly in this racially polarised country, to not cast igate the former chief law officer of this country’s r emarks to a young front bench Minister, and Minister of Education, is comparing apples and oranges. There is no comparison between what was said about matters that are in the public domain about the Opposit ion Leader’s former husband, his record, and the way that it was linked by the Honourable Minister of Social D evelopment, in last week’s speech. He was speaking [about] matters that were on public record. There is no comparison, and—
Hon. Patricia J. Gord on-Pamplin: Point of order, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Imputing improper motive] Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: There is nothing on public record that puts any question into where my property came from. I would not — [Inaudible interjection] Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: The Honourable Member is imputing improper …
What is your point of order?
POINT OF ORDER [Imputing improper motive]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: There is nothing on public record that puts any question into where my property came from. I would not —
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: The Honourable Member is imputing improper motive. I would abs olutely not have that Member now defending what his white Member had to say.
Hon. Michael J. Scott: That is not a point of order. I have not even gotten to the point of the house b ecause that may have been speculation. It was a link-age between . . . and we all heard it. It is in Hansard, as the Opposition Leader has indicated. And I heard the statement last week . It was a link, and a specul ative link, which is entirely approved and possible under the rules of the House. 360 6 October 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly But I take the more principled point that the constitutional role of the Opposition Leader to tolerate a racial slur across the floor of this House this afternoon deserves no comparison with what the Minister of Social Development indicated last week. It passed through this House without comment until now, when it is convenient for the Opposition Leader —
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Point of order, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: The Honourable Member of Social Development spoke after I did last week, and I had no opportunity to come and retort. And he was not here last week; this is the week before, the 22 nd. …
What is your point of order?
POINT OF ORDER Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: The Honourable Member of Social Development spoke after I did last week, and I had no opportunity to come and retort. And he was not here last week; this is the week before, the 22 nd. And today is the first opportunity that I have had to be able to respond. And in that response, it was only elicited . . . because I was going to let it go. I was going to be bigger than that. But when I start having comments being thrown at me by the Member who spoke earlier, I am not tolerating it! Talk about decorum, it goes both ways. Hon. Michael J. Scott: Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, these vacuous attempts to contrast what was said last week for . . . are completely false, morally as equivalence, they are not the same. The Minister has struggled to harvest that last week’s statement as a justification for what brought the Speaker of this House to his feet that caused the former Minister of Legal Affairs to withdraw that egr egious comment that breached the rules that even the . . . the Opposition Leader was castigated even by yourself Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, in her own constit utionally delivered Reply, for language which brings House into disrepute, brea ches privileges, and is i nsulting to Members. This afternoon’s —
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Point of order. Point of order.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerWhat is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: The Honourabl e Member is misleading the House. I was not castigated for using language to bring the House into disrepute. The Speaker of the day suggested that the fact that the Reply was written, …
What is your point of order?
POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: The Honourabl e Member is misleading the House. I was not castigated for using language to bring the House into disrepute. The Speaker of the day suggested that the fact that the Reply was written, he was going to permit it, he was not going to ask for any matter that w as included therein to be struck from the records. Hon. Michael J. Scott: If the Opposition Leader is continuing to defend those remarks, it just boggles the mind. It is a false equivalent, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker. That is a simple point I wish to make. We must not let this day pass, nor must we avoid drawing a line under what happened today from the Member who is not in his seat, who is a lawyer, and was the chief legal advisor in this country. Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, the Minister of Educ ation was within his full rights to be insulted and to stand at the motion to adjourn to underscore this. And to see the Opposition Leader make this false equiv alence defence . . . it is not even a defence!
[Inaudible interjections and general uproar ]
Hon. Michael J. Scot t: I will not sit down and shut up—
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAhh— Hon. Michael J. Scott: —as the Opposition Leader is inviting.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerMadam Leader of the Oppos ition— Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I apologise, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker. The Depu ty Speaker: —please withdraw those r emarks. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I withdraw the remark, notwithstanding I was not on my feet. I wit hdraw the remark. Hon. Michael J. Scott: …
Madam Leader of the Oppos ition— Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I apologise, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker. The Depu ty Speaker: —please withdraw those r emarks. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I withdraw the remark, notwithstanding I was not on my feet. I wit hdraw the remark. Hon. Michael J. Scott: For the Opposition Leader to be making the presentations today after w hat we had to endure in the 21 century is beyond belief. And yet she doth protest. She doth protest. So, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, I stand in direct response to this puerile response by the Opposition Leader. I hope we can be exposed to more elevated, Mr. [De puty] Speaker, pronouncements from the Leader of that side of the House. But I concur with the remarks of indignation from our Minister of Education, a person to whom our children must continue to look up to.
The Deputy SpeakerDeputy SpeakerAny further speakers? The House stands adjourned until October the 20 th. [Gavel] [At 8:07 pm, the House stood adjourned until 10:00 am, Friday, 20 October 2017.]