March 20, 2017

Good morning, Minister.
Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Mr. Speaker, I rise this
morning firstly to acknowledge the Bermudian players who played with a Bermuda Select team yesterday
against the New York Cosmos. And I just want to congratulate all the team players who actually played, but in particular, Mr. Oneko Lowe, who was awarded
a one- year contract with the New York Cosmos. And
as you quite learnt me up yesterday, Mr. Speaker, this
is a team whom you were a MVP player for, scored
one of the first goals —

I just look good, Honourable Members.
[Laughter]

Hon. Nandi Outerbridge: Tre Ming scored the first
goal for Bermuda and actually the only goal for the
team. And it is unfortunate that, during the last three
minutes of overtime, the New York Cosmos came back and scored a goal. So, it made it a draw game.
But it was a very theatrical and exciting game, to say
the least.
I would also like to officially announce that
there was a ceremony that took place last week
Thursday, in New York, which has officially granted Bermuda the UK extension of CEDAW [Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women]. The statutory instrument was presented during that ceremony, and I would like at this time to co ngratulate all of the staff of my department, Social D evelopment and Sports, as well as the former Minister of the department, and my PS, Wayne Carey, and
especially Jane Brett. Everyone has worked hard to
make this happen. So I think that we are very excited, and now we have a platform to start looking into other things, moving forward. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Okay. Yes. But for your exploits I think you were a hero to many a young Bermudian in the early to late 1970s. So, it was really
good to see you being acknowledged in such a way. I
just wish . . . I would like to associate the whole House
because I know the Bear was the pride and joy of Bermuda back in the day.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to be associated with
the remarks of young Oneka Lowe. He is another
product of the great Western Stars, Dandy T own,
Soccer Academy. So to see him be picked—and there
were a lot of young talents on display yesterday. So I
hope that others get the same opportunity. I t is always
a pleasure seeing our youngsters on the front page for
something positive, as opposed to a lot of this stuff
that we see going on. So, thanks, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I would like the House to
acknowledge the recent announcement of the retir ement of the Leader of the Opposition of the People’s
National Movement of Jamaica, the Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller, who gave her last Statement to
the House of Representatives in Jamaica this past
week. She will be retiring after 43 years of political involvement, the first wom an Prime Minister of Jamaica. And I think the whole House should give that, and in light of the fact that we have just come off our an-nouncement of International Women’s Week, that it is
fitting that this be acknowledged by us in this House, a
pioneer of politics in the region, having been the first female Prime Minister of a very significant country, historica lly, and connected with Bermuda.
Portia Simpson Miller is not only a friend of
the Progressive Labour Party, she is a friend of BerBermuda House of Assembly muda. As we all know, many people in this Chamber ,
and out , know her. Her connections with the country
are well known. And I think it is fitting that we
acknowledge her long service as a major Commonwealth leader. So I am sure the whole House would like to be associated with that, and I think it is appr opriate that we acknowledge the service of such a significant individual as a great woman leader, but just as
a great leader for her people. Thank you.

Oh, okay.

Hon. Kenneth (Kenny) Bascome: I also ask that this
House please acknowledge the young lady, R enee
Kelly who was just graduated and has become an obstetrician. The young lady is originally from St. George's. She lives in Warwick now. At the age of 40,
she is the first person in Bermuda to actually obtain that certification. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, it is with some
sadness that I rise to ask if this Honourable House
would send condolences to the family of Maxine
“Eunice” James. She was the wife of the late Lionel
“Juicy” James of No. 1 Kings Lane North. I would like
to associate my honourable colleague, Lawrence
Scott , as well, as she was his neighbour. Ms. James
was actually one of my constituents and a very good supporter and friend. So, she will be sadly missed, of
course. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Member.
The Chair will recognise the Honourable
Member from constituency 29. MP Zane De Silva, you
have the floor.

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I would like this Honourable
House to send condolences to the family of Ms. Dor othy Dowling, of Turtle Place, Southampton. And like
my colleague, Mr. Tyrrell, she was also a strong supporter of not only me, but the party. She passed away
last week, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like this Honourable
House to send condolences to the family of Mr. Nigel
Lewin. He passed away as well recently, Mr. Speaker.
“Nicky,” as he was called, I had the pleasure of wor king with him way back in the day at SKB Coatings, Mr.
Speaker. And you might recall that he had two daug hters, twins, who sailed.

Associate the Speaker with that, too.
He was my constituent.

1442 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Diallo V. S. Rabain: And associate the Speaker
with that. There was also a bit of sadness because the
recently deceased Rochelle Butterfield was consi dered his daughter. He considered her his daughter, as well. And I am sure we all knew Rochelle, in this House, as well. So, condolences to be sent to the family of Mr. Landy. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Members.
We now will resume in the Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Rev enue and Expenditure for the year 2017/18.
The Chair will recognise the Minister of F inance.

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I move that the House resume into the Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Est imates of Revenue and Expenditure for the f inancial
year 2017/18.

Thank you, Honourable Minister.
Are there any objections to that?
Since there are none, the Chair will ask the
Honourable Member from constituency 14, MP Glen
Smith, to please take the Chair [of Committee] .

House in Committee at 10:4 3 am
[Mr. Glen Smith, Cha irman]

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2017/18
[Continuation thereof]

Good morning, Honourable Members
and listening audience. We are now in Committee of
Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2017/18, of
Home Affairs, Heads 93, 27 and 29. There have been
four hours allocated to these heads to be debated.


Bermuda House of Assembly I call on the Minister for Home Affairs, the
Honourable Patricia Gordon- Pamplin, in charge, to
proceed. Minister, you have the floor.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon- Pamplin: Thank you, Mr.
Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I move Heads 93, 27 and
29.

Please proceed.

MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
M r. Chairman, I am grateful for the opportunity
to lead this debate and present the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for Heads 93, 27 and 29, Mini stry of Home Affairs Headquarters, the Department of
Immigration and the Registry General. And I will pr oceed to present each head in turn.

HEAD 93 —MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
HEA DQUARTERS

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Head 93, the Mi nistry of Home Affairs Headquarters, which is found on
pages B -308 to B -313 of the Estimates of Revenue
and Expenditure. Mr. Chairman, as I present the
budget for Head 93, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the
Ministry’s mission is to streamline processes while
improving efficiency in order to stimulate business
development, encourage job growth, and protect the customer for the sustained well -being of Bermuda.
Expenditure Overview. Mr. Chairman, as noted on page B -310, the Ministry of Home Affairs Headquarters has been allocated $4,132,000 for the fiscal year 2017/18. This budget is $430,000, or 9 per cent,
less than the original budget allocation for fiscal year 2016/17. The Ministry Headquarters comprises three cost centres, of which there is zero on the third—or previously three cost centres. And I think that that is
important because I do not want to be accused of not including all of the cost centres as listed in the Est imates Book. These cost centres are 103000, which is Administration, and 103010, which is Consumer Affairs.
Mr. Chairman, the most significant changes
are in the Subjective Analysis , found on page B -310,
in th e estimated budget, and they are explained as
follows:
• an increase of $45,000, or 98 percent , in tra vel costs, found on line 5. This increase allows
for travel by the Minister and senior staff in the Ministry for training conferences;
• an increase of $620,000 for professional services, on line 8. And these professional services comprise consulting services, legal ser-vices, board and committee fees, and me mbership fees. This Ministry anticipates that short -term consultancies will be required to
assist with projects in addition to legal ser-vices within the next fiscal year;
• an increase of $25,000, or 44 per cent, in
rentals, found on line 9. This increase is expected to cover the cost of facility rentals for
consultative meetings with our on- Island par tners;
• an increase of $64,000, or 160 per cent, for
Materials and Supplies, found on line 12. This
increase will allo w the Ministry to purchase
much -needed supplies; and
• a decrease of $1,220,000, or a 100 per cent
reduction, in grants and contributions, found
on line 15. These grants were given to the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation and parish councils, which have been transferred to other m inistries. So there is a zero
percent balance on that.
The other numbers included in this expend iture are of very little significance, being an $11,000 decrease in salaries of 1 per cent; a $4,000 decrease in training of 36 per cent; a $5,000 increase in communications of 24 per cent; and Repairs and M aintenance, a $17,000 increase of 71 per cent.
Under Revenues, Mr. Chairman, the Revenue
Summary is found on page B -311 of the Budget Book.
The Ministry anticipates that it will collect $500,000 in fiscal year 2017/18. This is $100,000 less than the
original estimate for fiscal year 2016/17. The revenue
is from work permit exemption fees.
Manpower. Mr. Chairman, the manpower estimates for the Ministry Headquarters, as outlined on
page B -311, are 14 full -time posts. Seven posts are in
the Administration Section, and seven posts are in the
Consumer Affairs Section. The operations from the
former Rent Commissioner’s Office have now been
fully integrated into the Consumer Affairs Sections, and it is no longer necessary to separate the Co nsumer Affairs Section into two separate units. Thus, all the posts have been consolidated into the Consumer Affairs Section, 103010.
Capital Expenditure. Mr. Chairman, funds
budgeted for Capital Acquisition for 2017/18 amount s
to $14, 000. This budget is listed on page C -14. The
Ministry Headquarters is seeking to replace its current photocopier, which has outlived its useful life.
Output Measures. Mr. Chairman, the department’s performance measures are outlined on pages
B-312 and B -313. The staff in the department worked
diligently and conscientiously to achieve these goals.
One of the Ministry’s functions is to communicate, educate and safeguard Bermuda’s residents, and the Consumer Affairs Section plays a vital role in doing so, as can be seen in the performance
measures , found on pages B- 312 and B -313. As seen
on page B -312, the section intends to participate in 20
radio talk shows (as per line 8) and host 15 public r elations presentations (as per line 9) and two training
1444 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly programmes (as per line 12) , to meet its mandate of
advising and educating Bermuda’s residents about
their rights and responsibilities as consumers and tenants.
Major Achievements. Mr. Chairman, Ministry
Headquarters, cost centre 103000. I will discuss first the work done in Ministry Headquarters. While much
of the work done here relates back to other depar tments in the Ministry, Headquarters is responsible for communicating with or providing guidance to the fol-lowing:
• the Consultative Immigration Reform Working
Group;
• the Labour Advisory Council subcommittees;
• the Immigration Appeals Tribunal.
Mr. Chairman, the Consultative Immigration
Reform Worki ng Group. Honourable Members are
reminded of the agreement made in March of 2016 with representatives of the protesters of the Pathways
to Status Bill that had been tabled in this Honourable House. The Consultative Immigration R eform Working
Group was constituted in April 2016. Their first report was submitted to the Honourable Premier in June of
2016. As a result, the legislation titled Bermuda Imm igration and Protection Amendment (Adoption) Act
2016 was passed in July of 2016.
Since that time, the Immigration Reform
Working Group has been working on the next stage in
the process —that is, addressing the issue of mixedstatus families. This has been a particularly difficult exercise as the IRWG have been trying to find the
right balance. The IRWG have been meeting at least
twice a week, on their own time, with no remuneration from Government. While we would have liked to have seen more progress, I have no doubt that the group is
dedicated and is working tirelessly. The IRWG liais e
with the Ministry to obtain funding for any ancillary
expenses such as advertising and town hall meetings, and to obtain statistics and other information as nec-essary.
I would like to recognise members of this
group, including Mr. William Madeiros, who is the
Chairman; Ms. Crystal Caesar; Mrs. Malika Car twright; Mr. Dennis Fagundo; Mr. Stephen Todd; Ms. Lynne Winfield; Mr. Gordon Woolridge; Mrs. Belinda Wright; Honourable Members in this House, MP Walton Brown and MP Mark Pettingill; and Mr. Marvin
Hann a, the Group’s Recording Secretary.

Minister.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon- Pamplin: That is fine. I said
the group had constituted those members. So, if
changes have happened, then we accept and acknowledge that for the record.
Labour Advisory Council [LAC] subcommi ttees. Concurrent to the work done by the IRWG, the
LAC was asked to review and propose recommenda-tions to the following:
• amendments to work permit policies to address a living wage and training requirements for Bermudians;
• cracking down further on unscrupulous bus iness tactics that undermine Bermudian l abour;
• working more with the i nternational business
sector to provide summer job opportunities for
Bermudians;
• continuing with Government's efforts to sim ilarly provide such summer job opportunities;
• continued robust enforcement of w ork permit
policies; and
• such other matters of mutual interest as may
be agreed.
The Labour Advisory Council has empanelled
two subcommittees to address these issues , and an
additional subcommittee to review and propose i mprovements in the existing l abour legislation. The subcommittees are constituted as follows:
1) a subcommittee, headed by Mr. Jason
Hayward, President of the Bermuda Public Services
Union (BPSU) , to recommend amendments to work
permit policies to address a living wage and training
requirements for Bermudians ;
2) a subcommittee, headed by Mr. Ed Ball,
Jr., General Secretary of BPSU, to recommend
amendments to work permit policies to (1) crack down
further on unscrupulous business tactics that undermine Bermudian labour; (2) work more with the international business sector to provide summer job oppor-tunities for Bermudians and to continue with Gover nment's efforts to similarly provide such summer job opportunities; and (3) robust enforcement of work
permit pol icies;
3) a subcommittee, headed by Mr. Wendell
Hollis , to recommend amendments to work permit policies to review and propose improvements in the exis ting labour legislation .
Mr. Chairman, as with the IRWG, the LAC
subcommittees meet regularly on their ow n time , with
no remuneration from Government. I am very grateful to all the members for their input.
The Immigration Appeals Tribunal [IAT] . Mr.
Chairman, I would like to remind Honourable Me mbers that the Immigration Appeals Tribunal has been empanelled and hearing cases since 2013. They are
an independent tribunal in a similar manner as the Employment Tribunal, the Labour Disputes Tribunal


Bermuda House of Assembly and the Permanent Arbitration Tribunal. As they are
hearing appeals to decisions made by the Department
of Immigration, there has to be some distance b etween the tribunal and the department. As a result, the
administration has been undertaken by the Business and Compliance Officer in the Ministry Headquarters, Mrs. Charleda Mahon Gibbons. The Chairperson of
the Tribunal is Kiernan Bell. The number of cases that
have been received this fiscal year are 14. I would like
to thank the c hair and the members for their dedicated
service.
Mr. Chairman, Consumer Affairs, c ost centre
103010. I refer to the Consumer Affairs Section as the
unsung heroes of the Ministry of Home Affairs. We will
speak a great deal of the accomplishments or issues within the other departments in the Ministry, specifica lly the Department of Immigration, the Registrar Ge neral and the Department of Workforce Development ,
but to a far lesser extent of the Consumer Affairs Section. Some may argue that the reason is because they
do their job so well. However , I would like to highlight
some of the accomplishments of the Consumer Affairs Section. Mr. Chairman, I would first like to remind
Honourable Members of the mission of the Consumer
Affairs Section. Consumer Affair’s mission is to create
an equitable consumer market by preserving, protec ting and enforcing consumer s’ rights when purchasing
goods and services . This encompasses , but is not
limited to , ensuring fair trade practices, regulating
product safety, monitoring the timeliness of repairs
and other services, protecting renters from unreason-able rent increases and unlawful eviction. They are also mandated to educate the public and businesses on their rights and responsibilities under the law.
Provisions for the establishment and oper ational duties and authority of Consumer Affairs are statutory under the Consumer Protection Act 1999,
the Rent Increases (Domestic Premises) Control Act
1978, the Rent Increases ( Domestic Premises) Co ntrol Rules 1972, the Rent Increases (Scientific R esearch Institutions) Order 1975, t he Supply of Services (Implied Terms) Act 2003 and the Copyright and Designs Act 2004.
Statis tical analysis over the past five years
has confirmed the effectiveness of the Consumer A ffairs Section in carrying out its mandated responsibil ities. Out of 32 industries tracked within their case management system, 19 have shown a decline of 30 to 66 per cent in case investigations. The top five i ndustries showing declines were in the automotive, i nsurance, marine, hospitality and trades industries. Three industries showed no activity over the past two
years. They were in wholesales, special events and ecommerce. These declines are significant in that they show education, enforcement and legislative changes to reflect today’s global market that they are working to create a fair and equitable marketplace. Mr. Chairman, in 2016, rent increases inspection criteria were implemented to create an impartial, consistent and comparable appraisal with other rental property similar in size, location, amenities and up-grades. Since the implementation of the inspection criteria, the Consumer Affairs Section has seen an
increase of landlords willing to work with us to u pgrade their units and create improved business prac-tices within the landlord and tenant relationship.
Mr. Chairman, over the past fiscal year, the
Consumer Affairs Section has successfully recovered $20,595,079 for both their local and overseas clien-tele. Contributing to this large amount was a 7 per
cent increase in overseas investment clientele seek-ing reimbursement of their funds with locally domiciled companies and banks. The international clients were from countries such as Venezuela, India, Malta, Spain, Colombia, America and the European Union. Many local clientele were reimbursed for cycles, a utomotive items, appliances and special order pro ducts.
Mr. Chairman, in 2016, there was an increase
of 31 per cent in the legal industry complaints filed
with the Consumer Affairs Section. The complaints
filed were in two main sub -categories, debt collection
and legal fees.
Mr. Chairman, the Consumer Affairs Board in
its role as consumer advocate held meetings with the
Regulatory Authority and the Ministry of Economic Development, voicing its concern about the 28 per
cent increase of complaints in the telecommunications industry. Areas of concern were the high cost of Inter-net when compared to other islands of a similar size
as Bermuda; consumers paying for, but not receiving in a consistent manner, the megabytes for which they were paying; billing irregularities; misleading advertising; companies not following the terms of their licensing; and the mergers of companies, creating a duopo-ly within the industry. These meetings will continue into the new fiscal year.
Mr. Chairman, second- hand/private sale complaints increased 30 per cent over last year’s figures. Cars, boats and phones generated the most co mplaints, with the reoccurring factors of lost funds due to overseas scammers, sellers not having the legal right to sell the item, or fraudulent paperwork and ad-vertisement.
Three new sub- industries were added in 2016
due to increased complaint trends. They were show -
quality animals/breeders, visa and passport services by non -government businesses, and homeopathic
products and treatments. Mr. Chairman, the Consumer Affairs Section
is charged with the monitoring of global market trends that have a direct impact on the Bermuda consumer. Digital technology in the global market is changing the ways business is conducted. Local businesses will have to leverage this market in order to be viable to consumers who have global purchasing access from
1446 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly their computers. The second impacting trend is found
within the airline industries with their add- on fees and
corporate buy -outs. Two new fees to be implemented
this year are overhead bag compartment fees and
fees to file a complaint against the industry. Presently, there i s a fee for aisle and bulkhead seats, and this
will be expanded to include specific placement within
the aircraft. The third trend is the move towards un iformed product safety standard implementation in
manufacturing countries such as China, Singapore and Mexico.
Plans for the Upcoming Year. Mr. Chairman,
In the upcoming fiscal year, the Ministry plans to complete all five of its initiatives as outlined in the recent
Speech from the Throne. These include the Amend-ment to the National Occupational Certific ation Act
2004 to include all skills and competencies required for current and future construction projects; the amendment of the National Training Board Act 1997
to provide a legislative framework to support the i mplementation of the National Training Plan and
strengthen penalties for infractions and non-compliance; provide amendments to the Rent I ncreases (Domestic Premises) Control Act 1978 to
strike a balance between rent control, the rights of
tenants, and the need to ensure fair economic return for la ndlords. In addition, the Ministry intends to continue to monitor and recommend for prosecution bus inesses that engage in unfair business practices, con-tinue to provide tenants with security of tenure, control
increases of rents, and continue to ensure that co nsumer products are safe and meet all required safely
standards, as well as investigate and enforce product recalls to ensure that Bermuda’s consumers purchase safe products.
Honourable Members will also recall in the
Speech from the Throne that the Consumer Affairs Section is charged with creation of fair debt [collec-tion] practices legislation, which is presently in the drafting stages. Debt collectors will fall under the remit of the Consumer Affairs Section, which will ensure fair
practices within the industry.
Mr. Chairman, in closing, I must thank the
hard- working and dedicated members of the Consumer Affairs Section: Mrs. Karen Marshall, Executive
Officer, and her team —Honey Adams, LaVonne
Bean, Paula Carlington, Rhonda Daniels, Heather
Marshall and Delores Vasquez. I would also like to
thank the dedicated members of the staff at the Mini stry of Home Affairs, particularly the Comptroller, Mrs.
Denise Maughn; Mrs. Tionea Effs, Finance Officer; Ms. Danielle Simmons, Accounts Assistant; Mrs. Charleda Mahon Gibbons, Business and Compliance
Officer; Patrice Simmons, Administrative Assistant;
and my Executive Assistant, Tresa Robinson. They are all under the leadership and the guidance of the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Rozy Azhar, to whom I owe an incredible debt of thanks.
I will move on now to Head 27, Mr. Chairman.

HEAD 27 —DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon- Pamplin: Mr. Chairman, as
I present the budget for Head 27, the Department of
Immigration, it can be found on pages B -314 to B -319
of the Budget Book.
The Mission. The mission of the Department
of Immigration is to serve travellers and to conserve and protect Bermuda for the benefit of its people, i ncluding residents and visitors .
Expenditure Overview. Mr. Chairman, as noted on page B -314, the Department of Immigration has
been allocated a budget of $4,754,000 in the fiscal year 2017/18. This budget is $121,000 more than the 2016/17 budget allocation, reflecting a 3 per cent
budget increase.
Mr. Chairman, the changes in the budget . . .
Give me one second, Mr. Chairman.

[Pause]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Okay. Sorry.
The changes in the budget estimates are explained as follows:
• a small increase of $1,000 in respective salaries in cost centre 37010;
• an increase of 5 per c ent, or $53,000, in cost
centre 37020, which is the Personal Services Section. This increase represents additional
payments for the new British Overseas Terr itories Citizen (BOTC) (Bermuda) passports to
Her Majesty’s Passport Office and to WorldReach Corporation (the systems ven-dor), and for credit/debit card processing fees;
• a decrease of $6,000 in salaries in cost centre
37030, the Compliance Section.
• an increase of 6 per cent, or $73,000, in 37040, the Finance and Administration Section. This increase is attributed to an increase
in salaries, the inclusion of legal services and fees payable to the Immigration Appeal Tribu-nal and an increase in office supplies for work
permit cards, as listed on page B314.
Mr. Chairman, the material changes in the estimate d budget for the Subjective Analysis of the Current Account Estimates, found on page B -315, are as
follows:
• an increase of 2 per cent, or $76,000, in Sal aries, which is listed as item 1. This increase is
mainly due to salaries for temporary relief staff and pay -scale increments for full -time e mployees;
• an increase of 226 per cent, or $147,000, in Communications, which is listed on line item 6. This increase is due to fees payable to
Her Majesty’s Passport Office, including cou-rier services for processing and printing British


Bermuda House of Assembly Overseas Territories (BOTC) Bermuda pas sports;
• a decrease of 22 per cent in Professional Services, which is listed on line item 8. This de-crease is due to the end of contract (at
March 31
st, 2017) for the consultants (who will
be spoken to at the end of this brief) who assisted with the backlog of applications in the Personal Services Section;
• an increase of 1,250 per cent, or $25,000, in
Rentals, which is listed on line item 9. This i ncrease is due to the reallocation of costs , i.e.,
to correct cost centres. For example, the central filing rental has been separated out from office supplies;
• a decrease of 16 per cent, or $88,000, in R epairs and Maintenance, which is listed on line
item 10. In the previous year, part of the service-level maintenance costs for 3M [3MInnovative Properties Company] were contained in this line item. This decrease is due to the non- renewal of 3M’s contract. That is because 3M has taken the decision to come out
of the border management line of business;
• A decrease of 91 per cent, or $10,000, in
Clothing, Uniforms and Laundry, which is
listed on line item 12. This decrease is due to
the only expected requirement for uniforms in
2017/18 being related to accessories (i.e., shoes, et cetera) for the Officers in the Com-pliance Section.
The other items, such as wages, other personnel costs and transport have zero changes year -
on-year, and other, very minor insignificant changes
are in 1,000, Material and Supplies, and 2,000 in E nergy.
Revenue Summary. The revenue summary is
outlined on page B -315. The total revenue estimate
for 2017/18 is a total of $21,020,000, an increase of $471,000, or 2 per cent. The most material changes are as follows:
Work Permits, a total of $12,533,000, an i ncrease of $2,482,000, or 25 per cent. This increase
can be attributed to the increase in work permit appl ications resulting from America’s Cup, the Airport D evelopment and other major developments planned for 2017/18.
Another material change is the reduction in
land acquisition fees from $9,000,000 to $6,000,000, a difference of $3,000,000, or 33 per cent, and a
downward adjustment based on the actual figures in 2015/16 and the revised estimate for 2016/17.
An increased estimate for Status and Naturalisation of $1,344,000 an increase of $1,024,000, or 320 per cent can be attributed to the increase of applications for Bermudian Status and for Naturalisation.
Capital Expenditure. Mr. Chairman, funds
budgeted for Capital Acquisitions for 2017/18 amount s
to $1,000,000 and can be found on page C -15. The department is seeking to purchase a new border
management system to replace the existing, ageing
system.
Manpower. Mr. Chairman, the manpower estimates for the department as outlined on page B -316
are 50 full -time posts. Within the department, 10 posts
are vacant, consisting of three Customer Service Re presentatives, two Processing Administrators, two Cl ient Services Officers, one Administrative Assistant and one Senior Immigration Inspector/Officer. It is i ntended to fill these positions in the 2017/18 fiscal year.
Output Measures. Mr. Chairman, the depar tment’s performance measures are outlined on pages
B-317 to B -319. The staff in the department worked
diligently and conscientiously to achieve these goals. These were achieved, despite human resource challenges, in the core sections of the department —
Corporate Services, Personal Services, and Compli-ance— which experienced natural attrition and internal
promotions.
Commensurate with the department’s mission
is its pursuit to work as a team and exercise sound judgment in the performance of its duties to ensure that it responds to the needs of its customers in an
efficient, effective and timely manner, in accordance
with the laws of the land, the policies of the Ministry and the procedures of the department. During f iscal
year 2016/17, the Department of Immigration has
worked sympathetically, courteously and impartially to accomplish our mandate.
Major Achievements. Mr. Chairman, I would
like to provide greater detail of some of the acco mplishments of the core sections within the Department of Immigration.
Corporate Services, cost centre 37010. At the
end of this fiscal year, it is anticipated that the Corp orate Services Section will process 4,180 standard one- to five -year work permit applications in an av erage time of four weeks. This processing achievement is offset with the processing of 3,444 short -term and
periodic work permit applications. In 2015/16, the
number was 3,653. The reduced number in 2016
demonstrates that the current work permit policy is effective; that is, it restricts the usage of short -term
work permits and encourages more applications for standard permits.
The section has also processed additional
applications relating to special national projects with shorter processing times; i.e., work permit applications for America’s Cup (ACBA and ACEA), The Loren
(Sardis Development Ltd.), DCK Bermuda (Morgan’s Point) and Aecon (the airport project).
Mr. Chairman, Personal Services, cost centre
37020. Over the past fiscal year, the Personal Ser-vices Section successfully transferred the printing of
British Overseas Territories Citizen (BOTC) (Berm uda) passports to Her Majesty’s Passport Office. I might qualify at this point, Mr. Chairman, that while we
say successfully transferred the printing, the out1448 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly comes have been less than desirable. Throughout this
period, the team witnessed increased numbers in
passport applications per day. Local residents were lined up generally before 7:30 am as the deadline of
June drew close for the local printing of passports. Of
significance is that the section processed a total of 1,130 applications. This number is quite significant
because the Bermuda Passport Office processes approximately 580 passport applications (for adults and children) per month. So, the number of passports r eceived just prior to the transition of the passport pr ocess doubled over a period of less than one month.
In September 2016, eleven consultants, some
of whom were retirees and former civil servants, were enlisted to assist with clearing the outstanding backlog of applications in the Personal Services Section. The retirees included Ms. Judith Hall- Bean, former Deputy
Head of the Civil Service; Dr. Martin Brewer, former Chief Immigration Officer; and Mrs. Marlene Christ opher, former Registrar General. Of primary signif icance is the achievement in issuing approximately 350 Bermudian status certificates (under Section 20B(2)(b) of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956) by the 31
st of December 2016. All other a pplications —i.e. , Naturalisati on, Bermudian status for
spouses of Bermudians, and Spousal Letters, which were backlogged at the time— were also processed.
I would like to thank the consultants and the
temporary staff, including Dr. Martin Brewer, Charleda Mahon- Gibbons, Judith Hall -Bean , Belinda Wright,
Andrea Daniels, Marlene Christopher, Corey Furbert, Donna Harvey -Maybury, Carmelita Maybury, Ceble
Crockwell, LaToya Viera, Ricardo Lowe, and Ashleigh Lambert, who assisted in the processing of a signif icant amount of files in the three-m onth period.
Mr. Chairman, the Compliance Section, cost
centre 37030. Over the past fiscal year, the Compl iance Section successfully co- ordinated with the Royal
Bermuda Regiment for the deportation of seven de-portees, three from Jamaica and one each from G renada, Barbados, St. Maarten, and St. Vincent and the
Grenadines. The individuals were persons who had been incarcerated at Westgate Correctional Facility, and challenges became evident due to the refusal by the UK, the US and Canadian authorities to allo w the
individuals to transit through their jurisdictions. The deportees were transported to Jamaica on the Royal
Bermuda Regiment’s charter to Jamaica, and then a
private jet was arranged to transport the other four deportees to their respective home countries. The c oordinated escort went smoothly and speaks to the ability within the Government to work together as a
team to achieve a shared goal.
Plans for the Upcoming Year. Mr. Chairman,
the department’s plans for the upcoming year will pr imarily focus on capitalising on its efficiencies and im-proving upon its deficiencies, enhancing human r esources and upgrading its current technologies. The following paragraphs detail the specific actions that
the department will undertake during 2017/18.
Capitalising on Efficiencies and Improving D eficiencies. Mr. Chairman, d uring the spring/summer of
2016, the Internal Audit Department undertook an audit of the department. The Senior Management Team is currently addressing recommendations made by the
Internal Audit Team, including updating internal pol icies and procedures so that all staff are able to undertake their duties in line with the department’s mission, fine-tuning processing timelines so that they are reasonably aligned with available human resources, im-plementi ng plans to effectively address —or avoid—
backlogs of applications and investigations, and i mproving the monitoring of visitor overstays.
Enhancing Human Resources. The Management Consulting Section of the Cabinet Office is cur-rently reviewing the department’s organisational struc-ture. The Personal Services Section has already been
completed. The review will also include reviewing and
proposing recommendations for improving the pr ocess for determining civil penalties. To this end, the department will seek to fill the vacant posts referred to
earlier in this brief and will ensure that staff continue
to be fully skilled to perform their duties, utilising inhouse training on the Acts, policies and procedures that the department enforces, including, but not limi ted
to, the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956, the British Nationality Act 1981, the Bermuda Const itution Order 1968, and other regulations.
Upgrading Current Technologies. The department is planning on replacing its current Border Management System (BMS). This is one of Berm uda’s front -line defences used to screen arriving passengers who arrive at the L. F. Wade International
Airport. The system processes passenger information
against a variety of local and international alerts, such
as the stop list, watch list, and terror list, upon arrival to Bermuda and alerts officers to critical information in real time. It also allows for the detection of overstays and provides a detailed travel history record that is
used for investigation purposes.
3M-Innovative Properties Company (3M) developed BMS in the mid- 2000s. In the summer of
2016, 3M provided notice to the department that it had
taken the decision to discontinue its border manage-ment line of business. Therefore, the system is currently unsupported by a vendor. Thankfully, the Information Technology Office and the department had
previously fostered a stronger working relationship, and together they have adequately addressed and minimised issues at the airport. Given these dynam-ics, the department will be implementing a new border
management system. This system will be in keeping
with industry standards.
Lastly, in respect of technologies, the depar tment will be automating much of the application pr ocesses in the Personal Services Section. This will i nBermuda House of Assembly clude applications for Bermudian status, permanent
resident certificates and naturalisation.
Mr. Chairman, in closing, I would like to thank
the dedicated members of staff at the Department of
Immigration. I would like to also thank the Immigration team under the leadership of Dr. Danette Ming, the Chief Immigration Officer, and Mr. Steven Lambert,
the Assistant Chief Immigration Officer; together with
Mr. Philip Perinchief and Ms. Lauren Sadler -Best of
the Attorney General’s Chambers; the Immigration Boar d headed by Mr. Glen Smith, JP, MP; and the
Immigration Appeal Tribunal, previously mentioned, headed by Ms. Kiernan Bell, for the remarkable and
outstanding achievements made in 2016/17.
Finally, I would also like to thank Ms. Marita
Grimes, Mrs. Michell e White, Mr. Ron- Michel Davis,
Ms. Dawnette Bean, Mr. B. Terrence Smith and their
respective teams; as well as the Collector of Customs, Mrs. Lucinda Pearman, and her airport team for administering the airport border control on behalf of I mmigration; and t o [Lieutenant] Colonel David Curley
and the Royal Bermuda Regiment for their kind assistance with the deportation exercise. Also, thanks to the Information Technology Office for their timely assistance in ensuring that our systems were operable,
particular ly at the L. F. Wade International Airport.
They have all been cooperative and innovative in their respective disciplines and the roles they have played in immigration matters.
HEAD 29 —DEPARTMENT OF THE REGISTRY
GENERAL

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Mr. Chairman, I
will now move on to the Department of the Registry
General, under Head 29, which is found on pages B -
320 to B -323 of the Approved Estimates and Expend iture for the financial year 2017/18.
Mr. Chairman, it gives me pleasure to present
the budget for Head 29, the Department of the Regi stry General, found on pages B- 320 to B -323 of the
Budget Book. The Registry General is responsible for maintaining civil registrations and providing public ac-cess to such records. Under the general direction and
control of the Minister of Home Affairs, the Registrar General exercises his statutory functions and is as-sisted by such public officers as may from time to time
be authorised by the Legislature.
The mission of the department is to provide
and maintain a reliable system for the storage of pub-lic records, access services to these records, and pr ovide an efficient registry service which supports the registration of every birth, death, adoption, and marriage in Bermuda, and the performance of civil marriages, as well as facilitating the registration of land and other property transactions, and the registration of professionals and organisations. To provide a timely and efficient service for the granting of intellectual property rights, such as trade and serv ice marks, p a-tents and designs, and advising on copyright and r elated rights; to assume all administrative responsibil ities with respect to the registration of Country Code Top Level domain names for Bermuda (dotbm) [.bm].
Expenditure Overview. Mr. Chairman, the
current account estimates for Head 29, Registry Gen-eral, can be found on page B- 320. The Registry General has been allocated a total of $1,870,000. This represents a net increase of $120,000, or 7 per cent,
from the amount allocated for the financ ial year
2016/17, which was $1,750,000. Mr. Chairman, the allocation of expenditure by
cost centre, on page B -320, is as follows.
Cost centre 39000, Administration —a total of
$842,000, representing an increase of 20 per cent, or
$138,000. The function of the Administration Section
is to ensure that proper resources are made available to facilitate the efficient and timely processing of the registration process for all vital and general events
occurring in Bermuda.
Cost centre 39010, which is Intellectual Property Registration —a total of $588,000, representing a
decrease of 1 per cent, or $5,000. The function of the
Intellectual Property Registration Section is to provide a timely and efficient service for the granting of inte llectual property rights, such as trade and service
marks, patents and designs; to advise on copyright
and related rights; as well as to assume all of the ad-ministrative responsibilities with regards to “dotbm ”
[.bm] (Country Code Top Level) domain name regi stration.
Cost centre 39020 has been budgeted a total
of $111,000, representing a decrease of 4 per cent, or
$5,000. The function of the Property, Professional ,
and Organisation Registrations Section is to register documents relating to chattel mortgages; as well as
professional registrations, which include architects,
charitable organisations, friendly societies, marriage officers, pension trust funds, professional engineers, professional surveyors, psychological practitioners, and trade unions.
Cost centre 39030, Birth, Marriages , and
Deaths —a total budget of $329,000, representing a
2 per cent decrease, or $8,000. The function of the
Births, Marriages , and Deaths Section is to register
and issue certificates for all vital and general events, including births, deaths , and marriages, that occur in
Bermuda or on Bermuda- registered ships.
Mr. Chairman, the changes in the estimated
budget for the Subjective Analysis of the Current A ccount Estimates are found on page B -321 and are as
follows:
• an increase of 2 per cent, or $29,000, in S alaries, which is listed on line item 1. This in-crease is a result of changes to the organis ation structure by transferring the Land Admi nistrator post to the Land Title Registry Office, a re- grading of the Trade Mark Officer post
1450 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly (now titled Manager of Intellectual Property) ,
and the hiring of a temporary additional;
• a decrease of 44 per cent, or $4,000, in Trai ning, line item 3. This decrease represents savings resulting from the department’s limiting
local training to programmes offered by the
Department of Human Resource;
• a decrease of 10 per cent, or $2,000, in Travel, on line item 4, represents a slight decrease
in the amount of money allocated for business travel;
• an increase of 6 per cent, or $8,000, in Advertising and Promotion, on line item 6. This can
be attributed to the department’s processing
and advertising more trade mark applications;
• an increase of $151,000 in Rentals, which is
on line item 8. This increase is attributed to
the department’s rental of a new office space so that the Registry General can be amalga-mated into one office, as opposed to being housed in two separate locations. We were
advised by the Ministry of Public Works that
the amalgamation and move from the Gov-ernment Administration Building would realise savings —in other departments that are currently paying significantly higher rents —if they
move into the space vacated by the Registry
General;
• a decrease of 18 per cent, or $27,000, in R epairs and Maintenance, shown on line item 9. This decrease represents a deduction, a r eduction, in the amount of money allocated for
the software maintenance contract for the i ntellectual property system;
• a decrease of 45 per cent, or $34,000, in M aterials and Supplies, on line item 10, repr esents a reduction in the amount of money allocated for office supplies and printing; and
• a small increase of 14 per cent, or $1,000, in
Other Expenses, on line item 11, represents a
slight increase in the amount of money all ocated for bank charges and commissions.
Capital Expenditure. Mr. Chairman, funds
budgeted for Capital Acquisition for 2017/18 amount to $200,000. This budget is listed on page C -15. This
budget has been allocated for the move to a new of-fice space for the department. The Registry General is currently housed on two separate floors, as indicated, the first and fourth floors of the Government Admi nistration Building, and urgently needs to be relocated into one office space.
Revenue. Mr. Chairman, on the revenue side,
which is shown on page B -322, the Registry General
expects to realise $1,679,000 in revenue during 2017/18. The most significant are outlined below:
1. A total of $947,000 from the registration
and renewal of Trade Marks, Patents and Designs, and Domain Name Registration Fees, which is the total of line items 2 through 10. This is represented by a $10,000, or 50 per cent, increase in Assignments,
line item 3; a $20,000, or 13 per cent, increase in
Trade Mark Registrations, in line item 4; a $6,000, or 9 per cent, increase in Trade Mark/Other, line item 6;
a $29,000, or 9 per cent, decrease in Trade Mark R enewals, line item 7.
2. Revenue of $645,000 from Birth, Death,
and Marriage Fees, line items 17 through 28. This is
an increase of $63,000 from the 2016/17 budget. It is anticipated that there will be an increase in the num-ber of marriage ceremonies conducted, marriage l icences and certificates issued for the upcoming fiscal year.
It should be noted that fees from property re gistration, from line item 13; land transfer fees, line item 14; and time- sharing, line item 15, will now fall under
the remit of the Land Title Registry Office.
Manpower. Mr. Chairman, the Manpower estimates for the Registry General as outlined on page
B-322 are 19 full -time posts. Within the department,
all posts are filled except two. It is anticipated that the
vacant posts of Manager of Intellectual Property and Assistant Registrar General will be filled within the upcoming fiscal year. The Registry General consists
of the following four sections:
1. Cost centre 39000, Administration, seven
staff;
2. Cost centre 39010, Intellectual Property
Registration, six staff;
3. Cost centre 39020, Property, Professional ,
and Organisation Registration, two staff; and
4. Cost centre 39030, Births, Marriages , and
Deaths, four staff.
Performance Measures. Mr. Chairman, the
department’s performance measures are outlined on page B -323. In spite of the fact that the department is
operating under strength, with two key posts currently vacant, the staff members of the Registry General continue to work hard and are dedicated to achieving these goals. The department is responsible for di scharging duties conferred under a total of 35 Acts and
Regulations which govern the operations of the Regi stry General. The main function of the department is to
ensure the efficient and timely registration of all inte llectual property, and vital and general events occur-ring in Bermuda during this fiscal period.
The department continues to meet these
measures and diligently delivers on core services, and all sections have met their deadlines for projects assigned.
Major Achievements. Mr. Chairman, during
the past fiscal year the Registry General had an or-ganisational and operational review of the department,
conducted by Management Consulting Section
(MCS), to improve efficiency and quality of service delivery. The outcome of the review was the recom-mendation of the amalgamation of the department into one office space; a new organisational structure i ncluding the abolishment of several posts, which r eBermuda House of Assembly duce the cost of the establishment by $267,000; and
operational changes that would eliminate outdated
business processes and redundant functions. Cabinet approval was sought and granted, many of the rec-ommendations have been actioned, and the remain-der will be completed by the upcoming 2017/18 fiscal
year.
Mr. Chairman, also during the past fiscal year,
the department acquired and installed a new domain name registration system. The new system is robust, fully integrated, and streamlined. The system allows for online payment via a credit card, generates reports for easy monitoring of domain name registrations and
modifications, and has improved the provision of services to customers. The new system has the capabil ities of providing other features (such as domain name privacy protection), but the main and prominent func-tion of the system is to provide for the registration and renewal of a “ dotbm” [.bm] domain name.
Plans for the Upcoming Year. Mr. Chairman,
the Administration Section will focus in this coming year on a review of the key office documents and rec-ords to determine and recommend a plan to digitise them. This process will include the Book of Deeds
(which hold Power of Attorney and Deed Polls); Chattel Mortgages; Charity Registrations; Professional Body Registrations; Birth, Death and Marr iage Regi strations; and Marriage Officer Licenses. This process will aid in the department’s being more efficient in the manner in which it serves the public.
Some of the key benefits of digitising records
and documents are as follows:
1. There are no physical limits for storage. As
paper and binders require storage space, digitalisation frees up critical office space, as well as reduces paper in offices and all the challenges that come with storing
a high volume of documents.
2. The ability to increase office productivity —
less time searching endlessly for documents, one can
simply have point -and-click access.
3. Access to documents is granted any time,
to multiple persons at once, through Internet access ibility, 24/7.
4. The process ensures that original documents have longer life, as they will not be handled as much.
5. It provides a safe information space in the
event of a disaster or destruction, (e.g., fire).
6. Easy retrieval of information, using key
words.
To this end, Mr. Chairman, the Registry General will commence a review of the process for the digitalisation of documents in the upcoming 2017/18
fiscal year and will plan to budget for the project in the
2018/19 fiscal year. At the completion of the project,
the Registry General will be firmly positioned to meet
the needs of an ever -changing community.
Mr. Chairman, the IP Section has identified
key initiatives and projects for the upcoming fiscal year. These initiatives and projects are achievable
and will benefit not only the operations of the depar tment, but Bermuda as well.
At the forefront of the IP Section’s agenda is
to amend the Patents and Desig ns Act 1930 with r espect to industrial designs. The current Act is an ant iquated piece of legislation modelled significantly after the UK Paten ts and Desig ns Act 1907, a consolidation
act which itself has been repealed by two separate
pieces of legislation, namely, the UK Registered D esigns Act 1949 and the Patents Act 2004. The Regi stry General wants to amend the current design legisl ation to bring it in line with the Geneva Act
(1999) /Hague Agreement. The Hague Agreement
provides for the international filing and registration via
a single application, which is administered by WIPO (which is World Intellectual Property Organization).
The advantages for the department include a
potential increase in design application filings and re gistrations, thus generating more revenue for Gover nment. An industrial designer from one contracting par-ty/country would likely designate Bermuda as a juri sdiction to seek protection for his or her design.
The advantages to local residents are that
they will have a broader range of options available to obtain easier and more inexpensive protection of their designs in countries bound by the Geneva Act (1999)
of the Hague Agreement. Bermudian industrial de-signers will also be able to register their designs inter-nationally via a single application, and thus obtain pr otection internationally, with minimum formalities and expense.
In furtherance, the IP Section would like to
introduce the voluntary registration of a copyright work as proof of protection. Currently, there is no formality of registration of a copyright work for protection in
Bermuda. As Bermuda is a party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Work
[1886] , protection of a copyright work is automatic in
Bermuda once the work is created, which means pr otection is not subject to registration. Majority of the
countries around the world are a member or a party to
the Berne Convention, but a number of countries are providing for voluntary registration of a copyright work even though it is not necessary for protection in their jurisdiction.
For instance, under the US Copyright Act of
1976, registration of a work with the Copyright Office is not a prerequisite for copyright protection. The Act does, however, allow for registration and gives the Copyright Office the power to promulgate the neces-sary forms. And although registration is not required for copyright protection to be attached to a work, the
Act does require registration before a copyright i nfringement action by the creator of the work can pr oceed. Even if registration is denied, however, an in-fringement action can continue if the creator of the work joins the Copyright Office as a defendant, requi r1452 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly ing the Court to determine the “copyrightability ” of the
work before addressing the issue of infringement.
Over the years, the Registry General has had
significant numbers of calls and visits from members of the general public wanting to register their copyright
work and be issued with the Certificate of Registr ation. After advising that copyright protection is aut omatic in Bermuda once the work is created, many still express concern of the possibility of their copyrighted work being infringed upon and not having a Certificate of Registration to prove that they are the true author and creator of the work. The introduction of a volun-tary registration system for copyright works would not
only bring comfort to a creator of a copyright work; i t
could also be a potential revenue source for the Government. Mr. Chairman, as with all the departments
within the Ministry of Home Affairs, I would like to ex-press my gratitude to the team and dedicated staff
members of the Registry General Department, led by
Mr. Aubrey Pennyman, as they continue to take a
proactive approach to ensure that Bermuda remains relevant and comparable with global partners. Mr. Chairman, that represents my present ation with regard to Head 93, headquarters; Head 27, Department of Immigration; and Head 29, Registry General. And I would invite other Members to contri bute.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, let me first of all thank the
Honourable Minister for her presentation. It is an exercise in brevity, and I would hope that all Ministers at all times would adopt such a course to allow for a
substantive amount of time for debate.
Let me also at this point, Mr. Chai rman, thank
the highly capable and competent staff who work in
the Ministry of Home Affairs, led by, of course, Ms. Rozy Azhar, who is the embodiment of sincere co mmitment and dedication. And I have had the pleasure
of working with a number of members of the Ministry
over time, and I always get a timely and effective r esponse to my queries. I just want to publicly
acknowledge their service.
M r. Chairman, I am going to speak primarily
about (perhaps not surprisingly) immigration matters.
But I would like to first go to the last head, which is the
Registry General, and make a few observations. Then I will go to Consumer Affairs and then revert back to what I see as the bulk of what I will be speaking on today. Just where the Minister ended, on copyright, it
is obviously quite true and long- standing that when
you create intellectual property, the minute you pub-lish it you automatically have copyright. And the fact that people are actually approaching the Ministry for some kind of certificate to support it means that there is a lacuna in information dissemination. So, we need
to have that part addressed. I would not want to e ncourage the Minister to look at registration from a rev-enue standpoint. As much as the Government needs money, it seems somewhat inappropriate to be trying to take money from people to signify their copyright when it has been long- standing international law that
you have copyright based on what you produce. And so, it seems to me a matter that can be more readily resolved through information dissemination rather than creating a system whereby we can extract reve-nue from these people. Because, you know, intellec-tual output, creative output, is what a country needs.
And we should want to encourage it. And I would not
want to see a price attached to that.
With regard to the Registry General and some
of its performance of duties, there is a great potential for additional revenue, Madam Minister, through a
wider utilisation of marriage ceremonies through that
office. I understand there is a matter currently before the courts that might have some impact on that. But, clearly, as we become a more modern society and we embrace more consi stently human rights principles,
which include allowing people, irrespective of their
gender makeup, to actually get married, then we will
have an additional source of revenue stream.
So, I would encourage the Minister to encourage her Government and to encourage this Parli ament to try to move in ways that are consistent with what are increasingly being seen as obvious and necessary steps in the international arena with regard to
same -sex marriage. So let us do that. And if you want
to use an economic argument for it, This will generate additional revenue, then so be it. It is a shame that we
have to identify economic arguments to pursue what
many see as fundamental human rights matters. But
that is where we are in what we call 21
st century Bermuda. Mr. Chairman, let me refer a little bit to Consumer Affairs. That department has a mandate to ad-dress issues of consumer protection. And again, there
are two areas where I think there needs to be a far
greater degree of a proactive intervention. And that involves what I call the “price- gouging” in certain sectors of Bermuda. One is clearly financial services.
The banks have license to levy any fee they
see fit on their customers, and the pricing mechanisms are getting increasingly offensive. I recall a
number of years ago when online banking first emerged, and the banks were encouraging everyone
to get rid of these cheques. You don’t need to write
out cheques anymore. Go to online banking. And the
criticism was, Well, all you’re going to do is start


Bermuda House of Assembly charging us fees. And the banks were insistent that, if
you adopt online banking, you would eliminate your
cheque fees, and it is free to use online banking. That was the mantra, I do not know how many years it was now, but a number of years ago. And you now see this inc rease in fees being attached by banks to your
utilisation of services. Butterfield Bank has the audac ity to charge 25 cents for an intrabank transfer. So you transfer money from one account at Butterfield Bank to another, and they charge 25 cents. That is just mean- spirited and greedy. So, consumer protection?
Let us go after some of the big boys. Let us not allow them to just get away with price- gouging techniques.
The other matter to be addressed is where
you have an account that is dormant. But every month, the bank charges fees for a dormant account.
And at some point, they charge you a fee, and they put your account into an overdrawn position. They then charge you another overdraft fee. I mean, that is
price -gouging. That is bad consumer interaction. And I
would like to see the Consumer Affairs Department go
after some of these big players. Let them know it is an
inappropriate, unconscionable act to undertake. You do not put an account into an overdrawn position because of the fees you charge, and then charge them a
fee because they went overdrawn! How does a chequing account without an overdraft go overdrawn? It should not go overdrawn. How does a debit card get overdrawn when you do not have an overdraft? So that is just set up to gouge people. And it
needs to stop. And if they cannot do it on their own, because banks . . . I see my good friend over there,
who represents one of the institutions. I know she is not complicit in any of this, the Honourable Member. But it needs to end. And while it is appropriate to look at what I call the lower level of consumer infractions,
these are the big price points. They really get at every
single person in this country.
And then you might also want to look at the
insurance companies, especially with regard to medi-cal insurance. We know there is a problem with health
care. And many of us want to see ways in which it can
be reduced. But all that the health insurance compa-nies do is just factor in whatever their costs are and do an appropriate mark -up for your premium s the next
year, without regard to the impact on people. Because their primary concern is their bottom line. And every
time I see a $50 million, $60 million, $70 million, $80
million net income for an insurance company, that is cost excess through premiums . So, they have made a
lot of money off of increasing rates.
So, I would like to see some proactive intervention along these lines. So if that could be done, the
consumer would be in a better position and we would
have a much greater level of comfort that the alloc ation of funds for Consumer Affairs is looking at the multitude of issues that relate to Consumer Affairs and not its smaller section. I want to move now, Mr. Chairman, to matters
involving the Immigration Department and the Ministry as a whole. The Minister spoke about a number of issues involving immigration. Let me just talk first about some efficiencies that I think can come about in immigration. I listened to the Minister speak about the new border control system (I am not sure I have got
the right name—DMS?— whatever it is called) to
adopt new technology. And that is as a consequence
of 3M going out of the business. But there is a mas-sive opportunity for the adoption of new technology, which the Minister has not commented on. And I was hoping when she started talking about new software
and digitisation that she was going to say what would
be an obvious step. And that is to digitise and to cr eate an electronic platform for the submission of work permit applications. Right now, it is terribly, terribly paper -driven. I feel sorry for every single tree that is
involved in our immigration matters, because we are
just cutting down trees to process all of these work
permit applications.
So, we need a digital format for that. And, Mr.
Chairman, what? You should know of all people, because you are the Chairman of the Immigration Board.

An urban legend. They had a
truck to deliver their work permit applications.
And it seems terribly inefficient in 21
st century
Bermuda, right, one of the primary offshore financial centres in the world, who are supposedly so tied in
with technology, that we have not figured out a way to digitise the electronic submission of work permit appl ications. Now, what would it do? It would free up staff to do other areas of work (that I will speak to later), first of all. A lot of it is very routine. And if you have
some files already in the system, there is no need to
resubmit, because you have ready access to it.
And I know one response will be, Where’s the
money going to come from to deliver it? I can pretty
much guarantee that many employers would not have
a problem paying a little bit extra if they knew that,
over a one- , two -, or may be three- year period, those
funds will be used to provide for a far more efficient
work permit submission process because they would not have to be going through all the massive paper-work that is required. There are like 30 pages per ap1454 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly plication. I did one, and I was stressed—just one. And
I do not like paperwork.
So, why not look at that? It is cheaper in the
long term. It is more effective, more efficient.
The Minister spoke about the Comprehensive
Immigration Reform Working Group. I know a little bit
about that, Mr. Chairman. So, let me just speak to the
origins of it, the work process and how this group is saving Government thousands of dollars, how it is doing the work that really should have been done out of the Ministry. But for reasons which at some point may well become clear, the Minister, and not this cur-rent Minister, but the previous Minister, undertook a
course of action that clearly lacked careful, erudite
analysis and understanding of the issue.
The whole question of immigration, as we
know, is fraught with the legacy of the past and co ncerns about race, politics, and elections. That has been the history. Let us go back to 1834 when the first
set of controls was put in place, and you will see. We
have a long history. I am not going to provide that hi storical analysis here today. But if anyone is interested, I do have a YouTube video on the history of immigr ation policy. So, you can look it up, and you can critique
that.
But, Mr. Chairman, the Government last year
tabled a Bill that was the most expansive and aggressive piece of legislation regarding immigration that this
country has ever seen— ever. It proposed to grant st atus to everyone who had been here for 20 years. It
proposed to grant PRC to everyone who had been
here for 15 years, with virtually no consultation whatsoever. This proposed legislation produced a visceral response. It produced a massive protest to this Go vernment. And it eventually led to the Government’s stepping back. I might add, Mr. Chairman, that this
piece of legislation was proposed despite two and a
half, three years of repeated efforts on this side of the House for the Government to engage in a genuine collaborative process to effect immigration reform, precisely because we know that immigration matters
are fraught with controversy, fraught with emotion and
have, of course, political components attached to them. But that was ignored.

We are referring to I mmigration
policy. If you read the mandate of the Department of
Immigration, it has a clear set of policy directives. And as the Minister spoke to the Comprehensive Immigr ation Reform Working Group, without comment from
the Chair, I too am referring to the origins of this group
and its mandate.
So, this group was the creation of a way forward, to resolve the impasse that took place on these grounds a year ago. And as the Minister said, it initial-ly comprised 10 members. It now comprises nine. And I am a member of that group. We met every week,
three times a week initially. We now meet twice a
week. There are members in the community who are impatient for change, and they want to know why we are taking so long. Well, part of the reason is that when the Government proposed legislation regarding mixed-status families, there was no definition of what
a mixed- status family is. How do you pass laws invol ving a mixed- status family when there is no definition?
So we had to come up with an understanding of what it meant, because how else can you formulate laws if
you do not unders tand? The early legislation did not
effect that understand ing.
Anyway, so the group is meeting a nd we will
come up with proposed legislation in due course. That is our mandate. But alongside that, the Labour Adv isory Council [LAC] committee was meant to deal with a set of issues that run in tandem with the issues raised and looked at by the working group. Unfort unately, that LAC has not been meeting with anywhere near the regularity of the working group, and so they are very far behind.
The Minister did speak to the LAC, but the
Minister would know that they have produced nothing
since March of last year. They have produced abs olutely nothing. And the letter which authorised the cr eation of the working group and the LAC focus meant
that those matters were to be addressed in tandem. They have not been addressed in tandem. And so, we
run the risk of the entire process being challenged or
compromised because of lack of progress in the —
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Point of clarif ication, if I may.

Honourable Member, take your seat.
Go ahead, Minister.

POINT OF CLARIFICATION
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes. I think that
the Honourable Member is perhaps mixing apples
with oranges in this instance, because the mandate
that was given to the Labour Advisory Council was not that they would be having weekly meetings. They had three distinctive areas of concern that they were meant to address. And they have been addressing
those concerns. It is not going to be done with the
regularity of the public meetings of the Immigration Reform Working Group, to get that kind of feedback. But I did highlight in my brief . . . and I would be happy to go over it again at some point. But I just did not want us to conflate two things that are not actually in
tandem going down the same path.

Thank you, Minister.
Honourable Member.



Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Walton Brown: Well, I thank the Minister for that
comment. But I think we are saying the same thing.
The only issue that the Minister was focused on was the frequency of meetings. They do not meet as fr equently as the working group meets. But they were authorised by the same letter to undertake their r esponsibilities. They were authorised by that letter to
undertake those responsibilities simultaneously. The
issue of frequency is a separate matter. So, they do not meet as frequently as we do. We are just much more dedicated a people. They do not meet as fr equently, but —

Okay. Maybe it is not fair to them
[but do not take it very seriously then. Okay, fine.
But I could tell you one thing, Mr. Chairman.
They have not produced anything in a year. That is a fact. So, let us assume they take it seriously. Let us
assume that they are keen to have their matters ad-dressed. The question becomes, Why after one year have they produced nothing? So that is a question to be answered.
Mr. Chairman, I want to talk a little bit about
the responsibility in the Immigration Department to vigorously investigate immigration infractions. That is in the mandate of the department. But I had to smile when I read that, because I do not know if that is just a legacy of the past, and it has always been there and it has just been put in again. And this is not to denigrate anyone in the Ministry, but that clearly is not the
work effort of the Ministry, because the work effort of the Ministry, and they do it very seriously, is to investigate infractions once they have been reported to
them. That is what they do. They do that very efficient-ly. I have no question about that whatsoever.
I have for example someone who was working
here on a construction site illegally. I checked my
source. I got it double- verified. I contacted the Mini stry, and the Ministry acted immediately. The young
man was sent off -Island. So, I have no doubt, once
they get information, they act vigorously on it. The problem is twofold. One, the employer seems to get a light touch. The employee is almost invariably som eone who comes from a poor country, who has been lured here by the allure of making big bucks, a few hundred bucks —big by their standards, a few hundred
bucks, a thousand bucks —because they know very
little about how things operate. And they have an un-scrupulous employer, who comes in, gets them to work. They get caught out, and they are the ones who get sent back. The employer gets a little touch on the wrist. What I want to see is much more robust penalties for the employers, because nobody can come here to work for somebody else on their own. It is the employer who does it. And we put so much focus on the employee, who is, oftentimes, really a victim, real-ly a victim. Because in many countries, if you can send back $200 a month for your family, you are
send ing back a lot of money. So, we need to be more
empathetic about these kinds of circumstances. Yes,
they should not be working illegally. But the primary
culprit is not the offending worker/employee. Half the time, their English- language skills may not even be
sufficient to understand exactly what they are doing,
because they are just told everything is fine, they are
going to work. So, let us focus much more so on the employer.
You want to talk about revenue source? That
is where you can get some money. The fines now are at such a low level that the unscrupulous employer
can just write that off as the cost of doing business. Because he —you know, almost every case is a he —
he has exploited so many workers over the months or
years that a $5,000 or $10,000 fine is nothing com-pared to what he has gotten out of those employees.
So, you are going to get a new system for bringing in
the people, for monitoring those who come in; you should be able to have that system coded to know, to identify patterns. Because I know what happens, and it is a public secret, immigration, Members. It is a pub-lic secret that people come in to work for construction
companies and landscaping companies. They come
for three months at a time. They work illegally. They go back home, and then they come back. It is just ac-cepted. Everyone knows. People in the business know about it.
You should be able to identify, with a properly
designed immi gration system, who is coming here for
three months, leaving for a week or two or a month, and coming back. Then when you are assessed by
profession, you say, Hmmm. So you are a labourer
coming to Bermuda for three months on vacation?
And you are doing it twice in a year? That should raise
an alarm bell. Because most labourers I know cannot
go on vacation for three months ever, not to mention twice a year. So that should be a way of identifying—
[Inaudible interjection]

Right. I have not even had a
three- week vacation in 20 years. So, when you come
here for three months and you are a labourer, that
should be an alarm bell. Okay? But let us go after the employers.
So, what I wil l say is that you cannot have as
part of your mandate, that you aggressively pursue
1456 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly infractions, if you have a passive disposition. If you
are waiting on people to come to you with information,
you are never going to get at the magnitude of the problem. So, we need to have a proactive approach to it. You will get more money. You will identify more employers. You cannot wait for people to come to you. You cannot. And I understand the challenges in
government. But if you can send health inspectors
around to look to see who has a pot full of water and whether that is going to create mosquitos and di sease, you can send someone around to different work
sites. We will just do a little spot check. We are going
to just see what is going on. And what do you do? You
are protecting employees, Bermudian and those on
permits. Because every time an unscrupulous em-ployer is able to get away with hiring five, ten or more employees without work permits, that is a job denied to a Bermudian. That is tax revenue not coming into Government, because they are not paying payroll tax.
They are not paying any taxes.
So, it is incumbent upon Government, r esponsible Government, to address these issues as a
matter of urgency. Otherwise, we are just talking. We are just giving out platitudes about how we care about
these issues and how we want them addressed.
These positions need to be reflected in concrete ac-tions. You cannot say you believe in something if you do not act on it. You need to act on it in ways that are meaningful. And I recommend an increase in penal-ties for those unscrupulous employers.
I would also venture to say that those employers who are serial or who have committed serious infractions should be put on a work permit stop list for a period of time. If you believe that your modus op-erandi to be to flaunt immigration laws on a regular basis, then you should be denied some work permits
for a little while.
[Inaudible interjection]

Government contracts should be
a given, as well, exactly. Right.
There was a hotelier who used to routinely . . .
I do not know, it was some hotel down in the East
End. I cannot remember the name right now. He would bring in people to do renovations. And when he
was caught, Okay. I just paid a fine. But the hotel was
able to go ahead and bring in their staff as needed.
That is untenable! It shows disrespect for government. It denied government tax revenue. And we need to have a firm response to it.
Mr. Chairman, speaking about the issue of
workers, government revenue, because we are looking at the budget, we need to look at the plight of the marginalised worker. And you can find those who con-tribute to the abuse of such workers. We need to cr eate a code of conduct of how employers handle their employees, whether they are on work permits or not. You cannot allow for a situation where a company can hire someone, say to Immigration, We are providing
housing for that person, and then have that person
living in substandard housing. There has to be—there
has to be some involvement of Immigration when it comes to the issuance of these permits. And there has to be some financial penalty imposed where you allow a situation of substandard housing.
I remember one person I was speaking with
and working with. He is no longer here. He had been a waiter, lived in a house, a three- bedroom house. He
was one of four men living in one bedroom —four men
living in one bedroom. So, the other two rooms had four people in them, as well. So, you had 12 people
living in a house, in a three- bedroom house. Oka y?
He was paying $800 for that room —I am sorry, for
that bed in that room —which was automatically deducted from his pay.
So, the employer has a system that is set up,
which Immigration probably does not always fully grasp, because you are focused on one part of the puzzle. The employer says, We will provide housing. It
is substandard. The wooden floors are warped, and
the bathroom does not work properly, and everything looks pretty disgusting. The roof is black, and it is not
because they have black tile. And so, $800 comes out
of that person’s pay. They probably get $5.25 an hour, $5.75 an hour plus grats, when the grats are properly shared. And you have substandard conditions.
We need a code of conduct that imposes fines
on employers who provide such working conditions. I
know my colleague, the Honourable Rolfe Commi ssiong, has talked quite a bit about a living wage.
[Inaudible interjection]

Okay. He is being modest today;
so other people have talked. If I did not mention his
name he would have been upset. Now I am mention-ing it and he is saying other people. Yes. Rolfe Com-missiong initiated that campaign for a living wage. Let me give him full credit. He initiated that campaign tal king about a living wage. How do you have people workin g in the country a full day’s work, a full week’s
work, and not earn enough for a minimum standard of living in 21
st century Bermuda? We like to pride ourselves on how good we are in so many areas. Why cannot we look at this? The Ministry of Home Affairs
and the Department of Immigration already have in their work permit policy a minimum wage. But it is for one very limited category of employee. It is for the domestic, $10 an hour. It is not a living wage, but it is a minimum wage, $10 an hour.
What if we [were] to take that concept and
expand it more generally to look at issues of emplo yment in all areas? A proper minimum wage—and that is not a living wage —but a first step might be a minimum wage. You get to a living wage, a minimum wage, guess what will happen, Mr. Chairman? E mployers will no longer have that incentive to hire highly


Bermuda House of Assembly exploitable people from poor countries in the world.
They will not. Because they will have to pay them the
same wage they pay locals. And that is the reason why we have hotel s or restaurants, and they cannot
find Bermudians. Of course they can. They under-stand why they do it. We understand why they do it. Because it is cheaper for them to do it.
I have seen some restaurants that used to
have 80 per cent Bermudian workers. I have seen
some restaurants that have 95 per cent foreign wor kers. So, do not tell me you cannot find Bermudian workers. It is a question of what the financial structure is. That is the impact. And so, the Department of I mmigration, if it revises its policy, can have that addressed. I understand, based on our debate last week, Madam Minister, that we are going to count enance a revision regarding entertainers (which we will talk about in a second). But if we can countenance a revision with regard to the entert ainers to ensure they
are better respected and to give them better opport unities in the country, then we need to provide a base living wage or a base minimum wage for employees. It is not only the right and just thing to do, but it benefits the country, and it benefits the people.
So, as we have this $10 minimum wage for
the domestics, I would like to encourage the Depar tment of Immigration to look at a revision of that as it relates to, for example, landscapers and hospitality workers, because that would help to raise the overall standard. You cannot have a system in 21
st century
Bermuda that guarantees someone’s pay based on how busy that place is. Okay, so the restaurant was slow tonight, so you only made $100. Your rent has not gone down. Your grocery b ill is still the same. But
your pay has been reduced.
What kind of a society are we living in when
an employer can tell an employee, Business was slow
today, so your pay is less ? It does not happen in f inancial services. It does not happen here. When we have a slow day in Parliament, does our pay go down? And sometimes, we have slow days; som etimes we have excruciating days. But that is just be-cause of the nature of debate. But, Mr. Chairman, we cannot have these kinds of policies in 21
st century
Bermuda. W e rely, in hospitality, on tips, the service
charge to pay people properly. That cannot be an ac-ceptable standard today. It just cannot be. So, if you
want to have proper employment, real opportunities,
then we need to revisit it.
In some countries, you know, it is offensive to
give people a tip. Because the implication is that,
What? You do not think I am getting paid enough? In
some Asian cultures, some European countries, you do not get tips, you do not give tips. It is not the cultural practice, becaus e the employees are paid
properly. We have gone in this country to a system where wages have, over time, gone down in hospital ity with just over -reliance on gratuities. So the emplo yer escapes the responsibility. If the employer has hired you, the employer should be responsible for
your paycheque, not how busy the restaurant is or how busy the hotel is.
So, we need to get back to that point, back to
the 1960s before we had gratuities. Some of you are too young to remember back then. I only know be-cause I am a historian. But, Mr. Chairman, back in the
1960s, people were paid well in hospitality.

[Inaudible interjection]

I am showing my ag e, yes.
Benefits have gone down. But at what price?
And then you hear the lament that nobody wants to
work in hospitality. My father was a proud bartender.
He made good money, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, right up
until he passed in the early 2000s. He worked at a
number of hotel properties. But in 1972 my father was
a bartender, and my mother, who was a waitress,
were able to buy a house out in the Honourable Mini ster Jeanne Atherden’s constituency. In 1972. You tell me, what bartender and waitress today can afford to buy a house in Bermuda? For me, that is a sign of our lack of progress. Because our progress, in my mind, is not . . . I know I digress, Mr. Chairman. But our pr ogress is not about how many international companies
we have and how much intellectual capital we have,
which they always like to tell us about. But it is how well the people in the country are living.
And our immigration laws and our labour laws
have to be such that they give people a basic and a minimum standard of living in this country. And if you
do not see that as a priority, you do not deserve to
govern. If you do not see people as the priority of a government, as opposed to some artificial notion about debt -to-GDP ratio, if you do not see the ultimate
beneficiaries of policy as being people, then you do
1458 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly not deserve to govern. You do not deserve to have a
mandate.
So, I will encourage the Ministry to re- examine
the issue of minimum wage. It is a deterrent. It is what
explains why so many people have gone overseas to live. Who in their right mind . . . think about it, Mr.
Chairman. You have spent time in England, I take it.

[Inaudible interjection]

Netherlands. Good for you.
Who in their right mind is going to want to
leave Bermuda, Horseshoe Beach, and go and live in Birmingham? And then go and try to finagle with the
system to extract benefits? So you can get £ 50 for
groceries and your rent paid, living in dire, drab, cold, damp, lack -of-sun conditions? Who really wants to do
that? Nobody wants to do that. They have done so out of economic necessity —economic necessity.
What I want for a government to do, a government that cares, is to ensure that pay scales in this country are such that people can live and pay their bills, and have a little bit extra to take home, and like
my father and my mother, buy a house, send your
children to school, pay for your groceries, not relying
on social assistance. You do not want to have a coun-try in which 1,000, 2,000, 3,000 people are relying on the government for $100 a week or $300 a week. That is not sustainable. It is demoralising, and it is just not right.
So, the Department of Immigration can play a
powerful role in helping to take us along that path t oward greater opportunities for people. Re- examine the
application of minimum wage. Go from the domestics at $10 and see what other categories it can be applied to. My recommendation is to apply it to hospitality in
the first instance. How do we expect someone to
stand outside of a door and smile at people coming into the hotel, and they are getting paid $5.25 an
hour? How do you expect people to do that? Just be grateful you have a job? There is something to be said
about dignity in work. There is something to be said
about people being paid properly for their time and for their eff orts. We need to do that.
Mr. Chairman, I want to talk about maybe one
other issue before lunch, and then I will continue after lunch. And that relates to when the Minister spoke
about the Jamaican convicts who were sent on a pr ivate jet . . . they were deported. They were sent on a
private jet down to Jamaica. That was the way of get-ting rid of them because the US . . . I know, I know.

[Inaudible interjections]

Right, right. They were sent on
the Regiment’s jet down to Jamaica. Right. Right.
So, this is sort of tangentially related, but it is
an important issue for the country because it has f inancial repercussions for us and it falls under the Government. And that involves four stranded individu-als in Bermuda. In 2009 there was a very bold and
humanitarian gesture undertaken by former Premier,
Dr. Brown, in bringing [to Bermuda] four men, who were illegally detained for eight years in Guantanamo Bay, never charged with anything, and yet eventually fully exonerated of any even potential crime.
When the Premier undertook that decision,
despite any comment (irrelevant to me what the Bri tish had to say), that was a bold humanitarian gesture. And it set the precedent, because Bermuda was the first country in the world to take people from Gua ntanamo to assist President Obama to close down
Guantanamo Bay —a bold humanitarian gesture.
Some people here are very upset. The British act like
they are upset. So be it.
But the challenge now is that they are here,
and the British Government, in its ty pical petulant di sposition, is not providing any means for them to get
travel documents. I said to the previous Premier, There is a solution, you know. And the Minister ident ified what that solution is. Put them on a private jet to a
country that will accept them. Do not worry about the British. The British have no decision. Despite what
they say, they have no responsibility. They have no
control over whom we allow into our country. And the very fact that we would entertain any discussions with the UK about who we can allow into our country
shows our own weakness. We do not need to talk to Britain about whom we allow into our own country.
Our Constitution says we have control over immigr ation, not the UK.
And it was the UK who said the line between
domesti c and international matters has become
blurred in the 21
st century era. They said it. So, it has
blurred.
So, let us show some leadership. There are a
number of countries that would happily take in the U ighurs. So, Minister, let us be bold. Do not worry about
the British. They have no constitutional responsibil ities. Do not worry about the Governor. We can act on
that. We undertook a bold humanitarian gesture. Now
the British are being a pain because they will not give travel documents. That is their issue. It should not b ecome our issue. We can resolve it in the same way that you were able to resolve that matter by sending the Jamaicans to Jamaica on that jet, because the
British, the Americans, and the Canadians would not
allow them to transit. So, we can do things on our own
in that regard. That is my comment on the Uighurs.
I now want to go and talk about passports, Mr.
Chairman, but I am happy to be guided by your direc-tion.

Yes. I would ask the Premier to . . .
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I move that we adjourn for lunch.



Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Okay. The House will adjourn for
lunch and will resume, at 2:00 pm, with Heads 93, 27
and 29.

[Gavel]

Proceedings suspended at 12:32 pm

Proceedings resumed at 2:02 pm

[Hon. Den nis P. Lister , Chairman]

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPEND ITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2017/18

MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

[Continuation thereof]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am
grateful for your permission to proceed.
I have touched on many of the key areas I
wished to speak on, Mr. Chairman. And there is just
one remaining topic that I would like to raise for the
Minister’s comment and response to it. And that, of
course, relates to the question of the Bermuda pas sport. It has become a matter of controversy because of the decision, shall I say the irresponsible decision,
taken by the UK Government to have the passports recoded to indicate that they are full -fledged UK pas sports as opposed to Bermuda- issued UK passports,
which have a significant difference in interpretation
when immigration agencies around the world and air-lines around the world scan them in to assess what kind of access these passport holders have to their
particular country.
I might say, Mr. Chairman, that the decision
by the UK Government to undertake this is part of a
long-term strategy of the UK to eliminate the Bermuda
passports altogether. And I say that because of the developments that I have witnessed over the past 15
years with regard to the UK and their actions.
And with your permission, Mr. Chairman, I
would just like to provide a bit of context for understanding this, because the loss of the issuance of these passports will take away from our revenue
stream, so there is the financial matter, obviously, during the Budget Debate. But more fundamentally, it will provide a long- term challenge for Bermuda in a mult itude of areas. Let me just say, Mr. Chairman, that the UK Gove rnment, they adopt a long- term strategy
when they undertake directions. So, this decision was not something that came about at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office [FCO] in the last few years; this was long in coming.
And just by way of contrast so that pe ople can
follow the logic and that this is not something that I am just making up, you would know that in 1980 the Unit-ed Kingdom Government made a request of the Chi-nese Government. They wanted to extend the 99- year
lease over Hong Kong by another 99 year s. China
refused because Britain had effectively forced that 99-year lease on China as a result of their victory in one of many, many wars. So China refused. And in r esponse, the United Kingdom Government promulgat-ed the British Nationality Act [1981]. That had a big impact on us. Because the British Nationality Act, for
the first time, created three different tiers of British
citizenship. Up until that point, we were all British cit izens. We all in law had the right to live and work in the UK because we were all British subjects.
In 1983, the British Government changed the
law and created three types of citizens —the full British
citizen, who had the right to live and work in the UK and do whatever else UK citizens do; the British overseas citizen, those persons who were the leftovers,
shall we say, of the British Colonial Empire in India,
Uganda, Kenya, who were British citizens —who were
British nationals by family, but not otherwise. So, they were made British overseas citizens; and then the British dependent territory citizens, us in the Colonies. And that is how the nomenclature was created. So we, the British dependent territory citizens, do not have the right of abode in the UK. That was taken
away.
The reason that was done, Mr. Chairman, was
to prevent the seven million Hong Kong Chinese from
claiming British citizenship in 1997. So, they passed laws in 1982 to address what they saw as a challenge
in 1997. So, they planned for the long term. That is
why I made that point.
Of course, once the issue of the Hong Kong
Chinese was resolved in 1997 and there were no court cases of people claiming their ancestral rights to the UK and so on, the British could, in 2002, pass a
new law called the British Overseas Territories Act,
which gave all remaining overseas territories once again full British citizenship. For those who do not
know the context, they all celebrated. Oh, the British
are so nice and so kind; they gave us all British cit izenship! Well, we had it [before] up until 1982. They
gave it back in 2002 because the Hong Kong threat was no longer present.
So likewise, with this particular passport matter, the British Government has an agenda. And the agenda is to have . . . part of the agenda is to co nvince the world, and in particular the United Nations
1460 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Decolonisation Committee, that the overseas territ ories citizens have made a decision. They no longer
seek independence or self -governance. They are fine
with their present colonial and constitutional status. I have been involved with that committee since 1990. And I know intimately how the UK has presented themselves and their arguments. Sorry, I was involved
in 1990 to 2005; I am no longer actively involved (sorry). I was involved for 15 years.
And so that is part of this strategy. They r esent having another body like the United Nations hav-ing oversight. And so, since 1990, they have tried to convince the UN Decolonisation Committee, either
directly or through their surrogates —because som etimes they get other countries to come and lobby on
their behalf —to de-list. They want the remaining overseas territories to be de- listed from the UN list of the
overseas or British non- self-governing territories. And
the more they can show a seamlessness between the
UK and these overseas territories, the stronger and
more compelling they believe the argument will be for
the eventual de- listing. So, they promulgated misi nformation by saying the overseas territories do not want it. And now they are trying to have the seamlessness with regard to passports.
The UK stated pub licly that they will be mo ving toward adopting, or taking responsibility for, the
issuance of all of the overseas territories’ passports primarily for reasons to do with security. That was the argument advanced.
Is “hogwash” an appropriate parliamentary
term, Mr. Chairman?

[Inaudible interjection]

Thank you. It is hogwash! That is
more polite than other words I might . . . okay. So we
will say “ hogwash. ”
The British know very well that there has not
been a single overseas territory passport that went
missing through some lack of intervention or lack of
control by an overseas territory’s government. They
know full well that has not been the case. But they do know that a few years ago an entire truckload of Brit-ish passports went missing in the UK. So, the UK has mislaid or has had UK passports stolen. Not a single overseas territory has been responsible for such. So,
it cannot be the security argument. They also argue that, Well, these new passports are biometric. They
will contain biometrics, and therefore they have to be
done in a central location. Hogwash again, Mr. Chai rman!

[Inaudible interjection]

Well, it is a better choice in terms
of parliamentary language than some other words.
But I did not know until the Minister said earl ier today that the actual issuance of passports is farmed out to a private agency. I am happy to be corrected on that, but I believe in your brief you mentioned a third party that the UK have actually contrac ted with to issue these passports. But I did not know that. So, I am happy to be elucidated on that matter and to get clarification. Because that just weakens even further this whole argument about security, if you
are giving it to a third party to implement.
So, we will lose funds over this. I am hoping
that the overseas territories, at least on this issue, can
demonstrate a greater degree of collective activity and challenge the UK on this matter, because it does not bode well for the future. It does not bode well for the
future in terms of the issuance of emergency pas sports, because there is a stock of emergency pas sports now. But once they get used up, that is it. And
emergencies are, by definition, unpredictable. We will lose that capacity. It can take four to six weeks to get a passport from the UK. You used to be able to get it
in a day or two if it was an emergency, here in Bermuda.
So, for those reasons alone, we should want
to get that right back. We should want to get that right back because of the revenue stream, because it is
control, and because of what it means for the long
term. I have said on many occasions, and I will co ntinue to say it, and I do not care who gets frustrated by
it—the fact of the matter is that the United Kingdom
Government, since the issuance of its first White P aper on its colonies in 1999, has progressively been
devolving power back to the UK. And we sit by and we
allow it to happen. We sit by and we allow it to ha ppen! And it is a weak government that allows that to happen, to allow the UK to gradually erode the power that we have to exert under our Constitution.
Just as a refresher, it was the UK Government
in . . . (what was it?) 2004 or 2005 that misinformed
the European Union Visa Section that overseas terr itory citizens did not have the right of abode in the UK—misinformed! I have seen the e- mails from the
Home Office to the Visa Section in the European U nion, telling these European bureaucrats that overseas territories citizens did not have the right of abode in the UK. Hogwash! Completely and utterly untrue, b ecause the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 gave all of us citizenship once again. But it was on the ba-sis of that misinformation sent by the United Kingdom
Government to the European Union that Bermuda and
other overseas territories, with the exception of the
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), and Gibraltar, were put on a visa control list for the Schengen Area and the European Union.
On that basis alone; misinformation. What
does it say, Mr. Chairman? It tells you that the United Kingdom Government does not have the interest of its
colonies at heart, and they never have. And so it is incumbent upon us to exert greater control to get it done. I remember going to the FCO and the Home Office in (I don’t know, it must have been) 2009 to say


Bermuda House of Assembly to them, We have the automatic right of abode in the
UK because you passed the law. And therefore, we
are entitled to have a stamp in our passport that says, “Right of Abode in the UK .” They all agreed. I said,
Well, give us the stamp. They would not. They made it
very difficult for us to get that stamp in our passports.
And so for a number of years more, we had to wait for
the European Union to change its policy to allow us
visa-free access to the European Union.
And do you know how that happened, Mr.
Chairm an? It only happened because of particular
circumstances. Because the FCO and the Home O ffice refused to assist us in going to the European U nion. They refused to assist, to my face—We’re not going to help you. The next day I was with Dr. Brewer,
Martin Brewer, we went. I was at the European Union
the next day . . . sorry. We went to the European U nion, but we were met by the UK Ambassador to the
European Union. I said, Are you going to help us to
get over this visa issue with the Schengen Area? He
says, Didn’t you meet with the Home Office yesterday
in London? What did they tell you? So, he refused to
help. So, we had to do it ourselves. It was only
through my good friend, who at the time was the Ic elandic Ambassador to the European Union, Thorir I bsen, my old university and fellow colleague. He assisted us. He assisted Bermuda to get access to the European Union Visa Section. And only through his efforts and his opening of doors were we able to per-suade the European Union to put us on a visa exem ption list. It took years! Because the European Union
moves very slowly.
You think this Government is slow? Try the
European Union. Well, we may not be in the Europe-an Union, much sooner, Mr. Chairman. Well, we will be, we will be. So that is an issue. We need to get
back control over our passports for the revenue
stream, for what it means for the country. I encourage the Minister, I encourage the Premier, to address this matter with a level of urgency. And just writing a letter to a bureaucrat or to a minister is not sufficient. Face
to face, you have got to sit there face to face and argue. Do not be intimidated by the British. Well, no, I do not think anybody intimidates this Minister, I would have to say. I do not think you get easily intimidated. No. Then go to London. Go and meet with the FCO. Lay down the Bermuda position. And talk to the other
overseas territories: Do not let them get away with
such stupidity. Okay? Do not be afraid of the UK .
The final matter that I have to speak to, it was
not contained in the Minister’s brief, but it relates fundamentally to matters involving Bermudians and ac-cess and so forth. And that involves the relationship
with the UK post Brexit. The Premier has been good
to outline some of the procedural activities that have transpire d between Bermuda and overseas territories
and UK. There are some important immigration and emigration matters that require assessment. I know the Ministry of Home Affairs is called the Ministry of Home Affairs. But it also has, to some extent, looked
at issues of emigration. And there are a lot of Berm udians who have emigrated to the UK for any number
of reasons. Those kinds of issues will need to be looked at. But a more fundamental issue, Mr. Chai rman, relates to the structural relationship that we will have with the European Union post Brexit and the
need to ascertain what our interests are above and
beyond what the UK interests might be.
We have had, and we have heard a great deal
of commentary from the business community about what Brexit means and the indications. And the bus iness community, they seem to be okay. But the bus iness community does not care about the political side. They do not care about the social side. So, let us not be placated by expressions of lack of concern from the business community; Government needs to lead based on the interests of the people. So, what are the implications? To what extent will the treaty obligations
that we have entered into be voided, and what will be
carried over? What will be the status of those Berm udians who are currently living in the European Union, in the Schengen Area of the European Union today?
We have different views coming out of the UK
about the extent to which the UK is going to press for full rights to be granted to those British citizens who are living in the European Union. But we do not know.
Britain thinks they have all this leverage in the world. But what leverage do they have? We do not know. And just because you assert that you have leverage
does not mean that you do.
So, Mr. Chairman, this is a matter of urgency.
Because we just found out today that the Prime Mini ster May is going to trigger Article 50 of the European
Union conventions, so that the formal negotiations and discussions can commence next week. Well, we
need to be sitting around that table! If not Bermuda
individually, certainly the overseas territories. We
cannot sit back and allow for the British Government to best represent our interests. History is full of exam-ples where the British Government does not represent
our interests, does not care for our interests. And for
all of the Anglophiles out there, get upset if you want. The history is exactly what it is. Right?
Remember, Bermudians fought in World War I
and World War II. Bermudians died on the battlefield to help Europe become free and democratic again.
And they came back to a country that was neither free
nor democratic, and Britain did nothing to help. Okay? Britain did nothing to help us end racial segregation, a vile force that permeated this country. Britain did not hing. Britain did nothing to make us become a dem ocratic country. Yet they extol themselves as the epi tome of democracy. So, do not wait for the British to address your interests. We need to do that ourselves. We need to do that ourselves.
So, Mr. Chairman, that comprises the extent
of my remarks today on these important matters. The Ministry is an important Ministry. It is small in size, but
1462 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly powerful in stature. It does provide a message about
how people . . . it does provide a very powerful message about how a government intends to treat people,
how we treat those people who come to work here,
how we treat those who do live and work here, how we handle matters like the fundamental relevance of people, like your status in the country —whether you
are a Bermudian, whether you a Bermudian by birth or by grant, whether you are . . . there is no such thing
as an accidental Bermudian. Let us just get that straight, whether Bermudian by birth or by grant, whether you are a PRC holder or whether you are someone who has been born here and who has no
legal status in Bermuda in terms of connectivity to the
Island.
So, Immigration and Home Affairs are fundamentally important. I am happy to be able to liaise with the Minister, who is open to dialogue. We do not have to agree on everything; that is the nature of our sy stem. But at the very least we can have an open, hon-est dialogue about the issues and work to see what issues can be resolved when the opportunities are appropriate.
So with that, Mr. Chairman, I will take my
seat. And hopefully, we will have a continued and r obust debate.

It is all right. It happens.
Mr. Chairman, I too want to just turn some
attention to the lead Head, if you will, of the Ministry of
Home Affairs. And within that, of course, we know that
the Minister did speak to the formation of two sub-committees, one of which is headed by the President of the BPSU, Mr. Jason Hayward. He was charged with, amongst other things, jumpstarting the Labour
Advisory Council’s deliberations on the issue of a li ving wage, going back roughly a year ago. I share, of
course . . . and I appreciate the comments by the
Shadow Minister with respect to my advocacy on the issue of a living wage for a Bermudian, although I will reiterate that there are many others over the last few
years who have been then co- advocators to ensure
that this conversation lives and that the country begins
to move in the direction that it offers more protection, or protections for Bermudian workers.
Certainly, he made reference or reference
was made to the fact that, at least for domestics, there is a minimum wage, and those are live- in domestics.
And that is $10 an hour. Certainly, we know that $10 an hour is not a living wage in Bermuda. Certainly,
one could say that, on paper, it is perhaps a poverty -
level wage. But certainly, echoing his comments, it creates, to me, a pathway by, or a signpost by which we can build upon the early or earlier efforts that saw
the establishment, at least for that relatively small occupational category, some degree of protection from
the type of abuses that were going on in that sector, particularly for live- in maids and the like.
We know that there are employers in Berm uda now who are paying . . . at least there are one or
two who are paying no more than five or six dollars per hour. Is that not a poverty -level wage? Other employers are a little better. In our hotels, you are getting a basic wage for some tasks or some jobs within the
hotel, no better than nine- plus dollars per hour. And
then, of course, they will talk about the fact that, well,
[those jobs] are also in these categories earning gr atuities, if they get them, as my colleague from constituency 17 interpolates. But certainly, even those who
are getting gratuities, we have to acknowledge that
that gravy train is perhaps six, seven months, eight
months a year if you are lucky. What about the other
four, five, or six months when the gratuities are mini-mal? Are they earning a living wage? Or are they earning a poverty -level wage for most of those who
are toiling honestly for an honest day’s pay, which they are struggling to attain?
So, getting back to the subcommittee, I have
some questions. I will start posing questions now, as I
move forward. With respect to that issue that was raised by the Honourable Minister, I just want to ask the following questions, and she can answer after I . . . and then I will move on to maybe Head 29 after I
finish up here. When was the subcommit tee, which
she referenced, convened? Number two, how many times has the aforementioned subcommittee met? Number three, can the Minister provide a status report as of March 2017 on the work done to date by the
subcommittee, that she says was headed by Mr. J ason Hayward?
With respect to the issue between a minimum
and a living wage, and I declare my interests, I guess.
As the Chairman of the Joint Select Committee that was empowered by this House to deal with the same
issue, I think what we are talking about is something
that goes just beyond the wage. You can have in my
estimation a living wage regime that covers more than just, hopefully, a living wage, but things like, for ex-ample, the abuse that is taking place with respect to overtime pay in certain sectors of our economy.
You will know, as the Minister and others will,
that you had the Chief Justice Ian Kawaley over a
year ago affirm the findings of a labour tribunal, em-ployment tribunal, in relation to the matter of Mr. Pernell Grant , who talked about the fact that Bermudians
within the company that he worked for in the construcBermuda House of Assembly tion industry were being excluded and, at best, marginalised, not being able to achieve progress, prom otion within the company, and, in fact, found themselves unable to move in such a way concomitant with
their skill levels. He also said with respect to this par-ticular company that they were somewhat averse to
giving black Bermudian employees, especially —and
he used the descriptive term “black ”—their just due, if
you will, within t hat company.
For many within the industry, we know that
those revelations were not too revelatory at the time, because we know that these sorts of abuses, partic ularly within the construction industry —but not excl usive to that industry —have been going on for some
time. Now, what was interesting about the finding was that the Chief Justice —and you got a sense that he
would have if he could have— had to reject the claim
that Mr. Pernell Grant was entitled to overtime pay, simply because the Employment Act 2000 provides a
get-out-of-jail card, if you will, for, I would say, unscr upulous employers to get around the provision to pay overtime pay for workers who rightly deserve it.
Certainly, if you get those companies and/or
firms . . . because it is construction, this provides another incentive to hire a preponderance of foreign l abour, who have a majority of labourers . . . w hen I say
“labourers, ” I mean workers who are foreign who will
be less inclined, or averse, to challenging these types
of practices. Then the minority of Bermudians who are hired . . . a nd remember, the finding was that that particular company, Apex Construction, owned by a well -
known Bermudian, never really allowed these em-ployees, as I said, to get their just due. It had a pr eponderance of foreign workers in the company, and those workers would give assent, if you will, to a prac-tice that denied overtime pay in the company.
So, the minority of Bermudians on the company’s roles had to go with what was the original con-sensus. And I may not be phrasing or framing it to the degree that it deserves, but I think everybody gets the idea what I am talking about. And so, these are the
type of practices.
So, for me, a living wage is not just a wage
that sees a Bermudian mandated under law earning
$13, $14, $15 or more per hour. But practices such as
these enshrined in our legislation— which to be frank
took form under the previous PLP Government ––need
to be eliminated. And so, that is what I want to draw attention to as well.
And there are other aspects of the conditions
upon which, particularly in the non- unionised private
sector, workers are being made to toil under. And cer-tain institutional and structural advantages that are
accruing to employers to the disadvantage . . . and
which , in turn, disadvantage Bermudian employees.
For example, we know in the Budget Reply
not too long ago (it seems like it has been three years
ago, considering how long we have been here wres-tling with these issues), on page 15, if I may, Mr. Chairman, of the Vision 2025 document, The People’s
Budget put forward by the Opposition Leader, it says,
and I quote, “To create a fairer, more inclusive wor kforce, the PLP will do two things:
“1. Remove the structural imbalances that
make employing foreign labour more cost -effective
than employing Bermudians, by requiring employers
to provide occupational pensions for employees on
work permits, who are currently exempt from the r equirement;
“2. Complete a comprehensive examination of
the social insurance programme, including the impact of changing employer and employee contributions
from a fixed rate to a percentage of earnings, and the appropriate level for the cap on social insurance con-tributions. The objective of the review will be to i ncrease the take- home pay of low earners.”
So, like I said, if you want to create, let us
create a living wage regime, an umbrella under which
you have a decent hourly rate of pay that will allow
persons to live above the poverty level in Bermuda, because we know the consequences for that, and things lik e this, including, as I said, that a mendment to
the Employment Act. So , I have given the Minister
those questions. And I hope that we are able to get a response.
How much time do we have left?

Okay. So , I am going to go
to Head 29 now, because I think this is a very interes ting area. And I am not going to use up a lot more
time, but certainly the Minister can then come back, and then we, both the Shadow and I, can re- engage
again, I guess.
Intellectual property, coming out of Head 29,
which is dealing with the Department of the Registry General, which is a department of that Ministry. I just
want to say that . . . (Give me a second, sir.)

[Inaudible inter jection]

We on this side of the aisle
think that, particularly as it relates to intellectual property (again Head 29) , the Minister mentioned about
the fact that the Registry General has the ch ief pr edominant responsibility of managing intellectual property with respect to the government. The question I have is , How are we going to move that responsibility
in such a way that sees, through innovation, things
1464 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly like intellectual property being fashioned in such a
way, in the way we manage it and the way we innovate around it, that can accrue to Bermuda’s benefit not only locally, but globally? Let me just say this here, if I can just find this reference, and I want to get to this.

[Pause]

Let me pose a couple of
questions that I think will help us get past this impasse
that I am imposing right now or that I am reflecting. The first question I would have is , What plans are in
place to advance Bermuda’s interests in establishing the Island as a global centre for intellectual property? Okay? We want to look forward here. We think on this side that it has a lot of potentiality to lead to a little bit more diversification in our economy and certainly en-hance our presence globally and enhance us from a
strategic, competitive perspective. That is the first
question.
Secondly, is there a plan to establish or i mplement what is known as . . . a nd I am sure that the
head of the department would be aware of this, of
what I am going to say. I will start again. Is there any
plan to establish or implement a Mind Management
and Control policy , as recently advocated by the Pr ogressive Labour Party , when the intellectual property
regime begins to grow and mature, that would create
both jobs and revenue for the government? We believe that this is another opportunity and potentiality
from what is right now, we think, a nascent growth that
is occurring with respect to the intellectual property regime in Bermuda. Thirdly, does the Minister know of any plan to
create a digital intellectual property register, one that
could be digitally signed and administered and dom iciled again in Bermuda? Again, we think the potential ities here are significant and would enhance Berm uda’s global position and footprint. So those are the
questions with respect to the intellectual property. And
again, let me just find . . .
[Pause]

On page 11 again of the
same document, Mr. Chairman, we are talking about
Vision 202 5: The People’s Budget , and I am going to
sound a little redundant here because I have just
mentioned one or two of these innovative ideas we
think can accrue to Bermuda if adopted, if explored, and not just “ if,” for example, the PLP becomes Government, but we think these are things that need to
happen right now even with the present Government in charge.
So, for example, on page 11, and I quote, “In
2010,” of the PLP’s response to the Budget [Stat ement], “Bermuda First [the organisation] recommend-ed that Bermuda become a global centre for intellec-tual property. The PLP will set Bermuda on a path to
becoming a domicile for managing international tre aties in intellectual property and set the standards in
law for the proper financial management of intellectual properties.” So, is that happening? The PLP, secon dly, “would actively seek out stakeholder input to build a regulatory environment that sets the standards that
these critical communities need.” So, it is that consu ltation period. Is that happening? Thirdly, “the PLP’s
regulatory implementation and management of these programmes would take place in Bermuda with a well -
defined” —getting back to the “Mind Management and
Control policy where the intellectual property would
create both jobs and revenue for the Bermuda Go vernment,” as stated.
And I think this one is very important. “Furthermore,” as mentioned, “the PLP would create a
Digital Intellectual Property Register. This would r equire a copy of the register to be digitally signed and
the creation, or administration of the creation, to be
physically domiciled in Bermuda in order for it to be
considered Bermudian. The Bermuda Government would actively look to create and sign member states to this Digital Intellectual Property Register.” And so,
we want to look forward here. One of the key milestones which we were focusing on, again, is that 2025
period, which is not too far away. We hear “ 2025, ” and
we are thinking like maybe it is another 30– 40 years
from now. It is 2017. So, you know, we often hear about the lack of vision on the part of this Gover nment. They always use the excuse that, Well, you know, we are operating under massive austerity, as if
it is not the time to be forward -looking for Bermuda.
I think the time to be forward- looking for Be rmuda is when you are dealing with crises such as
both parties in Government, pre- 2012 and now , are
faced with. What are we going to posit as being our future? Now is the time to conceptualise it and begin to implement it. Certainly, we have tried to do that with
the response to the Budget, The People’s Budget in
2017 . . . I am going to be fair and objective here. I do
not think that we have seen the concomitant effort on the part of the current Government. Again, not looking at what you have before you right now, but what type of Bermuda are we going to see in five to seven years? And so I would appreciate —I will take a seat
now. And I would appreciate if the Minister and/or, by
way of her technical officers, can respond to some of
that to see if we are on the same page in terms of how we can gro w and innovate the current intellectual
property regime within the Registry General’s Office. Thank you.

Thank you.
Does any other Member wish to speak at this
point?
Minister, it looks like there are no other Members at this stage. Would you like to give a response?



Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I would like to
provide some responses to the questions that we
have had thus far. And I would like to go back to the Shadow Minister, initially, who had concerns with r espect to . . . l et me go back to the . . . j ust give me one
second. I want to make sure that I have his questions in some sort of reasonable chronological sequence.
Okay. I am just going to go by where I have highlighted.
He spoke to the issues with respect to the
possibility of further revenues being gained by the
wider use of the Registry General for conducting mar-riage ceremonies in a different kind of environment.
And I just wanted to point out that this has certainly
not been budgeted in our upcoming Budget in terms
of possibilities for additional revenues. But I would also say that you will realise that the legislation that had been proposed and tabled for consultation effec-tively was met with a very stony silence. And as a r esult of that, at the moment we can only wait to see
what happens with the court cases that are in train ,
because, invariably, judicial decisions help to drive
some of the things that we may be reluctant to do here as a body in Parliament, and we might find that
we are forced to do certain things. And if that is the
case, then we will have to deal with that as and when we arrive at that situation, bearing in mind, as I said, that that particular issue got no support certainly from anybody on the Opposition benches, and a significant number of those on the Government benches.

Minister, you can continue.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes.
If I can just remind the H onourable Member
that he indicated that he would not support the Civil
Union Bill because he believed in full same- sex ma rriage. So that was the position that was put at that particular point in time.
But I do not think that that —

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: That was the
comment that the Honourable Member made. But that
was certainly not at this point in time. It was certainly mentioned in the [Reply to the] Throne Speech of the Progressive Labour Party. And I do remember br inging up the issue that I would like to ensure that the comments that were made are actually backed up by
physical action, because we had not seen that last
year when that particular issue had been brought to the fore. And I said we had reluctance on this side; we
had reluctance on that side. We had a Bill that could not see the light of day.

[Inaudible interjections]

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I am just telling
you where the votes came from. Irrespective of
whether they were a party or not, they came from that side of the aisle. That was the Progressive Labour
Party. So, I just wanted to point that out.
When we spoke to the issue of price gouging,
the Honourable Member spoke to the concerns, and
in particular the banks and the levying of fees, whi ch
may seem to be predatory in some circumstances.
And I agree with the Honourable Member. It is important to note that the Consumer Affairs Bureau is actually looking at legislative changes so that we can start to bring some semblance of fairness into the
banking practices when it comes to the exorbitant bank charges that our people are facing. Clearly, F inancial Services is a very easy area for exploitation because, as a people, we are subjected to what they say they want to do. And I think historically, big organ-isations kind of do what they want to do. And as little guys, we almost have to go along because we do not have the financial clout.
We do have, fortunately, institutions such as
the Consumer Affairs Bureau, who can give protec-tions by making recommendations for legislation, and they are actually in the process of doing that. The Honourable Member spoke to that same concern with
respect to insurance companies and their premiums. I
do not believe that this is being looked at at the m oment by Consumer Affairs, but certainly I have taken note of the concerns that have been expressed in that regard. And these are things that we can obviously look forward to.
The Honourable Member also asked a question with respect to the Immigration Department and spoke to the requirement of the Immigration Reform Action Group to look at mixed- status families. But
there had been no definition relating to what a mixed-status family either looked like or could be defined as.
And I think that when the matter was put to that particular committee, I think the idea was that we were leaving them with, effectively, a blank sheet of paper, as opposed to hamstringing them with saying that,
You look at this particular area, we have left an open
sheet. And I did say in my brief that I am really appr e1466 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly ciative of the work that they have done on that committee, because I realise that there could be many
interpretations of what is appropriate with respect to mixed -status families. We can look at whether there is
a cut -off date, whether y ou say, Prior to this date, you
do not qualify. Or, After such -and-such a date, these
are the things that are in place. These are the kinds of things that the committee. . . and in their deliberations
I know they will come up with what is deemed to be an appropriate recommendation to come back and suggest legislative changes.
I will get a report for the Honourable Member
who just asked the question in terms of when the subcommittees on the Labour Advisory Council were
convened, how many meetings they have had and the status report. I will certainly get information coming back from my Permanent Secretary, who will give me some information. I have been made . . . sorry, this is
a different one. If you will give me a second, I will
have a chance to look at that so that I can make sure
that I respond appropriately.
We had questions concerning . . . oh, the
Honourable Member from constituency 17 asked the
question about whether there was, in fact, another
service, an outsourcing service for HMPO. And I think
what was mentioned in the brief, if I can just go back and refer very briefly to that. It was page 2 of my brief. And it spoke to . . .

[Pause]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon- Pamplin: It spoke to
WorldReach Corporation. And what that is,
WorldReach Corporation is a system vendor. They do not do passports. They are the vendors of the system that HMPO is using in order to be able to produce the
passports. We certainly are mindful of the concerns
that have been expressed, and I think that the history lesson that the Honourable Member was able to share with this Honourable House was one that, some of the details I was obviously aware of, but there were some
that I was not aware of, in terms of the minute- byminute attempt to be able to push some doors open in
order to make sure that Bermudians were not disad-vantaged.
Let me say that, with the system, the one
HMPO has taken over, there is effectively, through
their system vendor and through the software that is
used to do the printing, my understanding is that there is ef fectively a licence that is utilised. And hence,
through the utilisation of that licence, the GBD n omenclature, or initials, are put on the passport, indicat-ing that that is the printing country code. Obviously,
with BMU being listed as the country code, in addition
with that information being included on the biometric chip, Bermudians have been disadvantaged. There is no question. We are working on that situation assid uously. What we may be able to do, and I have not got-ten the finality of it, but we have certainly looked at the preliminary investigative steps, and that is to be able
to purchase our own licence so that they would be
required to use our licence, which in fact would say that we are the issuing country. That is the ultimate aim. I can understand that there is no great big coop-eration coming, because Bermudians, let us face it, in terms of certain accesses to certain other jurisdictions,
we have a beneficial advantage over that which o btains in the United Kingdom, as well as some of the
other overseas territories.
I take the Honourable Member’s point with r espect to whether it is appropriate for us to be able to have strength in numbers with the overseas territories
in order to be able to exert some influence on the
HMPO, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the like. Let me say that the reality is that Berm uda is even better advantaged than some of the other overseas territories. And I am not certain that we will get the degree of hand- holding (if I can put it that way)
to be able to get significant benefit for Bermuda. B ecause if they do not want us to have better a dvantages than they have, they are not necessarily g oing to hold hands for us to go, cap in hand, to the UK to say what it is that we want.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY CHAIRMAN

HOUSE VISITOR

We would like to welcome you here
for the afternoon session.
Minister, you can continue.
[Debate on Head 93, Ministry of Home Affairs, continuing]

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you.
I just wanted to point out that, you know, we
realise that this is a challenge that we are going to
have to address head- on. We have made the initial
steps by going to Government House to make sure that Government House is aware of where the chal-lenges are. We have had the correspondence with
Baroness Anelay, but it was not intended to rest there.
The intent of our administration, of our Government, is to make sure that we continue to push until we have a satisfactory resolution. It has been particularly vex atious over the course of the last couple of weeks and maybe month or two, in particular where we have had
our residents stranded in different locations. One sit uBermuda House of Assembly ation was, effectively, self -inflicted. However, anybody
being caught out at a border is one person too many.
It is not fair to us as Bermudians. And I do not want to see any of us being less advantaged than we were before HMPO took over the passport printing. So you can be assured that we are working assiduously to find an appropriate resolution to that challenge.
Let me go back to the question that was
asked by the Honourable Member with respect to the subcommittees. And I have been advised that the subcommittees convene in the second half of the year. They meet every two weeks, on Wednesdays. And a draft report is being reviewed, and they are
working towards having the report by the 31
st of
March. So, we will have some indication as to where they have stood and what they have done and what recommendations might be coming out.
With respect to the Shadow Minister . . . and I
apologise for jumping backwards and forwards. It is
just how these responses are coming out. The insurance rates to which the Honourable Member from constituency 17 spoke, that they are actually at the
moment as we speak under the purview of the Health
Council so that we can start to look at the health i nsurance rates and the impact thereof on our popul ation.
I think I spoke to the issue of passports.
Also, the Honourable Member from constit uency 17 had a concern with respect to the passport
stock. And yes, ultimately, if we continued to have
serious emergency -type situations, then we will eventually deplete our stock. However, one of the things
that we can say, though, is that an emergency pas sport can actually be processed within 24 hours or less. So that is a service that has been provided. We effec-tively are able to take over the printing from HMPO,
make sure that our input is vetted, the passport is
printed. And then they resume control of the actual printing functions. So, it is not ideal; I certainly do not want to suggest for a second that there is an easy resolution to this. But certainly, we are trying to work
on something that is far more appropriate and acceptable than that to which we are now being subjec ted.
There was a question with respect to why we
are allowing for voluntary copyright registration. And I think the response to that is that there are more and
more jurisdictions that are considering offering voluntary registration of copyright work. Like other intelle ctual property rights, the issuing of the certification of registration helps to establish who the original creator or author of these rights would be. Also, there was a comment that the department needs to educate the
general public a little bit more on the formalities of
copyright protection, and to say that members of the public are educated on the various formalities and processes for protection of IP rights via World IP Day, which is held on April 26
th. Now, that is only once a nnually. And I think the Honourable Member would probably offer that this is not quite sufficient, and I can
accept that. But in the past, we have had IP seminars
which have been conducted by the department to dis-cuss copyright works and protection, and perhaps we can look to stepping up that particular aspect to en-sure that there is a broader education process that is going on in that regard.
The plans with respect to establishing Berm uda as a Mind Management and Control Centre for an IP regime, I think the Honourable Member f rom co nstituency 21 would perhaps have listened with respect
to the brief, that we want to look at how we can digit-ise the department in order to create more efficiencies. I think that it was mentioned also by the Honourable Member from constituency 17 how inefficient it is
with respect to just the voluminous paperwork and the forests that we destroy on a daily basis in just trying to maintain the necessary files, and the support for, that comes out of the Immigration Department. And the
files are voluminous; there is no question. You know,
when you have somebody making an application and
then there is the necessity to say, We want to make
sure that we can see . . . as the board is able to opine
and to look at the information in front of them , they
want to be able to see, Is there a Bermudian? And if
there are 20 Bermudians, however skilled or even u nskilled they may be or appropriate for the job for which they are applying, that information all has to be r epeated and copied and put on the files. So, some of the files are quite voluminous.
And obviously, it is going to be far better and
far more efficient for the department to be able to have access to that type of information electronically so that you can do searches, and at the push of a but-ton you can be able to get effective information com-ing out of the system and ensure that there are eff iciencies that are being had. Similarly, as we speak to what we will plan to
do with respect to intellectual property, the Honour able Member spoke to many of the things that have been highlighted in the plan that they put forward by
his department. But you will also note that we are
looking at a review of some of the processes for digi-talisation of documents. And that is something that will be looked at in more detail in the 2017/18 period with a plan to budget it in the 2018/19 fiscal period.
We recognise, and I certainly accept, that the
time to look forward is perhaps when you can least afford to do so, because you have to look at how you can maximise the funds that you do have available
and to be able to expend them more efficiently, going forward. So certainly, I not only concur with that; it is certainly the attitude that I have adopted within the
department. And looking at, how can we minimise
backlogs? How can we efficiently use our people, to make sure that we keep on top of those things that come into the department in all of the sections?
And also, we would be looking to amend the
Patents and Designs Act with respect to industrial de1468 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly signs. So there are many things. There are many
irons in the fire where the heads of the departments
are being rather proactive in making recommenda-tions for the things that they see to be appropriate, in an attempt to not just update how we do things, but to make sure that the efficiencies are there.
I do not know if there were any other questions that I have not responded to.
Oh, there was a question with respect to the
cost of living and a living wage, and the like. As I indi-cated, the department or the committee, the subcom-mittee responsible for that will be coming back to us
by the 31
st of March with a report and with various
recommendations. And Honourable Members can be assured that, as that information is shared with us, we will be able to glean through it, we will be able to understand what is involved with it and make the deter-mination as to what recommendations will come out of it and how those recommendations can be implemented. We certainly take note of the comments with
respect to overtime pay abuses and the like, which the Honourable Member spoke to, [the matter of] Mr. Grant, which was a 2011 complaint for the Human Rights, which was opined on initially in 2012. And then
there was an appeal, which was heard in 2016.
Clearly, we want to ensure that there is fai rness and equity in the workplace. And situations such
as what obtained in that particular instance are entir ely untenable and unacceptable, and certainly unacceptable to us as a Government, and we certainly
want to ensure that these things are looked at and
that we are able to improve upon that situation.
It is also important to note that some of the
requirements that come in as an employment situa-tion, we have had people who have been brought to the Island, who have been very poorly treated, very
shabbily treated. And I think, just from a humane perspective, nobody wants to think that you have brought somebody from their country to come here—irrespective of how we might feel about having guest workers here, the fact is that most of them who come
[here come] legitimately through the front door on
work permits and the like—there is no way you should treat people on an inhumane basis.
We did also have the question with respect to
how we could treat the four visitors whom we had come to our shores in 2009, I think was the date, and
if we were able to have made the recommendations
for the deportees going down to the Caribbean on a private jet, whether we could not do something for those particular individuals. I think it is important to point out that those particular individuals to whom the Honourable Member spoke, or let’s say, the deportees
about whom I spoke in the brief were ones who had
passports to go to the countries that they were as-signed to. The individuals about which the Honourable Member spoke do not have passports. So that has complicated the matter. We can perhaps look for some way, because we have to make the assumption that, you know, there is a country that will take them.
That is going to take further investigation.
And the Honourable Member has indicated
that nobody has tried. And that I understand, and I
agree with that 100 per cent. The thing is that the one
country to which people can go without fear of being ostracised and rejected is the country from which one
has his origin. I think in this particular instance, that
would not obtain, because they left because there were certain serious challenges and personal dangers that they would face. So, while it might be considered
to be the ideal —you know, You came from there; you
can go back to there—we recognise that that is not
the way you treat human beings and that there may
be countries who are willing to accept these particular individuals on a different basis. That has not been ex-plored. I think that the idea was that we were actually waiting for the results of the UK deliberation.

Thank you.
Minister, would you like to respond?
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon- Pamplin: I would be happy
to respond. I cannot make that commitment at this
particular point in time. Certainly, if such a situation, such a scenario presents itself, it is something that
would, obviously, have to be discussed with the F inance Mini stry. You can be mindful of the fact that we
are particularly constrained with some of the regul ations and rules and processes that are employed by
the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada when it comes to transient people going through their
borders.
So, if we are going to be able to rent —you
know, identify a country, hire a private plane and be
able to put individuals on that private plane to take them from point A to point B without having to transit through some place that has already set up a barrier
to say that it cannot be done, that is something that
would have to be not just costed, but it would certainly have to be something that would be . . . you know,
there is a lot of diplomacy that would have to be i nvolved in ensuring that something like that could be done.


Bermuda House of Assembly I do not have any crystal ball in that regard. I
am certainly mindful, though, of the human requir ement for human dignity. And clearly, this has not been
what has happened. And I do not believe that that had been foreseen at the point that these gentlemen were brought to the Island in the first place. So, I think that it is certainly something that can be looked into. I have
certainly made a note of it for further discussion. And I
am sure that there are possibilities. There are other countries that have, in fact, taken people who were historically at GTMO [ Guant anamo Bay Naval St ation], and they have subsumed them into their various cultures. Whether they would be prepared to [take]
more I do not know. These are discussions that
would, obviously, have to be had. And I do not, at this point, have that kind of authority to spend the Finance Ministry’s money. But certainly, it is something that we can have the conversations concerning.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Prior to my going to discuss some points in
relation to the budget, which begins on page B -310 for
Head 93, Ministry of Home Affairs, I would just like to perhaps make a suggestion to the Minister that, in
light of the Minister’s response in relation to the U ighur residents of Bermuda, that perhaps the Minister . . . because I did know that in a previous administr ation there were efforts made to have some discus-sions with certain persons about an option of those
persons’ perhaps going to another country, another
jurisdic tion. And as the Minister has admitted, at this
point nothing has been done since.
I think it is very clear at this point that this is
an issue that the Bermuda Government is going to
have to figure out a solution for. Irrespective of some
of the, if I can call it, “histrionics” of the UK Gover nment in the beginning, they now have told us squarely this is a matter for us to sort out. And I am going to
say us; I mean the Bermuda Government. So perhaps
to begin the process —and there is no one who is
suggesti ng that the Government can actually solve
this quickly. It has been a number of years since this
happened. So, time is not something that . . . I [do not]
think anyone is insisting that the Government has to rush into finding a solution, Mr. Chairman.
But what I might suggest is that the whole
political situation with many countries has changed since this happened. And there are other countries that are more amenable to accepting (good word, “amenable”) persons who are in that situation. And
maybe where the Minister and the Government can start is identifying those countries where there are established Uighur communities. They can start there
because there are a number of countries where the
Uighurs are quite well established as an immigrant community. So that might be where it can be started, with those countries. I am not going to suggest which countries at this point. But I think that that is research that the Government can do.

[Inaudible interjection]

Well, outside of the United
States, which I think we are quite clear at this point
does not have a very flexible position when it comes to immigrants . . . but there are other countries that
are more flexible that have established Uighur communities. That would be one place for the Government to start and begin a process of discussion with those jurisdictions that might lead to a solution. I am not suggesting, as I said, that it is going to be quick. But
you start the process, and then you know what steps
perhaps you can begin to take. And maybe we will get
somewhere when it comes to that particular issue.
But as I now go back, Mr. Chairman, to the
Budget Book, page B- 310 . . . I am sorry, no. I will go
back even further, page B -308, and looking at the
Ministry of Home Affairs, and a few questions and
comments that I have in relation to Consumer Affairs under business unit, on page B -310, and which, as I
believe if I heard the Minister’s brief correctly, has a bsorbed what used to be the Rent Control Department
now, and they are all under one umbrella, under bus iness unit 103010. And it is now that they are just one
autonomous unit. And I do not know if I heard an ything in the Minister’s brief about any further ad-vancements in our consumer protection legislation, if that is on the table for the upcoming year. Because I
think that is perhaps where an activity that some work
needs to be done, as we have seen recently, at least more than usual, that I can actually recall a number of consumer recalls. I think we have heard more than, particula rly when it comes to food and some other
products, we have heard more of that of late.
And I think it is important that we do not just
rely on our neighbours to be the sort of shield for us when it comes to consumer protection. We need to have our own regime that provides that on- Island pr otection for consumers, those people who purchase
products on- Island, Mr. Chairman, so that when a
person goes to any retailer in the country, there is an
understanding that there are some minimal protec-tions provided und er our law and we are not just rel ying on what might possibly be an arrangement with a retailer to provide certain protections or support for the
products that are purchased.
And we, of course, must understand that, you
know, 100 per cent of what a Bermudian consumes or
the Bermudian resident consumes is purchased and
manufactured elsewhere. So, there is minimal control other than the support that is given on- Island, Mr.
1470 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Chairman, for consumers. But I think that it is i mportant that we look at our consumer protection legi slation to advance any further support for consumers
here. And we should look to jurisdictions that have a much more advanced framework than we do so that we can have some minimum here as to what should be the extent of certain warranties for certain pro ducts, how they should be handled in relation to if a consumer has a challenge with that product and how the actual retailers should actually conduct them-selves. I think we have to have some, maybe there needs to be some regulatory minimum, not just what a retailer decides is going to be how much support they
provide for a product that they sell.
And, of course, there is also the issue of
things like food, perishable items, that often we find
that something has happened in North America to r ecall an item. I do believe that that department does keep a pretty good monitor of that situation. But we
must ensure that our own jurisdiction has the appr opriate protection legally so that if we find ourselves
with products that have been recalled in other jurisdi ctions, that we have the ability, from this standpoint, even if it means that we have to support extending
any legal obligation that a consumer . . . what if a consumer in Bermuda is injured by a product that has
been recalled that was manufactured in China, but it was bought through a supplier in North America, and there is an injury related to that product here in Ber-muda? How does a local consumer ensure that their
legal rights are adequately supported?
I think we need to make sure that our la ws
have some minimal level of provision that can afford a
local consumer that sort of thing. Because, you know, years ago most of the stuff we bought was just from England and North America. That is who manufactured everything that we consume. We know now that,
Mr. Chairman, it is not the case. Most products are manufactured way, way, way somewhere else. And we need to ensure that local consumers have the support that they require. And, frankly, I think this pr ovides some level of protection for our retailers, as well. So those are things I think we should look at from the standpoint of that particular department. And I hope that the Minister perhaps can give some feedback on that, Mr. Chairman.
I would like to ask a few questions as they
relate to Head 27, Immigration, which starts on page
B-314. I note that this particular department, Mr.
Chairman, as it relates to expenditure, is $4.7 million this year, up $121,000, 3 per cent, on this year over
previous original estimation. And I think I am most interest ed, and I did hear the Minister’s answers as it
relates to modernisation, somewhere in the area of digitising of perhaps the records. And I declare my interest as somebody who once worked in that de-partment, Mr. Chairman, many years ago (in a time when I was less grey, perhaps I should say). But I do remember it having an extensive file system, and, ob-viously, mostly all paper files and so on. And I am assuming that the space for those files is under consi derable pressure, because I do not believe that the
Immigration Department, the space that it occupies, has gotten any bigger.
So, digitising of their records system, partic ularly of older existing files, may be something that the
Ministry can look at if it has not already done so. But I
know that that Ministry has gone through extensive efforts at modernisation of many of its resources and how it operates. So, I do not presume to believe that these things have not been thought of. But I venture to know more about, if the Minister has not already said
all th at she can say on it, on hearing, what do they
think might be the way forward? And I think that would
be certainly helpful to the management of space for their own efficiencies, because let us face it: There is a lot of attention and a lot of activity related to imm igration that goes on that impacts that department. It
impacts everybody, not just about work permits. They
have a lot of activities that relate to what I am thinking of, needs of the local resident Bermudian population with passports, with other things, including spousal
certificates and all types of other things that pertain to
good family life in the Island.
And I think if they can be more efficient with
what they are doing, with the personnel that they
have, that helps everyone. And I must give that de-partment credit. I think that they do pretty good on how they try and process customers. When people go
up there, the space and the comfort of the space in
their reception room has improved greatly over the years, so people do have a better experi ence up
there, overall. And I think sometimes, and I think as a community we must admit sometimes that we are our own worst enemy when it comes to customer service
in that we do not necessarily read everything that we
should. We do not actually pay attention as much as we should. So, we go to a government department sometimes, and we are more demanding on the r eception person than we should be. And they are just
trying to do their jobs.
And I believe, in my own interactions with the
persons who have been at the desk, and I was one of
those people at one point. Because as a young st udent, I was a front desk receptionist at one point up
there. So, I understand what is required. And so often,
you are dealing with people who are emotional and
nervous and impatient because of what they have to go through with the processes. And from what I have seen, most if not all the times I have been up there, their reception does a good job. And credit to the staff that is under Dr. Ming and herself with managing that
situati on, because it is not always smooth. Particularly
as we come now into the summer period, I can imagine, Mr. Chairman, there must be a lot of rush for peo-ple to get passports. And many people do not reme mber the changes that were made with the requirement for there to be four weeks. And their trip is in three


Bermuda House of Assembly weeks, and that cruise has been paid for. They are
wanting Immigration to get that passport, and guess
what? It ain’t happening (to be blunt).
And the Immigration officer, reception person,
has to manage that situation, and it is not always easy. So, I think that has got to be understood. We as a community must be better, as well, in the same way
we are requiring Government to operate better with
how we deal with things because there are often things that the Government cannot change. And as we know with the recent changes for the passport minimum of four weeks, that is something that was
forced on us. And that department has had to adapt to
that until . . . and as we have heard in the past couple
of weeks, Mr. Chairman, more challenges have been
actually brought upon them with the issue of some of our citizens and residents finding themselves stranded because of nothing that is the fault of the Bermuda Government or the Department of Immigration, but
actually the fault of the UK Government and how they
are handling things.
And as the Minister has articulated, this is not
a situation that we created. Many years ago, the Brit-ish made this directive of what they were going to do,
and I believe that the Bermuda Government, not only
this administration but even the previous one, has fought aggressively in the best way possible to try and avert the process that has been forced on us with hav-ing to rely on passports being issued in the UK for everybody.
And they have had to adjust. And I know from
a couple of applications that I have had to fill out and complete, the worst part of it is the actual application form, which is not produced by our Immigration D epartment, but it is a creature of the UK. Sometimes you do not always get it right. But once it is received
and submitted to the people at the front desk, and they make sure you know what you must do—and I am trying to give some credit here to the staff and what I see they have to go through with making sure that applicants submit the form correctly. And som etimes you might have to go back two or three times because you just have not done something right, probably because we have not read the form properly (although I think those forms have their own unique sort of stuff on them).
But once you get it in and once it is processed
properly, in more than one instance I have gotten my passport back in four weeks. So, credit to the staff at the Immigration Department, which has had to adjust to this actual new situation. I think they are doing the
best that they can. And I hope that things can be smoothed out as we go forward, as the Minister has
articulated.
One of the other issues I would like to address, as I see on page [B -316], is with Compliance.
And I see that the staff complement on page B- 316 is
17, and it has been the same. Pretty much, that staff
complement for the whole department has not changed. I raise this question about this because I am
a little curious as to, in light of —

[Inaudible interjections]

Yes, Immigration. I am on page
B-316, which is under Immigration, Head 27, Mr.
Chairman, to the Minister.
I see that the staff complement has not
changed. Now, in light of the fact that I see also, and I
note on page B -319, under Compliance, the number
of investigations seems to have steadily gone up over the last year or so, 1,314 to 1,445. Now, I do not know
if the Minister gave an explanation as to why they
think that has happened, but it is a clear indication that there is more work being done. And if I am de-scribing the role of Compliance appropriately, as to the investigations that this department has to go through to any possible infractions of immigration vi olations, it seems to be going up.
And perhaps this is a creature of this en vironment where a country is under economic challenge and we know the constant concern about foreign em-ployees being brought in. And an employment situation in a country generally could be rather stressed.
Employers are trying to pay less out because they are earning less. Employees are trying to earn more be-cause everything seems to be going against them when it comes to their ability, their earning power in the country. And in the meantime, in Bermuda we still
have to bring in workers. But then, we find that many
employers have a tendency to be a little bit more pushing the envelope when it comes to the treatment of workers, generally.
And I am going to bring up this point again only because I wish the Minister to clarify the facts
around it, rather than in a way of accusing the Go vernment of anything, in this recent report about Digicel
with the Guatemalans. Perhaps the Minister can clar ify publicly what that situation is. Was that story real or not with their not being paid and their downing tools
and that situation of those foreign workers’ not being
paid? And I made a statement, Mr. Chairman, during a motion to adjourn as to our position on this side about the treatment of workers and what I believe is the Government’s [responsibility,] frankly. I was not getting up to chastise the Government, but actually to
make a clear statement as to what our tolerance
should be for abuse of any workers in this country, whether those under permit or those who are Berm udian.
Any abuse should be intolerable. And I would
like to see severe penalties for any situation and even,
if necessary, naming and shaming of employers who
are found to be repeatedly abusing local workers or, most importantly —not most importantly, but as equa lly, foreign workers, who are brought in here, who are invited in here to do jobs. And because they are not at home in their resident country with the protections of
1472 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly law behind them, an employer may have a tendency
to be abusive of them. Many of them feel they have
nowhere to go so they subject themselves to continu-ous abuse. And as I look at the numbers here, Mr. Chairman, on page B -319, as to increased investigations, I suspect that the increase is as a result of I mmigration’s discovering more of this happening. And
perhaps it is also a result of more people reporting
what is happening, more than anything else. Because what you find in any environment like this is that there are always abuses going on. But is there a propensity for people to want to report and make sure that those who are doing that are dealt with or are properly i nvestigated?
So I would think that . . . and I know that a
couple of years ago, Mr. Chairman (going back to page B -316, on the complement of staff of 17 in Compliance), that there was some allowance made to i ncrease that. But this has been a time . . . I think we
have found that there is more attention to immigration.
There is more attention to violations mainly because many people are wary of more people being brought in to work in the country from outside, when you have thousands of Bermudians not working. And the commitment to create jobs has not been fulfilled, whether
from employers or from whatever commitments the Government has put out there. But we have not seen a robust, growing employment environment (maybe the better term, rather than casting any blame to an ybody). So, people get more nervous and anxious and
more concerned about the employment situation. But
also, you find more abuse going on, because people want to preserve their earning power. And those who are her e trying to survive on the earning power will not
be as willing to— or will be willing to take more in order
to preserve what they have come in here for. And they
do not feel the level of protection.
I think it is important that there be as many
people as possible available providing an appropriate
net of investigation and enforcement around Immigr ation law in Bermuda so that the abuses that may —
may or may not be a part of the situation with Digicel. But we clearly, as the Honourable Member who sits in constituency 21 articulated about the Grant situation
and the court case, that employers like that are few and far between or that at least when it happens, it is aggressively investigated. But I suspect that the 17
officers who are doing that work are full -out very busy
these days. And maybe there is a need for more, although, as I said before, I believe it was a couple of years ago there was some provision made to increase from one number to another. But in light of the i ncrease in the number of investigations, as is outlined
on page B -319, I think that there should be a consi deration of adding more investigators to the actual list
so that this work can be done in the best possible way to minimise the abuses in our work environment.
And there is another part to this, Mr. Chai rman, in that if Bermuda is not seen as being a safe and healthy place for people to come to work, any
efforts that are made for investment in the country,
outward or inward investment to come in, Mr. Chai rman, any effort to promote Bermuda as a safe, happy, peaceful place for people to come and work on a permit for whatever specialised job they need to do will not go over well. Because if there is a constant
belief by others that, Oh, well, if you go to Bermuda,
you know, you are not going to be treated well. E mployers tend to abuse, and there is nothing done about it, that is not a good environment to attract add itional investment and some of the additional expertise that we might need to be here and facilitate and be a
part of future economic growth that is required.
Particularly if efforts —people on this side, and
we on this side have talked about it —are towards d iversifying, bringing new industries here will be cha llenging if we do not have the reputation of strong enforcement around labour law and around immigration
law. I think that is important. So I do hope that every
effort is made by the department. If they need to add more personnel to the 17, they should do that. If this trend of additional investigations continues, they may need to consider it. So, I do hope that this is done.
And I do hope that something is done about that.
Another question around immigration I would
like to ask, I guess in relation to the process that has been of these applications for status that have been going on for a couple of years now. And as I recall, a
local accounting firm was providing some support to
the Immigration Department. I do not know if the
ques tion was asked for the Minister to report: What is
the status of this application? I do not know if t hat
question was raised on the floor, but perhaps the Mi nister can give us an update on how many applications are currently filed with the department, as well as how
many have been processed. And how many approvals
have been given for those status applicat ions under
the 20B category in particular or anyone who has qualified for like Bermuda status within the recent changes of provisions over the last couple of years? It
will be good to know an update from the Minister on
that.
But my specific question is to, there was an
accounting firm retained that was giving support to the processing of those applications, if they are still i nvolved. And if not, then fine. Because it would be good
to know as to whether that service is continuing, and
was it ever at a cost to the department.

[Inaudible interjections]

I am hearing from a colleague
of mine that it was free. But I am certain that the Minister will give perhaps an update when she answers some questions on that.
My other few questions that I have, Mr.
Chairman . . .


Bermuda House of Assembly How much more time is left in this debate, Mr.
Chairman?

[Inaudible response ]

Oh, great. So, I can perhaps,
after I submit my few questions, sit down and som eone else will happily add to the discussion on this particular Ministry .
Page B -320, [cost centre 39010, Intellectual
Property Registry], which I believe is under the Regis-try General, I note that on page B -320 the expenditure
on that particular department has gone down by $5,000, or 1 per cent, not a large amount of monies.
(That is cost centre 39010 on page B -320, Mr. Chai rman.) I note that there has been a reduction there, but I am curious as to whether that particular department
has more that can be done as an earner for the Go vernment. And I do hope that the Government i s giving
them the needed resources to allow them to not only
be a revenue- earner in the best possible way, but also
to keep up with the changes in intellectual property that seem to be regular. Because it is quite a dynamic
and international aspect of industry.
And I know from my own exposure to it, Mr.
Chairman, that there are efforts by . . . a number of
our local law firms have quite steady practices in this
area. And applications are received from all over the world to enforce patents here. And you see them in
the newspaper quite a bit, published and all that. And I am interested to know if that publishing component of the newspaper that has been digitised yet in reference to . . . are those advertisements now, has the way to
gazette them gone from just a print, but is also online?
Because this is a particular area of regulation. And I think, again, I often smile when people talk about, they want smaller, smaller, smaller government. But this is an example of how industry is allowed to thrive b ecause these areas of protection of people’s intellectual property, of creativity and originality, from a legal
standpoint, can only be provided by the government,
internationally. It is only because of the extensive, long history of providing this service, whether it be by
our little Bermuda Government, the US, England, or the EU, that globally the expansion of business has been able to go because no one is going to market or
take a product to another jurisdiction if they do not
have the protection of their intellectual property.
That in itself, if it cannot be provided, stifles
work, innovation. We know how that goes on with drugs and pharmaceuticals. It is essential that protec-tions of that nature . . . and of course, music, I mean, you know, hey! That helps for those industries to grow
and thrive globally because each government, go vernments around the world, provides this regulatory
service. So, when people talk about smaller gover nment, I often smile and say, Well, okay. Well, let’s get
rid of the Intellectual Property Department. That will save the Government some expense. And I am only
saying this hypothetically because I do not actually believe that, of course. But I am just giving an exam-ple. When people talk about these things, smaller
government, less government expenditure, Well, just
get rid of th at department! That will save some money.
Or this department! When some of these departments
are actually essential to the country’s economic sec urity and safety and prosperity.
When people talk about, you know, Let’s
shrink the staff of government. Let’s get rid of some of these civil servants. Let’s do this, let’s do that. But
some people say that, not appreciating the role that
government plays, whether it be intellectual property,
whether it be things like av iation, whether it be in
shipping —all these areas that our Government makes
a substantial amount of revenue from. And I am sure that the Intellectual Property Department is doing its
bit in that. It is a revenue- earner type of agency. But I
do hope that the Government is giving it the tools so
that it can keep modern and keep up with whatever is happening globally so that not only do we provide those protections that are provided locally, but interna-tionally. If Bermuda has an efficient service, those p atents will be registered here, too, and that is an earner for the Government, from around the world, from companies around the world, from other registry agencies, which I am sure they have partnerships with. That activity will increase if our department has the resources to do the work that is done and in keeping up with its other comparative registries around the
world.
So, I do hope that the Minister takes my
comments in the best spirit. I am not suggesting that they are depriving that department. I am just sugges ting, I am just hoping that there is a mind to give them what they need so that they can remain modern and up to date with their particular area of expertise.
The last area I would like to bring some attention to is on page C -20. And I note under there, if the
Minister has not already given an answer to it, page
C-20, the Ministry of Home Affairs, programme [6918]
for Parish Council Commitments. I note that this is at
zero. I am wondering why that is. Under Grants and Contributions, has that grant been moved somewhere else, or have the monies, has the purpose of that grant ended? Or has that now been moved som ewhere else? And does this mean that there is no r esponsibility now for the parish councils under it, or was it ever there? And perhaps the Minister can an-swer that question as it relates to that grant, Parish Council Commitments. Because it was at $70,000 the last couple of years, and it is now at zero.
1474 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Those, Mr. Speaker, are all of my comments.
And I look forward to hearing some of the answers
from the Minister. Thank you very much.

Thank you for your comments.
Does any other Member wish to speak?
Minister, you have the floor to respond to
some of the questions that have been put to you. And
then I believe another Member would like to speak after that.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon- Pamplin: There is still plenty of time, Mr. Chairman.
I just wanted to speak to the issue with r espect to passports and the Uighurs. And I have just
had an update here indicating that the UK Gover nment is currently reviewing their applications for nat uralisation for three of the four applicants. And ultimat ely, if naturalisation is granted, then they will be able to
have passports that would be able to be issued. So
that is a very positive development.
Also, with respect to the head count that the
Honourable Member was concerned about with r espect to the Compliance Unit, while the Budget Book
had indicated 17 for this year, 17 for revised last year,
and budgeted for the previous year, and 12 the year before that, the actual physical head count has only
remained around 12. So, for the first time in the last sort of five to seven years, we actually will have the 17 complement. So, they were budgeted for, but they
were not actually filled. So now the positions will be
filled. So, we definitely have the additional bodies there.
Also, in respect to the number of reports, cases, there has been an increase of investigations due to civil penalties. The civil penalties have come into
existence, and it is being robustly followed up. And
MCS is now undertaking review of how cases are pr ocessed by the senior inspectors in the Compliance Department. We have had an increase of complaints. And we actually give credit to members of the public.
We did hear the Honourable Member from constituency 17 earlier indicate that we ought not to be just wai ting until complaints come in, that there has to be a certain amount of proactivity. But there are also cer-tain legal restrictions that would determine whether. . .
you cannot just go onto somebody’s property. There
are certain legal restrictions. So we have to be mindful that we are not working ultra vires existing legislation.
If that legislation needs to be looked at, then it is
something that, obviously, we are willing to do.
The grants, according to your last question,
which I was aware of the answer, those have actually
been moved to Tourism, Transport and Municipalities.
It is no longer under the Home Affairs Ministry. Also, IP [Intellectual Property] is already electronic. It is just
a matter of going one step further to put it on the RG [Registry General] website. So, it must still initially be gazetted, because the legislation requires gazetting. But obviously, as the enhancements for digitisation
advance, then clearly you will see additional efficie ncies being had.
Also, on the issue with respect to digitisation
again, we are intending to bring on board for a very
short term an expert to recommend a strategy for the entire Ministry to look at the existing systems, new
systems, and the whole issue of back -file conversion.
It is important to understand that while we look at the
volume of paper that exists in the department in order to be able to file stuff, there is actually offsite filing as well, where things are held in archive. And it is just an inefficient use of not just space, but also money. Because those files that are in offsite places could act ually be digitised. They could actually be put on a website, accessed. And I can also say that I actually man-aged the transition of significant files in my other em-ployment, from hard copy files to one [system] that is electronic. And it is very efficient in terms of the manner in which it is used.
When it comes to the question of looking at
consumer protections, there is . . . when it comes to
food, medicine and water, I think the Honourable
Member had expressed concerns about stuff that is
coming in from abroad and whether the public is being
protected. When it comes to food, medicine, and w ater, that falls under the Health Department. But other products under the Consumer Protection Agency, bu lletins are received on a daily basis and visits to bus inesses follow that, products are recalled and/or r efunded whenever they are able to be located. This comes under Consumer Affairs .
I think that the interesting thing with that is
that, for the majority of things that come into Bermuda, there is some kind of intermediary, albeit we do have individuals who will purchase something from som ewhere distant and do it directly. And they may be under the regime of caveat emptor , because there are
certain things that, obviously, the department can pr otect; and there are certain things that the department cannot protect. So ,you want to go buy something
from China directly, and there is no local agency who
has any kind of touching- of-the-goods from that point
to this point, you may just be on your own in that r espect. You know, buyer beware. So that is a possibi lity. But certainly, to the extent possible, the depar tment does look out for the protection of consumers.
And I think those are the questions. Grants,
advertisements . . .
You mentioned something about something
being free, but I did not hear what the—
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Oh, sorry. On
those appli cations, yes.
What was done by KPMG was done free of
charge. Subsequent to that, when I went into the Mi nistry, there were significant backlogs in various cat eBermuda House of Assembly gories of personal services, things like spousal applications, things like general status inquiries, things like
passport applications, many things in that particular personal services area where I had asked to receive an inventory of what was outstanding. And when I looked at what was outstanding, it was difficult if not impossible for the employees there to even know that
they had done a good job, because they did not even
know what was there. Things, files were being piled on top of other files.
So, we have now managed to get it down to a
semblance of order. We actually brought in, which I mentioned in my brief —we brought in some staff who
had been working in the Ministry before, Dr. Brewer. We had senior civil servants who had retired; we brought them back to process stuff just to get rid of some of the backlog of things that had been sitting out there, general status inquiries, all sorts of things. And
they have been able to get it down to a manageable
size so that now the department is able to have a
look, and they are able to process things in an appr opriate time frame and to keep on top of any new appl ications that are coming in. So that has been really brought up to date.
I do not know that there is any other . . . I will
take my seat to allow other Members to ask questions so that I can respond.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Honourable Minister just said that, by way
of an update, the UK are now reviewing the applic ation for naturalisation for three of the four Uighurs. I
guess my question would be, Given the UK insistence since 2009 that there is absolutely no legal procedure whatsoever by which they could be naturalised or gi ven travel documents, what has changed to allow the
UK to now state publicly, or allow for it to be stated publicly that they are now reviewing the applications?

Thank you. Quickly, I just want to say that it is good news
to hear from the Honourable Minister that the Labour
Council Subcommi ttee on the Living Wage will tender
its report on March 31
st. You know, we have got to
find some way to halt the race to the bottom, which is hurting too many Bermudians. And the report of the Joint Select Committee, of which I am Chair, we are
looking to put our final report and lay it before the
House around late May. And it will afford the Gover nment, the Opposition, and Bermudians in general [the opportunity] to consider both reports and their efficacy and the benefit by way of their recommendations. So
that is good news. Obviously, it is an idea whose time
has come.
Secondly, with respect to Head 27, Immigr ation, is there any move afoot on the part of the Ministry, the department, to begin to collect emigration st atistics, so we can get a firmer handle, a more quant ified handle on how many Bermudians are leaving
Bermuda? We all know through anecdotal and other
evidence that there have been significant numbers of Bermudians, mostly black Bermudians in the main, over the last five or six years who have emigrated to the UK. But we do not know the numbers. We have
heard anywhere from an estimate of 1,500 all the way
to 3,000. We know that the census will come out with its projections. But I would like to see us have some sort of emigration control point whereby we can collect those stats in real time from people actually leaving from our ports of departure. I think we did it decades
ago, perhaps, and we need to find some way to do it
again.
With respect to the British passports, I want to
ask the Minister, Mr. Chairman. She talked about one option would be for us to obtain a licence to be able to produce our own passports. I assume that the British
would need to give us permission to do so. And I
guess she can confirm that. We need to understand that every da y—I do not know what it is; I am pretty
sure they have the stats over there, the average. Ev ery day there may be 15, 20, 30, 40 Bermudian pas sport holders whose passports expire. And they are now affected. So I think time is, to some degree, of the essence here.
Getting back to Head 29, the Registry General’s Office, I too want to commend (a slight oversight here on my part) the great work that Mr. Pennyman
has done as the head of that department, and his
staff, his able staff there. I believe that he does have
the necessary tools to take this to the next level, this department in the area of intellectual property. I will say, though, that I found the answers I got a little am-biguous with respect to the call or the highlighting of
the fact that we need to move towards establishing an
intellectual property register, a digital intellectual property register, firstly. And also, our call in terms of the Progressive Labour Party’s response to the Budg-et, delivered by the Opposition Leader, that we estab-lish a Min d Management and Control Policy, by which
1476 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly the intellectual property department could, for example, create both jobs and revenue for the Bermuda
Government.
So in response, I heard about the need for the
digitalisation of processes. So is the Minister then sa ying that . . . (Oh, she is back. Good to have you back.)
Is she then saying that a precursor, a precursor to
moving in that direction, if we sought to, has to see
that process take place first, that being the digitalis ation of a growing number of the processes of the de-partment as they exist now?
Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Commi ssiong.
Minister.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Honourable Member , I am going to come back to you . . .
just put a pin in that last question that you had be-cause I am not sure that you made it very clear.
But I did want to respond to the Honourable
Shadow Minister that, with respect to why given the pushback historically on the Uighur situation, the r esponse is that they have now been in the Island for
over five years with indefinite leave to remain. And as a result of that, they are now eligible to apply under the British Nationality Act. So that is . . . it has kind of
been a self -perpetuating response to something over
which both we and the British Government have hi storically indicated that we had no control.

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Very possibly
. . .yes, but it has only just now being looked at, I think
it has been brought to the attention of Government
House that something needs to be done and I think that they have . . . now willing to look at it, pass it on
to the UK Government and now we have —

[Inaudible interjection]

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: That I will have to
ask, I will have to try and find the answer, but I already
. . . I do not know.
The emigration statistics, I do know that we
had a question in the House not too long ago concer ning emigration and I would . . . I have not had a new
update in terms of the response, but I can certainl y go
back and research that and I will be happy to give you
the answer as soon as I can get that information for you.
In terms of the licence to which I spoke,
whether we would have to have permission to be able . . . the idea is not that we would be printing passports
here. The idea is that the encrypted, you know, pas sport stock is available in the UK. What will happen is that we have a licence . . . if we have our own licence, they would be required to switch over their system to
utilise our licence so that we get the right country code
issuance once this is all able to be said and done. It is still early days, but it is certainly something on which we are working and pushing to try to make sure that there is a satisfactory result with respect to our Ber-muda passports.
You can just ask the question again on that
last comment that you made on the IP register. I am not sure that I understood the question.

Yes, earlier I had talked
about the Register General in terms of moving it forward in terms of, you know, positioning that office for
the 21
st century, enhancing our competitive and str ategic advantage. Implementing things like a Digital
Intellectual Property Register, one, which we have been touting, and a Mind Management and Control Policy with intellectual property that would create both
jobs and revenue for the Bermuda Government. And
so when you responded to that, I believe, you talked
about the need for the department to be further digita lised and I was wondering if that response was indica ting that this would be the precursor before they can get to more complex service provision, in other words.
Okay.
The Chairm an: Thank you, Mr. Commissiong.
Any other Members?
The Member from constituency 36, Mr. Scott,
you have the floor.
Hon. Michael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I am grateful to the Minister . . . in dealing with
the question of licensure. I would like to get some clarification on that process. Who is driving the process of
obtaining the licensure? What is involved? And are
there . . . is Chambers . . . are there any legal implic ations to create the licence or to draw the licence up that in train that I could be made to understand? Particularly from the legal perspective, is there a legal, what are the legalities of the licensure that you are
pursuing? Who is driving it? Is it Chambers or is it the
Department of Immigration, either Mr. Pennyman or Dr.—

Thank you, Member.
Minister?



Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Patricia J. Gordon- Pamplin: Yes, let me just
say that, in response to the last question, we actually,
through the department, through the Permanent Sec-retary having made contact with a company who, in turn, have made contact with a company who is r esponsible for issuing licences in respect of the Eur opean Union. So, this is not something new that is
coming into being, it is something that has been tried
and tested historically. So, we are trying to piggyback
on that existing capability. And obviously once we go a little bit further down the road, as I did say this was very preliminary, but once we get a little bit further down the road any thing respecting any legalities will
obviously be run through the Attorney General’s Chambers to make sure that we are on the right wic ket in terms of what we are able to do. But it looks like it is quite possible given what we see as an initial glance from our layperson’s perspective. Obviously, there will be further things to consider as we go further
down the road.
In response to the Honourable Member from
constituency 21, the answer is yes. What we are doing now is basically looking at digitising what we presently have. We are looking at other systems and things that could be incorporated to ensure that we
have . . . to ensure that we have the correct —

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon- Pamplin: —to ensure that
we have as many as possible updated systems with
which we can, under which we can operate.
There were a couple of questions earlier that
were asked, and I failed to answer them at that point in time, and I think it is important to comment and that was with respect to Digicel. The question that came
up was on Digicel, as to whether, in fact, there was
any veracity behind the report about the individuals. As soon as I was made aware of it, I sent an e- mail to
the CEO of Digicel and his response to me was that there is no truth to the story that was carried on TNN
and that situation . . . that there was nothing. I suggested to him at that time that he ought to contact the
media because it was the media who were running the story. The department, obviously, from my per-spective, we are concerned to ensure that people are not being treated inhumanely. And when he gave me
comfort that this was not the case, I think that the init iative to make sure that the information was made
public was the responsibility of the company and not
of the Ministry. But it is certainly something that we are keeping a close eye to because we do not want for Bermuda to have a poor reputation to say that we
allow people to come here and they are not well treated.
The other question, also, with respect to pe nalties, with civil penalties. I think that civil penalties,
we believe them to be appropriate and adequate at this point in time. There is something like $5,000 for the first infraction and $10,000 for each subsequent
infraction. We did have a case, fairly recently, in which
the total of the costs for civil penalties was up to about $70,000 or $80,000. I think that was actually appealed through the courts and I think the judge kind of mini-mised it because I think he reckoned that some of the instances may have been able to be, you know, converged to be less than whatever . . . anyway, the
judge made a decision to minimise, to downgrade the penalty. But the penalties that are in place by the de-partment are very robustly followed up and if som ebody makes an appeal to the court and the court d ecides differently, then we have to live with that. But we
certainly believe that the level of penalties is appropr iate.
Let me see. I have got a note here saying that
[the] IP registration system is already kept electron ically. Th e next step is to provide for e- filing and e -
payment, which the department is looking into. But if we allow . . . to global access digitally we may cut out
local agents who file applications on behalf of their
clients. So I think there is a delicate balance between that which the Government can do and the extent to which we are able to impact local entrepreneurs who
are providing such services.

Yes, and this may be . . . I
will divert. It is 20 seconds. This may be a little bit r edundant, it has probably been answered already, I just
thought that the . . . can you explain why we have the
Minister of Economic Development apparently leading on that domain issue, but yet it is in your Ministry. So, can you explain it to me? Untangle that somewhat? I would appreciate it.

Thank you, Member.
Minister, you have the floor again.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes, have you
ever taken on more work than . . . if you can pass it on
to somebody else?
[Laughter]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon- Pamplin: No, I think there is
obviously some good reason behind it and I will be
1478 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly able to get that answer for you. But I know that it may
come under regulatory, something . . . I am not
100 per cent certain, but if it is mine, I will certainly
drive it. I do know that I was out attending a family
funeral, so it could be that he was going to car ry that
legislation in my stead. I will find out. I will let you know.
But with that said, I just wish to extend my
appreciation to all Members. I believe we have had the opportunity to have a robust debate and a to and fro with an exchange of ideas, and I think that is a lways very positive. And, again, a very special thanks to my entire department led by my Permanent Secr etary who ably serves the people of Bermuda through the Department of Home Affairs . . . the Ministry of
Home Affairs.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I would like to
move Head 93, Headquarters; Head 27, Department of Immigration; and Head 29, the Registry General.
The Chair
man: With that, Minister, that ends the debate on the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The next Ministry that we will be debating for
the . . . the next Ministry we will be debating––
We are just waiting for a couple of minutes
being you ended early, Minister.
If anyone else . . . well, w e hav e ended, w e
have clos ed it, s o they cannot. But w e are waiti ng for
the Minister f or the Environment t o join us. H e is o n
his way i n and . . . so in the meantim e we are just g oing to approve the Minister’s heads that were just
passed and then we will begin with the next head.
[Gavel]
The Chairm
an: At this point we considered the Heads
93, 27, and 29 moved.
[Motion carr
ied: The Ministry of Home Affairs, Heads
93, 27, and 29 were approved and stand part of the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2017/18.]
The Chair
man: And the Minister for the Environment
will be joining us now and we will start the heads of
the Ministry of Environment.
We will recognise the Minister, Mr. Sylvan
Richards. Minister Richards, you have the floor.
[Pause]
The Chairm
an: Minister, would you like to begin
now? I see you have got yourself all set up and ready.
I will just acknowledge that Minister Richards,
the Minister for the [Ministry of] Environment is now ready to begin and we will be debating Heads 50, 32, 68 and 79.
Minister Richards, the floor is yours. MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT
Hon. Sylv
an D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman.
I am pleased to present Head 50, Head 32,
Head 68, and Head 79 for the Ministry of Enviro nment.
HEAD 50 —MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT HEA DQUARTERS
Hon. Sylva
n D. Richards, Jr.: Ministry of Enviro nment Headquarters, Head 50, is found on pages B -
161 to B -163 of the approved Estimates of Revenue
and Expenditure for the year 2017/18.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to present the
budget for Head 50, the Ministry of Environment Headquarters found on pages B -161 to B -163 of the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure in the Budget Book.
However, Mr. Chairman, I would like to pr ovide you with an overview of the Ministry of Enviro nment first, a total overview.
Ministry
Overview
Hon. Syl
van D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, the current account expenditure estimate allocated to the Ministry of Environment is $22,831,000 for the
2017/18 fiscal year and is shown on page B -161. This
represents an increase of $1,756,000, or 8 per cent
above the combined portfolio heads, inclusive of the
addition of Ministry Headquarters.
Mr. Chairman, the anticipated revenue for the
Ministry of Environment for the year 2017/18 is
$3,028,000 which represents an increase of $89,000,
or 3 per cent when compared to revenue during the 2016/17 budget period, as seen on page B -161. The
increase in the revenue budget is tied to projected fee increases.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry’s capital budget for
2017/18 is $2,005,000. The Ministry’s budgeted em-ployee full -time equivalents for the fiscal year 2017/18
are at 257, an increase of five as seen on page B -161.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Environment
was established on May 13, 2016 with the Gover nment confirming a solid commitment to Bermuda’s rich
environment and natural resources. A shared vision
by all in the community is rooted in the premise of the
importance of the Island’s environment to its econo-my.
Mr. Chairman, a strong driver to maintaining
the Island’s distinguished natural beauty is our tourism industry. It has been said often over the last f ew
months that Bermuda is a garden paradise and any development should be sustainable socially, econom ically, and physically.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Environment
seeks to manage Bermuda’s strategic direction in a


Bermuda House of Assembly way that provides balance between development and
the conservation of Bermuda’s natural environment.
The Ministry aims to do this by:
• providing direction, management, and financial accountability to the partners of the Mini stry;
• ensuring that policy is created and impl emented to deliver the services and govern the
activities of departments within the Ministry;
• managing Bermuda’s natural resources, built
heritage, parks and beaches in a manner that
maintains or enhances their quality and pr omotes sustainable utilisation ; and
• ensuring an integrated, aligned, and strategic
approach to natural resource management
across government.
Mr. Chairman, the mandate of the Ministry of
Environment Headquarters, Head 50, is to provide
centralised support services to the operating pr ogrammes which include: the Department of Planning; the Department of Parks; and the Department of Env ironment and Natural Resources.
The Ministry is also responsible for providing
a grant in support to the golf course.

Expenditure Overview

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chair man, the
Ministry of Environment Headquarters has been all ocated a budget of $1,314,000 for the financial year
2017/18. As this is a new Ministry formed in the last financial year, there was no budget allocation for the Ministry Headquarters in the 2016/17 financial year.
I will now talk about General Administration,
cost centre 60000.This section comprises the Minis-try’s administrative support staff. Once again, the ori ginal estimate for 2016/17 was zero as the Ministry did not exist. The estimate for 2017/18 is $1,314,000. The
number of employees is one.
Within the General Administration, cost centre
60000, Salaries, within the revised 2016/17 budget
year were $112,000 as noted on page B -163. This
amount represented the balance of payroll that was used to pay the employee’s salary. For 2017/18, the
estimate for Salaries is $184,000. This represents one full-time equivalent post at the Ministry Headquarters,
as seen on page B -163.
The allocation of $83,000 for Professional
Services represents the services of the independent planning inspector. This role is integral to maintaining
an objective mechanism to handle appeals within the
planning process as seen on page B -163.
The amount of $55,000 is allocated for travel
in 2017/18. This would allow the Minister and Ministry staff to attend overseas meetings, including upcoming
meetings with the Sargasso Sea Commission and the
gathering of Overseas Territory Environment Ministers planned for April 2017. In the 2017/18 budget, $20,000 is allocated
for Materials and Supplies. This amount reflects the cost of setting up the office to house the headquarters of the newly created Ministry of Environment, which became a standalone ministry in May of 2016.
Manpower. Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of E nvironment Headquarters establishment was set at one
full-time post in the 2016/17 budget year and this will
remain unchanged in the 2017/18 budget year, as
shown on page B -163.
Grants and Contributions , Golf Courses . Mr.
Chairman, the amount of $950,000 has been allocat-ed in th e 2017/18 budget and incorporated in the Mi nistry Headquarters, Head 50, allocation. This repr esents the operating grant given by Government to the Ocean View and Port Royal Golf Courses. This con-tribution can also be noted in Schedule 1 in the sec-tion entitled Grants and Contributions located on page C-18 of the Budget Book. The grant covers this contract, payroll for 29 full -time staff, and operating expenses for the running of the golf courses.
Mr. Chairman, you may also be aware that the
international management company, Troon Golf, has
been contracted by the Board of Trustees to manage
both golf courses. It is anticipated that due to the marketing efforts of Troon Golf and the increased number of visitors on the Island for the America’s Cup there will be an increase in the number of golf rounds
played at Ocean View and Port Royal during the com-ing summer season.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Environment
believes that golf is an important pillar of our local community. We are pleased that some of the most beautiful golf courses in the world . . . and golf is also
important to tourism. The Port Royal Golf Course, which won the World Golf Award in 2015, is ranked
among the world’s best public golf courses by Golf
Digest and named Bermuda’s Finest Course by the
New York Times . However, our golf courses have
been under attack with the recent closure of the Ri ddell’s Bay golf course and the Ocean View Golf
Course (currently unprofitable).
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Environment
has been allocated a $950,000 grant toward the operating expenses of the Port Royal and Ocean View
Golf Courses. The golf courses have been consistent-ly underfunded for the last five years. The combined
operating loss for fiscal year 2015/16 was $1.3 million
while the operating grant was $1.35 million. The oper-ating grant for fiscal year 2016/17 was reduced to $950,000 despite a forecast loss of $1.5 million. The forecast loss increased by $200,000 after the Board of Trustees hired international management company,
Troon, to assist with changes towards making the golf
courses profitable.
Mr. Chairman, the Board of Trustees is cognitive of the Ocean View Golf Course because of the historical significance of the course. However, the Board recommends that the Ocean View undergo a
1480 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly transfor mation by combining community activities with
the core golfing business. This should help minimise
losses over time and generate social benefits for our community.
Mr. Chairman, it has been recommended,
among other initiatives, that the Ocean View Golf Course become a centre of community -based activ ities with golf remaining a central component. This would require some investment and private financial support, both corporate and individual. This should include both an educational and a youth component. Perh aps a youth learning centre with the primary goal
to provide a positive and fun learning environment that
will support the traditional education of primary and
middle school students. Golf instruction would form an integral part of the programme, providing an introduction to the sport while instilling key personal character-istics of discipline, concentration, patience, and hon-esty while also developing critical social skills.
Mr. Chairman, the Ocean View Golf Course is
a beautiful course despite its fiscal challenges. It is
close to Hamilton and it is possible to complete nine holes within two hours. There is the possibility of evening play in the summer months and the corporate
Nine-Hole League might encourage more players to
experience this beautiful cour se.

Major Achievements

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, in the
early days of the new Ministry there was a focus to
develop agricultural and fisheries industries. There was a drive to complete the National Crop Strategy, as the Government continues to embrace improv ements to Bermuda’s food security. Further details r egarding the National Crop Strategy will be discussed
further in this presentation.
Mr. Chairman, a key achievement of the Mi nistry last year was the Minister’s attendance at the
World Conservation Congress in Hawaii organised by
the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN). This Congress represents one of the world’s
largest gatherings of scientists, educators and com-munity organisations and government leaders. The Minister was invited by the organisers of the session on Protected Areas to present Bermudian examples of best practice in managing marine and terrestrial co nservation areas. This presentation led to Bermuda being selected by the IUCN as a pilot location to test the use of non- traditional methods of protecting land
and sea habitats.
Mr. Chairman, in December 2016 the Minister
of Environment participated in a Conference of the
Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in
Cancun, Mexico. This meeting is held every two years
and brings together representatives of the 196 coun-tries that have signed onto the Convention on Biolog ical Diversity (CBD). The CBD is the United Nations’ key tool for delivering sustainable development and ensuring the world’s biological resources are used
wisely. At the meeting the Minister was invited to participate as part of the United Kingdom and Great Brit-ain contingent in the Agriculture Roundtable. While in Mexico the Minister met Canada’s Minister for Fisher-ies and Oceans to sign the Hamilton Declaration for the Protection of the Sargasso Sea making Canada
the eighth signatory to this agreement.

Plans for the Upcoming Year
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, in the
coming year the Ministry will continue to put Bermuda on the world stage in environmental diplomacy, this
spring. The Ministry will host the joint meeting of the Sargasso Sea Commission and signatories to the Hamilton Declaration. Since the establishment of the Ministry of Environment two countries have signed onto the Hamilton Declaration. With the Cayman I slands signing onto the declaration at the end of the month this will bring to nine the total number of coun-tries who have joined the Bermuda Government in committing to the Hamilton Declaration to protect the Sargasso Sea.
Additionally, Mr. Chairman, the Minister will
travel to Alderney in the Channel Islands in April to attend a gathering of Ministers of the Environment from the UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown D ependencies. This important gathering will allow the
Territories Ministers to discuss amongst themselves
priority areas of work and then to bring these to the
attention of Ministers and officials from the United Kingdom who will attend the latter days of the meet-ing.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my presentation
on estimates of expenditure and revenues for the Mi nistry of Environment Headquarters, Head 50.

HEAD 32 —DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, I am
now pleased to present the budget for Head 32, the
Departm ent of Planning, found on pages B -164
through B -168 of the Estimates of Revenue and E xpenditure in the Budget Book.

Vision and Mission

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, the D epartment of Planning believes in balancing beauty and
progress to create an enduring Island community. To that end, the department strives to responsibly serve the people of Bermuda to ensure the sustainable
management of the natural and built environment.
Applying its core values of teamwork, communication, trust, proactivity, integrity, and responsibility the de-partment is accountable for:
• the preparation of development and local
plans;


Bermuda House of Assembly • balancing of development demands and env ironment protections;
• monitoring and enforcement of development
regulations;
• management of building activity through a
building permit system;
• proper implementation of the relevant building codes to ensure life and safety by way of i nspections under construction; and
• timely intervention with respect to compliance
issues.
The department seeks to provide its services
and carry out its tasks in an efficient manner with transparency and consistency and within time frames.

Expenditure Overview
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, the D epartment of Planning has been allocated a budget of $3,304,000 for the financial year 2017/18. This figure
is an increase of $102,000, or 3 per cent, compared
with the department’s budget for the 2016/17 financial year.
Mr. Chairman, during the 2016/17 budget year
the department commenced work on the implement ation and adoption of a new applications case management system. This move will ensure a more robust IT platform for the department’s tasks. It will be easier to access, more transparent in the information avail able to the public, and will have the capacity to allow for
the online submission and revision of applications. In
addition, it will facilitate better, swifter communication between government departments.
The new platform known as EnerGov is a
software product of Tyler Technologies and was s elected after rigorous RFI and RFP processes. The
increase in the department’s budget is almost entirely accounted for by the necessary shift to the new case management programme, EnerGov. For the year 2017/18, therefore, 93 per cent of the Planning budget
is allocated to Salaries, and 7 per cent is allocated to
operational expenses.

Revenue
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, the department’s revenue is projected at $1,205,000 as shown on page B -166 of the Budget Book. The main
sources of revenue will be:
• Building Permit Fees at $542,000;
• Planning Application Fees at $375,000;
• Elevator Licensing Fees at $150,000; and
• Elevator Inspection Fees at $1,000.
This revenue projection is an increase of
$80,000 compared with the original revenue estimates for 2016/17. It is on par with the revised estimate of
$1,207,000 for 2016/17. The increase in revenue co nstituency be attributed to the larger construction pr o-jects underway in 2016/17 and anticipated for 2017/18.

Capital Expenditure
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: The Department of
Planning has a capital acquisitions budget for 2017/18 of $435,000 found on page C -11 of the Budget Book.
The majority of these funds are associated with the
full implementation of the new case management sy stem EnerGov. That amount is $402,000. It covers the full implementation and the go- live phase of the contract with Tyler Technologies as well as associated
software and equipment.
The remaining amount of $33,000 is set aside
for a new vehicle or vehicles (if appropriate secondhand cars are available). Planning is a department that conducts more than 8,000 site visits and inspec-tions each year. As such, dependable transportation is
required. The department’s current small fleet of cars
is unreliable and ageing and very much in need of replacement.

Grants and Contributions

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: The Department of
Planning continues to have a grant allocation of
$10,000 as shown on page C -18 of the Budget Book.
This grant is for the Heritage Fund which supports the interest -free loa n scheme available to owners of listed
buildings of architectural and historic interest. The loan scheme is run in conjunction with Butterfield Bank and involves the Government of Bermuda pa ying the interest on approved restoration loans at a r educed rate. The Department of Planning with the Historic Buildings Advisory Committee administers disbursements from the Heritage Fund.
Mr. Chairman, I now turn your attention to the
allocations for the individual cost centres found on
page B -165 of the Budget Book. First, general admi nistration, cost centre 42000. This section comprises
the department’s upper management and administr ative support as well as its trainees. The original est imate for 2016/17 was $712,000; the estimate for
2017/18 is $801,000. This represents an increase of $89,000, or a 12.5 per cent increase.
Including Salaries, funding under general administration, cost centre 42000, increased by $89,000, or 12.5 per cent. Within this cost centre, however, are
most of the department’s operational expenses, i ncluding the additional expense associated with the new IT system EnerGov. The work of this section is being carried out by six people.
Front desk operation, cost centre 42020. As
its name suggests, the employees in this section are the face of the department and they fulfil its primary customer service function. The original estimate for 2016/17 was $256,000. The estimate for 2017/18 is $260,000; an increase of $4,000, or 1.6 per cent. And
1482 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly there are four employees, which is unchanged from
the previous year.
Funding under front desk operations will i ncrease by $4,000, or 1.6 per cent, while the number of
posts in this section remains the same. The increase
is due to the salary up- lift anticipated with pay scale
increments. The front desk section performs a key
role in providing advice to the public, assisting appl icants and agents with submissions, tracking applic ation, communicating with consultees, and ensuring the
case management information and parcel mapping is accurate.
Enforcement and searches, cost centre
42050. The Enforcement section addresses issues of non-compliance with planning and building legislation.
In addition, it provides a service to purchasers by searching for unresolved compliance issues during the sales process. The original estimate for 2016/17 was $291,000. The estimate for 2017/18 is unchanged and the number of employees is three.
The allocation for enforcement and searches
will remain the same at $291,000. While the section
has an establishment of three posts, it is only rel atively recently that progress has been made with respect
to actually staffing the positions through internal transfers. This is due to shortfalls in staff levels of other sections of the department which have been tempo-rarily addressed by the redeployment of enforcement
officers.
Nonetheless, Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to
inform you that the long- sought -after amendments to
the Development and Planning Act 1974, which pr ovides the framework for the design improvements to the section, will be completed this year. These amendments will give enforcement officers improved legislative tools and options with respect to compl iance issues, including the ability to impose civil pena lties.
Forward Planning, cost centre 42060. The
Forward Planning section compares the development
and local plans that seek to balance development
demands with protection of our architectural heritage
in environmentally sensitive areas. The original est imate for 2016/17 was $546,000. The estimate for 2017/18 is $533,000 which represents a decrease of $13,000, or 2.4 per cent. The number of employees
remains unchanged at five. With Forward Planning the
budget reduction is $13,000, or 2.4 per cent. This decrease is a result simply of resignations causing posts
to become vacant. These posts, when filled, will be filled at the lower end of the pay scale and thus the decrease in the salary allocation.
Forward Planning has been very short -staffed
for an extended period now and with job descriptions updated and recruitment underway it is hoped the department can undertake the statutory review of the Bermuda Plan 2008 in a timely manner.
Development Applications, cost centre 42070.
The development applications section processes ap-plications for planning permission. The original est imate for 2016/17 was $684,000. The estimate for 2017/18 is $685,000 which represents a $1,000 i ncrease, or an increase of 0.15 per cent. The number
of employees will remain unchanged at seven. Fund-ing for development applications increased very slight-ly by $1,000, or 0.15 p er cent. This is due to the need
to accommodate a pay scale increment; otherwise the Development Management section is largely u nchanged from the prior year.
Building Permits, cost centre 42080. The
building permit section reviews building permit appl ications for minor works, residential, and commercial
development. The purpose is to ensure construction projects comply with Bermuda’s building codes. The section works closely with the Department of Health and the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service in its r eview of architectural and construction drawings. The
original estimate for 2016/17 was $147,000. The est imate for 2017/18 is $149,000, or a $2,000 increase, which is a 1.4 per cent increase. The number of e mployees will remain unchanged at two. Funding for building permits increased by $2,000, or 1.4 per cent,
due to an anticipated up- lift in salaries over the coming year. The other minor expenses of the section printing are unchanged from previous years.
Building Inspections, cost centre 42090. The
department’ s building and electrical inspectors check
construction projects while in progress to ensure compliance with the relevant codes. This section i ncludes, also, an elevator inspector who checks all lift type devices. Between them the inspectors carry out more than 6,000 inspections each year. That number
rises to more than 8,000 when all staff site inspections are taken into account. The original estimate for 2016/17 was $566,000. The estimate for 2017/18 is
$585,000. This is an increase of $19,000, or 3.3 per
cent. The number of employees remains unchanged
at seven. The allocation for building inspections will increase by $19,000, or 3.3 per cent. This increase
represents full funding of the department’s second
electrical inspector post. In recent years, the depar tment has not engaged two full -time electrical inspectors. Instead the inspection service has been provided
with one full -time inspector and one on- call inspector.
However, it is increasingly difficult to provide a timely inspection service with only one full- time electrical
inspector covering the entire Island; hence, the dec ision to fully fund the post going forward.

Manpower

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, the D epartment of Planning establishment was set at 34
posts in the 2016/17 budget year and this will remain unchanged in the 2017/18 budget year, as shown on page B -166 of the Budget Book. There are two add itional posts that remain frozen and unfunded as a r esult of the post holders’ participation in the early r eBermuda House of Assembly tirement incentive scheme. Most of the department’s
approved recruitment is completed now, bringing the
filled posts to 27 with two additional posts being filled on a contract or on- call basis. As with any organis ation, resignations and career changes make it chal-lenging for the department to be fully staffed at all times.

Output Measures

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, the department’s output measures are to be found on pages
B-167 and B -168 of the Budget Book.
Comparing the original forecast with the act ual outcomes, we can see the Department of Planning has largely achieved or come close to its original for ecast performance standards. Highlighting the key per-formance indicators, I draw your attention to the Front Desk section found on page B -167 which continues to
ensure that 100 per cent of valid applications are input
into BEMIS [Bermuda Environmental Management Information System] within eight days. This section also ensures agents are informed if there are any de-ficiencies or additional information requests to be addressed in respect of the applications within 24 to 48
hours.
Mr. Chairman, the development applications
section, found on page B- 168, came close to its for ecasted processing time of 75 per cent applications
being determined within 12 weeks to achieve a standard of 71 per cent of applications processed within 12
weeks in the year to date. For many years, this performance standard was set at 55 per cent for applic ations being processed within 12 weeks.
Mr. Chairman, with respect to building permits, found on page B -168, the original forecast performance measure was for 70 per cent of building
permit applications to be determined within six weeks. The standard was revised down to 65 per cent of applications processed within six weeks. This reflected the unsettled staffing situation whilst recruitment to
key posts was underway. In the year to date, 58 per
cent of residential development permits were deter-mined within six weeks, and 71 per cent of commercial development permits were processed within six weeks.
For the permitted development permits, or
Minor Works, the revised target for 2016/17 was 60 per cent, down from the original forecast of 80 per
cent within six days. Again, this reflected the time needed to complete recruitment to key posts.
The building inspections section continues to
excel, exceeding its original forecast performance
standard of 95 per cent of inspections being carried
out within one day of the request being made. In 2016, 97 per cent of inspections were carried out wit hin 24 hours of the request. This prompted a revision in the forecast performance standard to 98 per cent of
inspections being carried out within 24 hours of the request. In total, 6,831 inspections were carried out in
2016. In total, 438 occupancy certificates were issued
in 2016, which is a decrease compared with 2015 when 473 were issued.
Mr. Chairman, for those purchasing property
the enforcement and searches section (found on page B-167) experienced a slowdown in the processing
planning searches. In the year to date, only 70 per
cent of searches were completed within the statutory period of 28 days. Similar to the building permit sec-tion, Enforcement and Searches suffered from a lack of resources for much of the year. So, while the num-ber of searches received seems to be keeping pace
with previous years —208 in the year to date—the section’s ability to respond quickly was off -pace.
The enforcement section issued one enforcement notice during the year and provided ev idence several times for Magistrate’s Court cases .
On the policy planning side, the forward planning section met its primary performance target by
undertaking and completing the objections phase of the City of Hamilton Plan 2015, which was gazetted in draft form in 2015, and seen the process through to the approval of the Plan in its final form by the Legisl ature in 2016.
Mr. Chairman, the department reviewed all
the objections and written representations received during the statutory public comment phase in the fall of 2015. Staff resolved all but one of the objections
lodged and provided detailed assessments of the wri tten representations. In accordance with section 11 of the Development and Planning Act 1974, the then-Minster of Home Affairs struck a tribunal in January of last year to review those objections and written repr esentations as well as the department’s stated pos itions. The Tribunal completed its work, which included
conducting a hearing on the outstanding objection,
and detailed its findings in the Zoning Objections R eport. The Minister reviewed and accepted the Tribu-nal’s recommendations and the City of Hamilton Plan 2015 was approved by the Legislature in June 2016.

Major Achievements

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, under
the heading of Major Achievements comes the City of
Ham ilton Plan 2015, which I have just mentioned and
which was approved by the Legislature in 2016.
Mr. Chairman, regarding its service delivery,
the Department of Planning continues to monitor its standards, seeking improvements where possible. The past year’s performance suggests the department is vulnerable to periods of unsettled staffing and as a
result its drive to complete the approved recruitment is
important. As this budget year comes to an end the shortfall in staffing is being addressed.
Mr. Chairm an, in terms of major building pr ojects, as a result of the America’s Cup schedule for this year the department has dealt with a number of
1484 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly applications for development related to this event.
With bases for the various teams in place, or well on
their way to being in place, focus has shifted to the America’s Cup Event Village to be located on the landfill acreage in the South Basin, now known as Cross Island. There are many components associated with the Cup activities, such as retail outlets, food
vendors, sponsor bases, grandstands, marinas, et
cetera. A number of these components are not yet
started and so the department is in regular contact with the project managers, BCM McAlpine, to ensure all planning applications and building permits are dealt with ex peditiously. The majority of the buildings are of
a temporary nature.
With respect to major hotel construction,
2016/17 saw the soft opening of The Loren at Pink Beach in my constituency 7. This new boutique hotel
when completed will comprise a 44- key mai n hotel
building with an additional 21 keys in 7 condominiums.
Associated features include a restaurant, spa, swi mming pools, and kids club. Another hotel under construction at present is phase one of the Morgan’s Point redevelopment, when built out this w ill comprise
an 84- key hotel and spa, 149 residences, and a 77berth marina. In addition to these two hotel projects under construction already, the Development Applic ations Board granted planning permission for a new hotel in St. George’s. That project when completed will comprise a 122- key hotel with restaurant, spa,
condominiums, and residences.

Plans for the Upcoming Year
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, as I
mentioned earlier, the implementation of the new IT
system EnerGov is now underwa y. This system will be
more readily accessible and informational for the pub-lic, as well as allow government departments that Planning works with to receive and submit application information more quickly.
The department’s steering committee meets
regularly to make decisions on changes to business processes and prepare for the new case management system. It is expected to go live in November of 2017.
Mr. Chairman, another major project expected
to be completed in the upcoming year is a local plan for North East Hamilton. This community is considered
unique within the city and worthy of its own specific
local plan. North East Hamilton contains distinctive residential and commercial buildings with a special charm, character, and history. The department is working to produce a draft local plan for discussion
with the residents, property owners, and businesses,
as well as the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation.
Additionally, Mr. Chairman, the year 2017/18
will see an amendment to the Development and Plan-ning Act to adjust the enforcement provisions, laid in the House. While there have been some delays in moving this project forward, the department is currently reviewing a complete draft of the legislation. It anti cipates laying the final version for approval by the Le gislature during the summer session.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, the Department of
Planning is pursuing the Investors in People Standard
which explores the practices and outcomes within organisations under three performance guideposts:
leading, supporting, and improving. The department is currently implementing its action plan which seeks to: foster leadership skills at every level; enable faster decision making, customer focus and agility; and d eliver continuous improvement and sustainable su ccess. The Department’s internal advocate team is
driving the action plan over the next year to 18 months. Planning has made many changes and a dvances in its processes in recent years and the Inves-tors in People programme will help the department
develop and internalise a culture where the key performance indicators are ingrained.
Mr. Chairman, in concluding my presentation
on the Estimates of Expenditure and Revenue for the
Department of Planning, Head 32, I wish to thank the
Department of Planning team for their commitment
during this past year. I do not doubt that the staff will continue to build on the progress made to date.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my presentation
of Estimates of Expenditure and Revenue for the D epartment of Planning, Head 32.

HEAD 68— PARKS

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, I am
pleased to now present budget Head 68, the Depar tment of Parks, found on pages B- 169 to B -174 of the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure in the Budget
Book.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Parks is
responsible for the management and the maintenance of approximately 2,000 acres of park, beach, and
Government land throughout the Island. This includes
75 parks, 96 properties, 30 public schools, approx imately 30 kilometres of roadside grass verges str etching across the Island, and 6 sports fields under the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The complexity of the Department of Parks stems from its scope of work
which entails enforcement, development, maint enance, cultural and historic management, education,
and administration.
The Mission of the Department of Parks is:
“To develop and maintain public parks, beaches, and school grounds and to produce plants necessary for
this purpose; to provide safe and aesthetically pleasing, active and passive recreational and educational
facilities for the enjoyment of residents and visitors; and promote the educational and cultural history relat-ing to our environment.”


Bermuda House of Assembly Our world economy has demanded that we do
more with less, which is an ideology that the Depar tment of Parks has implemented and embraced while
still managing vital safety services, like Lifeguard and Park Ranger patrols. The growth of foliage has no respect for budgets and resources, however, the Parks team remains vigilant. The main objectives of
the department are to:
• maintain and manage all parks and beaches to the specified standards;
• provide a trained and professional lifeguard
service at five public beaches;
• to protect and preserve open spaces for pr esent and future generations;
• to enforce the Bermuda National Parks Act 1986 and the associated Regulations; and
• to manage cultural and natural resources.
In this climate private/public partnerships are
key to development and maintenance for financial and resource support. The department will be working with
various industry partners to ensure the success of its objectives. The Skills Development [Programme] is a community programme that the Department of Parks supports whereby young willing volunteers are trained in the field of horticulture, specifically, pr opagation,
pruning, and handling of small equipment. This group works alongside the Parks team to gain experience and knowledge and the department gains assistance in completing various tasks. Whilst there is no promise of employment with the Government of Bermuda,
successful life skills are instilled in the participants to prepare them to take advantage of employment op-portunities in the industry. In the current fiscal year, several Skills Development participants have been gainfully employed as a result of the skills learned in this invaluable programme. I would like to take this
opportunity to thank the Skills Development Group
facilitators, Roger Parris and Sam Santucci, along with the associated charity, the Garden Club, and all of the general sponsors that have supported this community programme that reaches out to our young people.
With only four months until the much- awaited
America’s Cup Event in June . . . well, it is not quite
four months, a little shorter than that, the whole Island is preparing to showcase Bermuda at its finest. The Department of Parks is no different as it is responsible for the vista that our guests will see upon arrival and
throughout their stay. The dedicated Parks team is
ready, eager, and honoured to display our parks and beaches in all their beauty that makes Bermuda wellrenowned.
Mr. Chairman, the current account expenditure estimate allotted to the Department of Parks —
Head 68, for the 2017/18 fiscal year is shown on page B-170. The original estimate for 2016/17 was
$9,845,000. The estimate for 2017/18 is $10,002,000.
This is a $157,000 increase, which represents 2 per cent over the previous year. The number of emplo yees will remain unchanged at 143.
The estimate for 2017/18 of $10,002,000 represents a 2 per cent increase of $157,000 over the
2016/17 original estimate. The Department of Parks has 143 posts within its remit, which can be found on page B -172 of the Budget Book. Of these 143 posts,
107 are industrial, 23 are civil servant, and 13 are seasonal positions. Currently, there are 11 funded industrial post vacancies and 6 funded civil servant vacancies within the department.
The capital acquisitions estimate for the D epartment of Parks, as seen on page C -11, totals
$300,000 for the replacement of maintenance vehicles
that have long outlasted the recommended lifespan. There is an expectation that with new vehicles on hand the service provision would increase and less valuable time would be depleted on redeploying veh icles to fulfil the shortfalls of the inoperable vehicles. In
addition to transporting employees, tools, and equi pment to work sites, these vehicles are imperative to
the daily functions of the department like: trash collec-tion in the parks and beaches; hauling away grass and foliage that has been cut back; moving downed
trees from the roadways; and more. The community
experienced the benefits of these services after the roadways were quickly cleared after Hurricane Nicole last October.
The capital development estimate, as seen on
page C -5 of the Budget Book, is $600,000 which will
fund enhancements to forts, parks, and beaches. No funds have been allocated to the construction of the Parks maintenance and mustering station that was intended to accommodate the employees’ tools, equipment, and other necessities for the effective function of the department. To combat inefficiencies,
existing muster points and storage facilities will be
closely monitored and maintained.
The revenue estimate for the department appears on page B- 171 of the Budget Book. The original
estimate for 2016/17 was $59,000. The estimate for
2017/18 is $68,000 which is an increase year over year of $9,000, or a 15 per cent increase. The est imate for 2017/18 is projected to be $68,000 which, once again, is a $9,000, or 15 per cent increase from the 2016/17 original estimate for $59,000.
The Revenue sources are as follows:
• camping fees of $20,000;
• concessions of $3,000;
• service fees of $500;
• horticultural produce of $5,000;
• facilities of $3,800;
• admissions to Fort St. Catherine’s of $35,000;
and
• other retail sales of $1,000.
In total, $36,000 will be raised from the activ ities at Fort St. Catherine, with camping fees contri buting $20,000.
1486 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, the Department of Parks is
fundamental to the safety of our residents and visitors
before and after hurricanes and high winds. The af-termath of Hurricane Nicole was no different as our team cleared trees and limbs that had fallen across roadways, school grounds, parks, and beaches. Our crews, park rangers, and lifeguards took to the streets
to pave the way for Bermuda’s speedy return to bus iness.
The Lifeguard section sounded the alarm and
posted warnings and closures due to the high surf and
dangerous conditions of our waters before and after the storm, solidifying the team commitment to safety.
Mr. Chairman, the reduction in staff impacted
the service delivery of the team, which weighs heavily on this dedicated group. Efficiencies and seasonal assistant park rangers and seasonal lifeguards resul ted in a reduction of normal operating procedures, tours, coverage, enforcement opportunities, and assistance to Emergency Services. However, as consummate professionals, the team soldiered on to exhibit the highest degree of proficiency possible throughout the 2016 summer season.
The Park Ranger service suc cessfully incorporated cutting- edge technology to offset apparent
shortfalls such as the use of drones to assist with pa-trols and the use of mapping software to enhance the efficiency of normal operating procedures.
Mr. Chairman, Emancipation Day and Summers Day (or if you prefer Bermuda Day and Cup
Match) are two of many times that the Park team shows off their ability to insert calm in the midst of bacchanal . . . partying.

[Laughter]

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Working with emergency services they facilitate smooth flowing traffic,
easy parking—and I have seen this myself —the di ffusing of tempers when patrons over extend during
the festivities.

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Over extend themselves with libations during the f estivities.
Mr. Chairman, trash collection and bathroom
maintenance continues to be a challenge for the department. The performance can be attributed to the size of the team and the resources available to them. There is a team of one that cleans the bathrooms in most of our parks and beaches. Two teams of two individuals collect the trash from all of the parks,
beaches, and government land under the depar tment’s remit. Considering these factors, it is no wonder that there have been some lapses in service. There is a new measure of commitment to ensure that these services are improved, utilising new strategies with the new allotment of funds for 2017/18. This will be exemplified in the shift in the deployment of staff to
allow for a dedicated person at the H orseshoe Bay
Beach. Part of the responsibilities of this person will
be to periodically empty the receptacles on the beach and attend to the bathrooms throughout the day.
The botanic jewel of Bermuda faced a very
challenging year that spotlighted the need for strong
leadership in addition to tools, equipment, and other resources. As the year went on, several individuals stepped in and have aided in the transition of the Bermuda Botanical Gardens into a showcase that we can be proud of. Whilst we have more work to do, we are moving in a positive direction.
Mr. Chairman, the maintenance of the Bermuda Railway Trail and the dog waste pails has been a source of sleepless nights for many. Without the contractors in place to landscape the trail and clean the doggie pots, conditions have been less than opt imum. The department lost the two technical officers
responsible for the maintenance of the Bermuda Rai lway Trail and the doggie pots. This coupled with the
lack of available funding caused a noticeable void in basic services. However, with interim provisions in
place, new funding, and plans for progression it can
be anticipated that 2017/18 will see sizeable i mprovements. With the assistance of officers and r esources from the Ministry of Public Works, I am
pleased to say that two successful tender processes have been completed and contractors have been s ecured to maintain the Bermuda Railway Trail and the
doggie pots.
Mr. Chairman, Christmas time is magical for
many of us as we deck our respective halls with lights
and decorations. Unfortunately . . . well, some of us,
still stuff ourselves with traditional dishes and sweets until it is problematic to function properly. There are
those in our community that do not enjoy these pleasures in life and the Department of Parks team worked day and night this past Christmas to produce a Winter Wonderland that all could enjoy. For only one non-perishable item, residents and guests were able to
delight in the sights and sounds of this wonderful hol iday. For many weeks of preparation and four weekends of display the department has received numer-ous accolades for their unselfish commitment.
Park Service, Programme 6801. Mr. Chai rman, the first programme for the Department of Parks
is Park Service, programme 6801, found on page B170 of the Budget Book.
The Park Ranger Service, [cost centre]
78000, is responsible for the enforcement of the N ational Parks Act 1986 and the National Parks Regul ations 1988. Park Rangers patrol the National Parks and beaches to inspect and report on the condition,
participants, and activities therein. They manage spe-cial functions in the National Parks and liaise with i ndustry partners to maximise the successes of their duties. On an annual basis the Park Ranger Service is involved in numerous community projects including:


Bermuda House of Assembly • charity walks;
• cycle riding fund raisers,
• CPR, First Aid, and AED Certification courses;
• interpretive tours for school groups and
camps; and
• special scheduled campaign clean- ups and
hurricane clean- ups throughout the Island.
The Park Ranger Service performed an exceptional service over the Cup Match Holiday weekend when they facilitated smooth traffic flow and une-ventful enjoyment of the activities planned at the Horseshoe Bay Beach and other heavily subscribed areas during the festiv e holiday.
The original estimate for 2016/17 was
$429,000. The estimate for 2017/18 is $469,000 which is an increase of $40,000, or 9 per cent. The
number of employees in 2016/17 was eight. The est imate for 2017/18 is seven, which is a decrease of one empl oyee.
The Park Ranger Service received an i ncrease of $40,000, or 9 per cent, increase in funding for 2017/18. This budget is used to compensate full -
time and seasonal park rangers and to provide the tools and equipment required to perform their duties. The increase in funding will allow the employ of four
seasonal park rangers that will supplement the full-time rangers in patrolling the parks and beaches across the Island.
The full -time equivalents for the cost centre
78000, page B -172, Park Ranger Servi ce is seven.
Once again, this represents a decrease of one full -
time equivalent as compared to 2016/17. However, funding has been approved for the recruitment of four seasonal assistant Park Rangers.
Lifeguard Service, programme 6802. Mr.
Chairman, the next estimate of expenditure for the
Department of Parks is the Lifeguard Service, pr ogramme 6802, on page B -170. Responsible for the
enforcement of the National Parks Regulations 1988
the Lifeguard Service furnishes four public beaches with lifeguards and pr ovides water safety outreach
services to the community.
This section also supports the Emergency
Measures Organisation (EMO) by advising on the surf condition observances before and after hurricanes and storms. The skilled employee base is an invalua-ble resource in tree felling and clearing roads and other Bermuda Government properties as required.
The original estimate for 2016/17 was
$547,000. The estimate for 2017/18 is $590,000 which is a $43,000 increase, or 8 per cent. The number of employees remains unchanged at 12.
The Lifeguard Service estimate for 2017/18 is
$43,000, or 8 per cent higher than the 2016/17 original estimate. The coverage of Horseshoe Bay, John Smith’s Bay, Clearwater, and Turtle Cove for Lif eguard Services is paramount for the 2017 summer season, which will be supplemented by the application of overtime to the existing employee base. This rise accounts for the necessary increase in supplies,
preparations, and communication to the public and
industry partners during the busiest seas on Bermuda
has seen in quite some time.
Page B -172 indicates that the number of full -
time equivalents for the Lifeguard Service is 12, which is equivalent to one Lifeguard Superintendent and 22
trained seasonal lifeguards. This represents no
change as compared to fiscal year 2016/17. Consi derably more visitors and residents are anticipated to be swimming at our beaches and the Lifeguard sec-tion will spread the available individuals across the Island to mitigate large gaps in oversight.
Park Maintenance, Programme 6803. Mr.
Chairman, the Park Maintenance Division, programme 6803, can be seen on page B- 170.
The Parks Maintenance division is respons ible for the landscaping requirements of all National Parks, beaches, and schools. This involves hard landscaping development, renovations, maintenance,
mowing, pruning, edging, trash removal, tree surgery, and sanitation services.
Although the crews under the Park Maint enance programme have been challenged with a dwi ndling employee base, and a decrease in functio ning
vehicles, tools, and equipment, they have managed to maintain the beautiful vistas throughout the Island and particularly those along the South Shore. Despite temporary lapses in service, overall the crews have been attentive to the areas that needed immediate
remedial action. Major projects to clear invasive and
unwanted plants throughout the Island have been completed successfully. The Parks team worked with inmates from the Prison Farm to clear a large area along the coast of invasive plants. These works great-ly enhanced the view of the coast and also opened up
more space for camping sites in Ferry Point Park.
Trails were cleared throughout the Park with the as-sistance of Fat Tire Massive. In St. George starting at
Stokes Point and continuing to Rock y Hill Park exte nsive culling of invasive plant life took place with the
help of inmates from the Prison Farm. This work has
been lauded by the public as it has greatly improved the view of the bay. Follow -up work will be scheduled
to remove any re- growth of unwanted vegetation.
Mr. Chairman, partnerships like these allow
the team to tackle large projects that would otherwise
be extremely challenging to complete in a timely manner. Last year the Schools Crew was led by the S uperintendent on an initiative at Dame Marjorie Bean
Hope Academy to implement a horticultural therapy programme in the school. Horticultural therapy is a formal practice that uses plants, horticultural activities,
and the garden landscape to promote well- being for
its participants. The team received certificates of appreciation from the school for their excellent service.
Mr. Chairman, Park maintenance expenditure
is as follows. The original estimate for 2016/17 was $7,205,000. The estimate for 2017/18 is $7,125,000
1488 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly which is an $80,000 decrease year over year, or 1 per
cent. Employees for 2016/17 stood at 109 and employees for 2017/18 will be at 108, which is a de-crease of one person.
The Parks Maintenance programme will d ecrease by $80,000, or 1 percent. This cost centre i ncludes the funding for:
• Government House and Camden;
• Maintenance and Development;
• Eastern Parks;
• Tree Service;
• Western Parks;
• School Grounds;
• Tulo Valley;
• Botanical Gardens; and
• The Bermuda Railway Trail.
The decrease in budget is attributed to the
streamlining of positions, allocating resources more effectively, and partnering with volunteers that have expressed a desire to assist the department. Consid-ering the volume of work that is anticipated for the upcoming year, more general materials, supplies,
tools, and equipment will be secured for the busy
summer season.
Mr. Chairman, the full -time equivalent posts
for the cost centres 78015, 78020, 78030, 78035, 78040, 78045, 78055, and 78065 in the Park Maint enance section shown on page B -172 amount to 108.
This is a decrease of one funded position to realise savings. Many officers have taken on more duties and
responsibilities due to the vacancies in the depar tment. I thank those dedicated individuals and appr eciate their commitment to sharing the sacrifice.
Administrati on Division, programme 6804. Mr.
Chairman, the Administration Division, programme
6804, on page B -170, is responsible for the day -today operations of managing the Parks team as well as park planning and design and developing manage-ment plans for all national parks. The department endured an abrupt move of the team to various offices in Hamilton, which has created a hurdle for efficiency. Several unexpected shifts in the complement of em-ployees proved to be the most difficult challenge of 2016/17. We are grateful to those individuals in var ious levels that have assumed the responsibilities of the vacant and temporarily unoccupied positions to ensure the continuing function of the department.
The original estimate for 2016/17 was
$1,252,000. The estimate for 2017/18 is $1,411,000
which is an increase of $159,000, or 13 per cent. The
number of employees for 2016/17 stood at nine. For 2017/18, the number of employees will be at 11, which is a two- person increase.
The budget estimate for Administration, pr ogram me 6804, as seen on page B -170, is $1,411,000.
This is an increase of $159,000, or 13 per cent over
the 2016/17 original estimate. The department must fill the greatly needed vacant senior technical posts as the void in vital expertise has been highlighted. A greater focus on equipment, supplies, external communications , and security will also contribute to the
increase in the budget estimate. The number of full -
time equivalents for the Administration and Planning,
cost centre 78050, as seen on page B -172, is 11 as
opposed to the 2016/17 level of nine. The increase is due to funding for the senior superintendent and the
environment educational officer posts. Three posts
that were recently vacated must be filled to implement and manage the activities within the department’s r emit.
Forts and Historical Sites, programme 6805.
Mr. Chairman, the Forts and Historical Sites, 6805, on
page B -170, is responsible for the management and
interpretation of the cultural resources that exist within
the National Parks. This includes the forts and batter-ies as well as lime kilns, museums, and magazines.
Mr. Chairman, Fort St. Catherine remains one
of the top cultural places of interest in Bermuda. More
than 30,000 visitors were welcomed across the bridge
for tours, weddings, birthday parties, and corporate events. The inclusion of the East End forts among sites to visit on the Google Maps website was one of the highlights of the year for this section. TripAdvisor
posted several recommendations describing the forts
as a “must see” when visiting the Island. Fort St. Catherine was also selected by two companies —both
local and overseas —for photo shoots to use in their
advertisements. Maintaining the forts and historical
sites has been a challenge, but with the new funding
and new revenue opportunities 2017/18 is expected to be a success. The original estimate for 2016/17 was
$412,000. The estimate for 2017/18 is $407,000 which represents a $5,000 [decrease] year over year, or 1 per cent. The number of employees will remain unchanged at five.
The budget estimate for the Forts and Histor ical Sites section is $407,000; a decrease of $5,000, or 1 per cent, as compared to the 2016/17 original est imate of $412,000. The full -time equivalents for cost
centre 78080 are five employees, which is the same
as the 2016/17 fiscal year.
Mr. Chairman, when most of us run to the
closest air conditioned or warmly heated office, the
employees of the Department of Parks are toiling, of-ten in the hottest and coldest weather conditions to provide us with beautiful and safer parks. I take this
opportunity to thank the staff for their dedication and service.

HEAD 79 —ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, it now
gives me great pleasure to present the budget for
Head 79, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, found on pages B -175 to B -182 of the
Budget Book.


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, in April of last year the D epartments of Environmental Protection and Conserv ation Services were formally merged into the Depar tment of Environment and Natural Resources. This
consolidation was one of the major recommendations of the SAGE Report relating to the environment. I am pleased to report that while work is ongoing, the consolidation has proven positive, leading to a more c ohesive and coordinated approach to the management
of Bermuda’s natural environment.

The Mission

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, the
Mission of the Department of Environment and Nat ural Resources is: To protect Bermuda’s environment
and responsibly manage the sustainable use of its natural resources.

Expenditure Overview

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, the total
current expenditure for the department is estimated to
be $8,221,000 . . . let me start again, $8,221,432 for
2017/18. This represents an increase of 2.28 per cent
compared with the respective budget of 2016/17.
Mr. Chairman, the Government is committed
to revitalising the local agricultural sector. These ef-forts will be guided by the National Crop and Dairy Strategies. In order to implement these plans and pr ovide adequate services to our farmers, we need ade-quate resources and capacity to successfully imple-ment their main recommendations.
The department will look to fill two vacant
posts, expanding the Veterinary Services secti on from
one veterinary officer to two. Additionally, a new assi stant plant technician will be hired for the Plant Protec-tion Laboratory. These resources will help to provide much needed services for the care of large farm ani-mals, development and implementation of prepare dness plans for disease outbreaks, implementation of a
plant disease monitoring and response programme,
among other initiatives. Mr. Chairman, the department
engages several local entities to undertake special-ised studies. Professional local service contractors and consultants include:
• Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences (BIOS)
for both the Marine Environment Programme
for $150,000, and [the] Ambient Air Quality
Programme for $200,000; and
• Bermuda Zoological Society’s Amphibian R esearch Project for $39,060.
These funds allow for specific studies to be
undertaken that enable the department to meet its
monitoring requirements mandated by the Clean Air
Act 1991 and the Water Resources Act 1975.

Capital Development Expenditure
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, as noted on page C -5 of the Budget Book, a Capital Minor
Works budget of $400,000 will provide for the general maintenance and upgrading of:
• the Headquarters facility and Plant Protection
Laboratory located in the Botanical Gar dens;
• the Coney Island facility for marine resources
management and enforcement;
• the Government Agricultural Marketing Centre in Prospect;
• the Government Kennels; and
• improvements in the 200 acres of Gover nment -owned Natural Reserves.
In preparation for its upcoming international
accreditation in 2018, $250,000 has been allocated to the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo for the r epair to several enclosures within numerous exhibits.

Capital Acquisition Expenditure

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman,
$19,998 has been allocated for a replacement backup
generator at the remote Coney Island facility which
houses both the Marine Resource and Marine E nforcement sections. This will provide essential backup
power when the main power is disrupted by storms.
Manpower. Mr. Chairman, the department has
79 full -time equivalents as shown on page B- 179 of
the approved Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure.
This is technically an increase of four posts in comparison to the 2016/17 budget. However, two of these
posts are a result of [the] re- designation of existing
posts from part time to full -time equivalents. This was
a consequence of the recent departmental merger.
As noted previously, in 2017/18 the depar tment will look to fill two vacant posts and hire a new
veteri nary officer and assistant plant technician.
These two posts will provide critical capacity to the
department to allow for the delivery of badly needed services and programmes.
The department has 14 [cost centres] as
shown on page B -176 in the Budget Book. These are
as follows:
• 89000— Administration;
• 89010— Marine Resources;
• 89020— Marine Conservation;
• 89030— Marine Heritage and Ocean Human
Health;
• 89040— Marine Enforcement;
• 89050—Terrestrial Conservation;
• 89060— Veterinary Services;
• 89070— Animal Control;
• 89080— Plant Protection;
• 89090— Agronomy;
• 89100— Pollution Control;
• 89110— BAMZ Administration (the Bermuda
Aquarium, Museum , and Zoo);
• 89120— Aquarium and Zoo;
1490 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly • 89130—Natural History Museum and Library.

Output Measures

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, a complete tabulation of the Output Measures for the D epartment of Environment and Natural Resources can
be found on pages B -180 to B -182 of the Budget
Book.

Major Achievements

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, I will
now briefly describe some of the highlights from this
year’s work programme.
General Administration, programme 7901. Mr.
Chairman, the cost centre 89000, Administration, is
noted on page B- 180 of the Budget Book. The Administration section provides financial and human r esource management to the department. It plays a key
role in:
• collecting revenue from licenc es and permits
issued by the department;
• oversight of legislation and policy develo pment;
• administering Bermuda’s Biodiversity Action
Plan;
• protected species recovery;
• invasive s pecies management;
• geographical information system (GIS ma pping); and
• m aintenance of the department’s website.
Mr. Chairman, there remains a very high level
of interest in researching Bermuda’s endangered ani-mals and plants. Twenty protected species licences
were issued in 2016. Research topics included: inves-tigating coral gardens; climate change and temper ature impacts on corals; skink surveys; whale fluke
identification and videography; and sea turtle ecology.
In its continuing efforts to provide informative
information to the public the Headquarters’ Biodivers ity section developed an information guide for all spe-cies protected under the Protected Species Act as well as an update to the Indigenous and Invasive Plant Guide. Work continued on the active rec overy of
Bermuda’s most endangered plants and animals with:
• the focus of translocating a colony of endemic
land snails to Nonsuch Island;
• a hatching success study on Diamondback
Terrapins;
• m ark recapture studies on our endemic skink;
as well as
• satellite tracking of sea turtles.
Much of this work was done in partnership
and funded by overseas institutions and PhD st udents.
Mr. Chairman, a number of invasive plant
species continue to have a tremendous impact on Bermuda’s ecology and farming sector. So far t his
year the department received, on average, 22 new
requests for assistance from the public every month, or 905 in total since the inception of the programme in 2012. As a consequence, the department has now
removed nearly 35,000 feral chickens from acros s the
Island. While there are infestations that still persist,
the department is finding that numbers are dropping
significantly. In addition, control plans were developed for crow and feral pigeon —both species being a si gnificant pest to the agricultural industry, with negative
impacts to the Island’s ecology.
Marine Management, programme 7902. Mr.
Chairman, the Marine Management section comprised of four programmes specifically:
• Marine Resources;
• Marine Enforcement;
• Marine Conservation; and
• Marine Heritage.
Mr. Chairman, [cost centre] 89010, Marine
Resources is noted on page B- 180 of the Budget
Book. Activities during 2016/17 continued to be gui ded by the 2010 Strategy for the Sustainable Use of Bermuda’s Living Marine Resources. Licensing of commercial and recreational fishers is a core respon-sibility of the Marine Resources section. This fiscal year there were 277 registered commercial fishers,
177 licensed commercial fishing vessels, and 37 sp ecial licen ces for the commercial spiny lobster and
guinea chick lobster fisheries. Licenc es were also i ssued to 508 recreational lobster divers and 236 recr eational spear fishers. Numbers in all categories, except special lobster fishery licences, were lower than
those from the previous fiscal year.
The review of the commercial fishing licensing
system was completed this year. In addition, upgrades
to the Fisheries database have commenced and will include online statistical reporting capabilities for
commercial fishermen as well as recreational spear
fishers. This co nvenience is already provided for our
recreational lobster divers.
Mr. Chairman, another key function of the Marine Resources section is to develop management plans for local fish species. During 2016/17, section
staff conducted a gap analysis and gathered data to
aid in the redevelopment of management plans for bait fish species and red herring. The management of migratory pelagic fish such as w ahoo, yellowfin tuna,
and other tuna species is conducted on a regional basis. These species are a valuable component of
Bermuda’s commercial fishery. The Senior Marine
Resources Officer participated in meetings of the I nternational Commission for the Conservation of Atlan-tic Tunas (ICCAT) and led negotiations for appropriate quotas and catch limits of these species for Bermuda
and the other UKOT of ICCAT.
Collaboration with the Sargasso Sea Commission in areas of mutual interest continued.


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, work to mitigate the impacts of
the invasive l ionfish continued. Two commercial lobster fishermen operated 10 l ionfish specific traps each
during the summer with financial assistance from the
Bermuda Lionfish Taskforce and Gorham’s Limited. Commercial spiny lobster fishermen also reported l ionfish by -catch from their traps during the lobster
season, although reported catches were significantly lower. Furthermore, the section issued permits to an additional 167 individuals wishing to use special spears to cull lionfish. And the Marine Resources O fficer continued collaborations with other institutions aimed at increasing our understanding of the lionfish
invasion in Bermuda. A special research permit was issued to the RISE (Robots in Service of the Environ-ment) project team to conduct testing in Bermuda w aters of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) designed to capture lionfish. This project has started and the r esults are very promising. In addition, a commercial
fishing vessel licence and a special research permit
were issued to Mr. Darius Martin to fish solely for lio nfish using ROVs. This venture should also be com-mencing soon.
Mr. Chairman, the cost centre 89020, Marine
Conservation, is noted on page B -182 of the Budget
Book. This past year was the tenth year of the Marine Habitat Assessment Programme. The Marine Conser-vation team continued to collect data on coral reefs, sea grass, algal beds , and sand habitats across the
Bermuda platform in order to monitor for changes in
these marine habitats as well as the water column.
This important programme will ensure that the Gov-ernment has a better understanding of changes in habitat; identify key sites for endangered animals such
as the sea turtles, and q ueen conch, fisheries organisms and other benthic resources such as sea grass,
corals , and sponges that support fisheries and tour
industries in Bermuda.
The monitoring programme also serves as a
mechanism to increase the probability of detecting
invasion by non -native marine species, for example,
lionfish and green algae. It also provides resource
managers with the ability to predict consequences of future environmental and anthr opogenic disturbances
which could affect these valuable resources on the Bermuda platform.
The Marine Conservation section continued
their study on the effects of green turtle grazing on sea grass. The Marine Conservation section in collab-oration with scientists from Florida International Un iversity has submitted a paper titled “Green sea turtles in Bermuda exhibit an autogenic diet shift despite overexploitation of resources in their dev elopmental
habitat” to the peer reviewed Journal of Animal Ecol ogy. The study showed that the diets of the smallest
green turtles sampled on the Bermuda platform are dominated by animal prey and that as the turtles grow they switch to a diet dominated by sea grass. The large green turtles are not diversifying their diet in r e-sponse to the recent drastic reductions of sea grass
communities on the Bermuda platform. The Conservation team is currently undertaking further study of tur-tles and their impact on sea grasses, a habitat that is critical to the development of many of our commercial
fish species. Acoustic transmitters were attached to 10 green turtles known to inhabit Bailey’s Bay and 8
acoustic receivers were deployed in the Bay . It is anticipated that the data received will help us to better
understand the spatial and temporal characteristics of the movement and foraging patterns of green turtles on Bermuda’s sea grass beds.
Mr. Chairman, in 2016 the Marine Conserv ation section reviewed 32 planning applications pertai ning to the marine environment and five dredging appl ications, presenting them to the Marine Resources
Board within four weeks of receiving the application. This is a slight increase from last year’s number of 30. Of note were applications relating to the Morgan’s
Point Resort and the America’s Cup that demanded
significant study and consultation through numerous revisions in order to ensure minimal impact to the m arine environment.
Mr. Chairman, in 2016 the Marine Conserv ation section issued 11 of the 26 protected species licenc es for marine research and six p rotected species
permits for marine protected species that would be
impacted by development in the marine environment, most notably at Morgan’s Point.
Mr. Chairman, cost centre 89030, Marine Heritage and Ocean Human Health is noted on page B -
182 of the Budget Book. This section is primarily r esponsible for carrying out the mandate of the Historic Wrecks Act 2001, developing and implementing an underwater cultural resources management pr ogramme specifically for ship wrecks and marine heritage sites , and promoting the stewardship of this
uniquely Bermudian resource.
Our marine heritage continues to capture the
imagination of international media, journalists, broadcasters, and production companies adding captivating
depth to broad Bermuda features as well as s pecific
marine science and ship wreck stories. The National Geographic film entitled Drain the Bermuda Triangle
continues to get a great deal of air play internationally,
and the “Triangle” theme has a great deal of power to attract film makers and story tellers. A Japanese tel evision team flew to Bermuda to produce a story on the methane science theory of the Bermuda Triangle, and
a documentary film titled Bermuda Triangle: The Mis sing Family about a plane disappearance in the 1940s
was released featuring the wreckage of a B -29 bom ber on our Western Reef.
Mr. Chairman, the department, with financial
support from the Stempel Foundation, continued to
maintain the protected dive site moorings which allow visiting local and tour boats to tie up with minimal en-vironmental impact in important ecological and histor ical areas. This year the team secured and tested a
1492 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly new hydraulic underwater drill to upgrade the reef pins
for many of these ecological moorings that minimises
damage that would otherwise be caused by anchors. By the end of the 2016 summer season, 90 dive site moorings (or 90 per cent) had been serviced. The department and the Ministry are most grateful to the Stempel Foundation for its support on this important
project.
Mr. Chairman, cost centre 89040, Marine E nforcement is noted on page B- 181 of the Budget
Book. The fisheries wardens continued their efforts to
limit illegal fishing practices around Bermuda. In the past year, the wardens conducted 186 land- based
inspections and checks at restaurants, food wholesa lers, roadside vendors, the airport, supermarkets, and all areas where fish products are either caught and/or sold.
Fisheries wardens spent approximately 2,500
man- hours patrolling the Bermuda platform with a
special emphasis on the seasonally protected areas of the West End and East End of the Island. This in-cludes the protected grunts spawning site off of the oil docks. Approximately 450 vessels were stopped and checked with attention to daily bag limits, size, and
species restrictions. These included those members
of the public engaged in licensed lobster diving and licensed spear fishing. So far this year the Wardens investigated 25 complaints from the general public concerning illegal fishing activities by fishermen both licensed and unlicensed. Fisheries wardens recovered
eight illegal fish traps and assisted licensed lobster
and guinea chick fishermen in recovering seven lost or stuck traps.
Wardens also spent considerable time interacting with Bermuda’s guest worker community in an effort to educate them on our fisheries regulations and
best practices. This initiative resulted in a fruitful par tnership with the security personnel on several of the
cruise ships that frequent the West End Dockyard ar-ea, resulting in a major clean up and the ef ficient di ssemination of our Fisheries Regulations to the crew.
In a related incident, a crew member from one of
these cruise ships was charged with fisheries offences and received a fine of $300. Fisheries wardens also issued 15 warnings to persons fishing from both the shore and from vessels for a variety of minor offences.
Terrestrial Conservation, programme 7903.
Mr. Chairman, [cost centre] 89050, the Terrestrial Conservation section, as noted on page B -182 of the
Budget Book, manages the protection and improvement of the Government Nature Reserves, some 200 acres. Activities include clearing invasive plant and animal species, re- establishing native habitats, and
building artificial habitats such as Cahow and Longtail burrows.
Mr. Chairman, the restoration of Cooper’s I sland Nature Reserve continued with the very active and enthusiastic support of HSBC Bermuda. This year’s efforts have included the continued removal of invasive pests, plant species, and culminated with the
planting of additional native and endemic coastal
plants at various areas around the Reserve. The for-mer radar tower, now a wildlife watchtower, has b ecome recognised as one of the best places from which to watch the annual whale migration and retur ning Cahows.
Mr. Chairman, due to an intensive conserv ation programme I am pleased to note that the popul ation of Bermuda’s unique and endangered national bird, the Cahow, has grown to a new record number of 117 nesting pairs and 56 chicks fledged in 2016. This compares to only 18 nesting pairs with 8 chicks
in 1960.
Mr. Chairman, on Nonsuch Island work by the
Terrestrial Conservation Officer to establish a second Cahow breeding colony in an area safe from hurr icanes continued for a fourth year with the transloc ation of 55 Cahow chicks now translocated to Nonsuch.
The first chick from this project has already returned
and is now nesting back on Nonsuch. Meanwhile the first Nonsuch breeding colony created by moving chicks to that Island between 2004 and 2008 has now increased to 15 pairs. A video camera installed with
the support of Ascendant Group in one of the Non-such nest burrows has been upgraded and provides live viewing of nesting Cahows.
Mr. Chairman, highlighting the danger posed
by pest species to Bermuda’s national heritage, rats unfort unately re- infested Nonsuch Island. As they
pose a real threat to the eggs and young of the C ahows, as well as the seeds of some endangered na-tive plant species, eradication efforts are underway to remove the rats completely from the Island again.
Mr. Chai rman, department staff with the assistance of volunteers from HSBC Bermuda and A scendant Group removed over 3,200 Casuarina, Brazil Pepper, and other non- native trees from Nonsuch and
Castle Island, completely clearing them from the hi storic fortifications of the King’s Castle Fort and the
Landward Fort on Castle Island. In addition, about half
of the Devonshire Redoubt Fort was also cleared of
damaging Casuarina trees. These efforts were recog-nised with a Bermuda National Trust Preservation Award.
Mr. Chai rman, I would like to take a moment
to publicly thank HSBC Bermuda and Ascendant
Group for all their support in helping us maintain Bermuda’s Nature Reserves. On behalf of the Gover nment I must express my gratitude for their investment in our natural heritage from which we all benefit.
An important part of the section’s mission is to
also provide environmental and habitat assessment
advice to the Department of Planning for all matters
related to terrestrial conservation zones. Over the course of the year the section undertook 194 consul-tations on planning applications and environmental
impact assessments, scoping reports, conservation management plans, and proposed landscape


Bermuda House of Assembly schemes. While proposed development application
numbers remained at the same levels as previous
years, the department noted that there was a substantial increase in complexity and oversight in order to mitigate environmental damage to Bermuda’s sens itive areas.
Animal Management, programme 7904. Mr.
Chairman, the Animal Management section is com-prised of two [cost centres]: 89060, Veterinary Ser-vices; and 89070, Animal Control, as noted on page B-181 of the Budget Book. Mr. Chairman, cost centre
89060, Veterinary Services. While the daily matter of imports, exports, and animal welfare consume much
of the energies of the officers of the Veterinary Services section, focus on the dairy industry continues to strengthen this portion of Bermuda’s agricultural and Bermuda’s economy. Veterinary Services continued its logistical support of the Dairy Enhancement pr ogramme, the primary goals of which are to: improve
efficiencies in production and promote investment;
and infrastructure improvements so as to sustain the industry.
Other projects of note include a phased updating of numerous pieces of legislation related to the
management of animals including the Endangered
Animals and Plants Act 2006. The proposed amend-ments will bring our local legislation into full compli-ance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (or CITES treaty).
The legislative amendments go beyond the
CITES treaty to bring legal force to key resolutions taken by the Conference of the Parties. The effort has been stymied by legalities that would undermine the overall intent of the Act, but the department stands firm in its commitment and role to act locally in the
global protection of threatened species.
Veterinary Services has also advanced a r estructuring of the rules for the importation of pets into
Bermuda. This restructured prot ocol will better align
with the recently agreed protocol accepted by Chief
Veterinary Officers of CARICOM nations. However,
the proposed protocol has not been fully embraced by the local veterinary community and so there remains tweaking to be done. Cabinet will soon receive and outline and recommendation that will encompass views of stakeholders for review. At that time Cabinet
will be in a position to render a decision on the new
protocol.
Mr. Chairman, the Veterinary Services section
also has been a vital contributor to the development of a national plan to address the issue of antimicrobial resistance. The growing frequency of resistance by
microbes to last line treatments is a major global concern identified by the World Health Organization. In cooperat ion with the Ministry of Health and Seniors
and the Bermuda Hospitals Board a national plan is under development, and Veterinary Services section plays a major role in addressing antimicrobial use in
the veterinary and agricultural sectors.
Mr. Chairman, c ost centre 89070, Animal
Control, is noted on page B -181 of the Budget Book.
The Animal Control section manages the licensing of
dogs and the investigation of dog- related incidents
such as: biting or injury to a person or animal; chasing
and threatening behaviour; fighting and improper care.
It also provides support and assistance to the Berm uda Police Service as required. In 2016/17, the Animal Control section probed 720 overall complaints, a slight increase on the 706 complaints reported in 2015/16. Furth er, the time taken to initially respond to complaints or incidents remained the same with the Wa rden team responding either on the same day or next day depending on the risk to the public.
Plant Management, programme 7905. Mr.
Chairman, the new Plant Management section is comprised of two programmes namely: the Plant Pr otection Laboratory and the Agronomy section based at the Government Agricultural Service Centre.
Mr. Chairman, cost centre 89080, Plant Pr otection, is noted on page B -181 of the Budget Book.
The Plant Protection Laboratory (PPL) is responsible
for regulating the importation of all plant material into
Bermuda. Three personnel in this section perform i nspections of all plant material, plant diagnostic ser-vices, pesticide management, pre- inspect ion of crops,
and provide technical support to farmers, entrepr eneurs, special interest groups, and the general public.
This section protects the environment of Bermuda at
the point of introduction of plant material onto our I sland.
Mr. Chairman, in fiscal year 2016/17, the
Plant Protection Laboratory inspected 1,307,998 plant items.

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Yes. I will repeat that.
That is a lot of inspections, right? So the public can understand . . . 1,307,998 plant items, which was a
slight decrease from the 1,309,128 imported plant
items inspected during the same period in 2015/16. Of these, a total of 285,338 infested plants and fruits were intercepted in 2016/17 compared with 236,831 items intercepted in 2015/16.
Mr. C hairman, in 2016/17, 22 per cent, or put
another way, out of every five imported plants or fruits inspected, one was found infested with a plant pest or disease. The interception of these international pests speaks to the continuing need for vigilance on t he
front line to ensure Bermuda’s protection from pests,
which can potentially have dramatic impacts on our
Island as has been the case with other island states.
Mr. Chairman, [cost centre] 89090, Agronomy.
In addition to overseeing crop embargos, the Agr onomy section provides support and extension services to the Island’s farmers including: cold storage of crops
1494 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly and the sale of essential agricultural inputs. The crop
subsector of the industry saw an increase in the number of registered part -time farmers f rom 41 to 47,
while the number of full -time farmers remained the
same at 22. The number of farming operations also increased from 58 to 62. Registered home garden hobbyists showed a small increase from 25 last year
to 27 this year. During the year there were over 1,200
customer visits to the centre and the total value of the transactions was $195,000. Transactions include: the purchase of ice, seed, agricultural chemicals, produce boxes, and the rental of refrigerated storage and ba-nana ripening facilities. During the year both ice ma king machines were replaced in order to ensure supply of ice to both our commercial farmers and fishermen.
Mr. Chairman, 110 embargos went into effect
in a year that reflected a slightly below average per-formance for the crop sector of the agriculture industry compared to previous years. Unfortunately, Hurricane
Nicole in October of 2016 caused extensive crop
damage resulting in farmers having to replant all their fields.
Mr. Chairman, 2016 looked to be a good year
for the beekeeping industry. Interest in the plight of
our local bees continued to grow along with the number of potential new beekeepers. As in 2015 the num-ber of hives increased due to the many swarms cap-tured in the spring and fall of 2016. Unfortunately for the industry, Hurricane Nicole hit Bermuda just at the peak of the fall honey flow, resulting in most nectar
producing trees and plants being destroyed or damaged by the high winds and salt spray. This resulted in lower than average yields. The 2016 honey produc tion
value was approximately $36,000.
Mr. Chairman, the department continues to
monitor the progress of the Varroa sensitive—
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Varroa, thank you,
Honourable Member, that is a tongue twister.
—Varroa sensitive hygienic (VSH) queen
bees that were imported in July of 2016. It is antic ipated that the spread of these new queens and
daughter queens around the Island will lessen the n ative impacts of the Varroa mite and help reduce the losses to our beehives .
Pollution Control, programme 7906. Mr.
Chairman, cost centre 89100, Pollution Control, as noted on pages B- 180 and B -181 of the Budget Book,
is responsible for: monitoring ambient air; licensing a range of facilities that can pollute the air; and man-agement of Bermuda’s groundwater resource.
Under the Clean Air Act 1991 a total of 53
new and 457 reissued operating licences plus 26 co nstruction permits for control plants were presented to the Environmental Authority and issued over the ca lendar year of 2015. A further 79 operating licences are pending reissue. Under the Water Resources Act 1975 this
programme currently has 3,571 active water rights for extraction values and disposal bore holes including 32 new water rights for 2016. Currently, 249 water rights
are with debt collection and 281 are pending reissue. Thirty -four stakeholder consultee responses were
provided by the Pollution Control section to the D epartment of Planning for a range of developments i ncluding: America’s Cup Team Bases; Morgan’s Point
Resort; St. Regis development; Surfside development; America’s Cup Event Village; the new airport PTB; in addition to many smaller developments and pre-consultative meetings.
Mr. Chairman, further to Cabinet accepting
the Cabinet Memorandum for the proposed amendments to the Clean Air Act in September 2013, public consultation of the directly affected licensees has been completed for 96 control plants with a further 41 licensees to be completed over 2017. The amendments include restructuring of the fee schedule to
align it with the perceived environmental risk and regulatory resource effort. Environmental performance
criteria will also be used to reduce the licence fee for over-performing facilities while increasing the licence
fee for under -performi ng facilities. This process is designed to both encourage and reward improved env ironmental stewardship. Following this public consult ation detailed drafting instructions will be developed.
Mr. Chairman, further to a Ministerial Stat ement provided in June 2016 that highlighted the need
for improved sewage management practices for ow ners of recreational boats, “no sewage discharge zones” have been developed and promulgated in a brochure under the Waste Resources Act 1975. Regu lations under the Act are also progressing via
negative resolution.
Mr. Chairman, following consultation and
stakeholder meetings with the HVAC industry working group to the Pollution Control section, [they] imple-mented a refrigerant handling permitting process in 2015 that included training and testing at Bermuda
College. This process is necessary to ensure that
Bermuda meets its obligations under the Montreal Protocol 1976. To date, a total of 143 refrigerant ha ndlers have been trained, tested, and permitted since 2015.
Mr. Chairman, the Marine Environment Pr ogramme, contracted to the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, monitored and modelled the effect of the nutrient flux from the groundwater to the native shore marine environment. The focus of the study was to inform a sewage management strategy of the Mi nistry of Public Works’ Waste Water section with r espect to planning in the longer term for the provision of sewer mains in the more densely populated parts of Bermuda. Bermuda needs to be mindful that the use of cesspits in some areas could over decades in the future lead to the near shore environment changing


Bermuda House of Assembly from a predominantly blue to an algae- dominated
green environment.
The Air Quality programme contracted to B IOS monitors the air we breathe to the requirements of
the Clean Air Regulations 1993. These regulations provide for the safe breathing limits of outside air. Over 2016 there were a total of four exceedances of
the 24- hour limit for fine particulate matter (PM- 10).
These were reported at the East Broadway monitoring
station where there were two exceedances due to vehicle emissions and also, surprisingly, at the BIOS control site where there were two exceedances. The annual average concentration of fine particulate matter was highest at 29.8 micrograms per cubic metre at
East Broadway, which was just within the annual limit stipulated in the Regulations of 30.0 micrograms per cubic metre.
Mr. Chairman, the Amphibian Research Pr ogramme contracted to the Bermuda Zoological Soci ety (BZS) has shown that the pollutants derived from
vehicle soot is washed from road surfaces and col-lects in roadside soakaways at concentrations that suggest the sediment should be treated with caution. These pollutants linked to poor quality vehicle emissions have been shown to cause deformities and di seases in toads, killifish, and terrapin species in many
ponds. The risk also exists where road runoff drains into fields used for agriculture. Certain pollutants known as Poly -Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) have
been shown to be present at concentrations that e xceed the recommended level for residential zoned and also commercial industrial zoned land. The BIOS air quality data coupled with the pollutants monitored by BZS in Bermuda’s ponds further highlights the need to enact vehicle emission standards.
Mr. Chairman, a grant from HSBC International to BZS is focused on remediating pollutants that have already entered Cloverdale Pond and other
ponds, and provides added gearing to the Gover nment -sponsored part of the programme that is primar ily focused on addressing the input sources and the
routes of the pollutants.
Mr. Chairman, the Pollution Control pr ogramme can report that it completed a study assessing the environmental risk and health risk to the
public and to the roadside pesticide applicator em-ployee of the Ministry of Public Works’ Roadside
Weed Control programme. Levels of the herbicide glyphosate in groundwater, pond water, and potable water were at least an order of magnitude lower than the most stringent drinking water standard that is sti pulated in the EU/UK. Levels of glyphosate inhaled by
the MPW pesticide applicator were considered to represent the highest exposure over a working day compared to the roadside exposure of any members of the public. This exposure level was shown to be well wit hin the most stringent inhalation and daily ingestion limits that are stipulated by the World Health Organi-zation and also in Europe. It is acknowledged that there are many peer
review publications that suggest that glyphosate may be more toxic at lower concentration chronic levels than previously believed. These studies have yet to cause any tightening of the legislated inhalation inges-tion limits or lowering of the recommended limits stipu-lated by the World Health Organization. The depar tment will continue to monitor for any changes to the most stringent limits set in other jurisdictions.
Bermuda Aquarium, Museum , and Zoo, pr ogramme 7906. Mr. Chairman, cost centre 89110, BAMZ Administration; and 89120, Aquarium and Zoo are noted on page B- 182 of the Budget Book.
These manage and operate the animal and
fish exhibits of the Bermuda Aquarium and Zoo. This year has been one of significant progress. Following the successful renovations of the Aquarium roof, hall, and new exhibit panels, work was undertaken to r efresh the front entrance of the facility in January of
2016.
The Bermuda Zoological Society partnered
with Fidelity International and the Bermuda Gover nment to finance a brand- new entrance foyer and two
new gift shops. Work was completed in time for the new tourist season in May of 2016. The improved look
and modern interior feel has proved popular and pr ovides a much better first impression by visitors. BAMZ continues to receive excellent visitor reviews on online rating websites such as TripAdvisor.com and remains one of the top attractions for tourists.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Zoological Soci ety in combination with the Bermuda Aquarium, Mus eum, and Zoo continues to strongly support schools throughout the Island with conservation and science education classes tied to the Cambridge Curriculum.
A new record of over 7,100 student experiences were
provided last year in the facility, on Trunk Island, and on the floating classroom, RV Endurance.
Mr. Chairman, Hurricane Nicole in October
2016 did significant damage to the foreshore at the
Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo with erosion
threatening buildings in the facility. Despite the damage, the areas were secured for the general public and the facility was open at 9:00 am the morning after
the hurricane. However, significant foreshore remedi ation is needed and has been planned for the coming year to prevent further and costly damage in future
storms.
Mr. Chairman, cost centre 89130, Bermuda
Natural History Museum and Library, as noted on
page B -182 of the Budg et Book, continued its i mportant work as the repository of Bermuda’s flora and fauna collections, and as Bermuda’s only science l ibrary which now holds over 3,000 research papers specifically on Bermuda’s environment. It also contin-ued to provide oversight of the Bermuda Zoological
Society’s research and education programmes, which served a record 7,000 students last year. These exci ting education programmes instil environmental r e1496 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly search into our schools’ science curricula. This year’s
focus has been the completion of the graphic displays
for the renovated Aquarium Hall and support for the Nekton project which generated over 200 specimens from our deep reefs last summer.

Plans for the Upcoming Year

Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, Headquarters w ill continue its efforts to improve efficiencies
to the department’s processes and procedures, and expand its provision of advice and information to the public. For example, the department will look to develop online dog licences. The department website
will be expanded to host useful information under numerous subjects within its portfolio, ranging from agr iculture, fisheries, marine heritage, pollution control, and dog matters. The department will reinstitute the production of an annual report as a useful means of
summarising the diverse work that is undertaken dur-ing the year. These reports will be held in our Natural History Library located at the Bermuda Aquarium, Mu-seum, and Zoo, as well as the department’s website.
Mr. Chairman, the newly combined Veterinary
Services and Animal Service section will focus on the amendment of the Dogs Act 2008 and Endangered Plants and Animals Act to conform to international obligations of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species. Animal Management will continue to include itself in matters involving public
health that bear some connection, directly or indirec tly, to animals. These issues could range from the
quality and safety of our food supply, for example, milk quality, to such risk factors as bird flu. This co llaboration between Veterinary Services and the D epartment of Health strengthens the concept of “One
Health.” The section will complete its review of the
conditions of entry for dogs and cats out of the United Kingdom and EU countries for conditions consistent with CARICOM partner countries, prohibited breeds, powers, and related regulations.
Mr. Chairman, the Marine Management section will focus its efforts on developing strategies to better manage marine offences, waste management, and the critical bait fishery. The review of the com-mercial licensing system, delayed for the past two years, will also be a priority for the coming fiscal year.
High priority will continue to be given to finding effective solutions for lionfish control and the public are
invited to enjoy in these efforts as cullers.
Recognising a pressing need the department
will develop a marine resources enforcement strategy that will look at ways and means to more effectively
minimise abuse of our marine resources and protec ted habitats. This strategy will take in our coastal w aters through to the outer edges of our EEZ. This will
be developed in partnership with other agencies and stakeholders. Mr. Chairman, a major focus of the Ministry of
the Environment and the Department of the Environ-ment and Natural Resources will be the revitalisation of the local agriculture and encourage the home grow-ing of fruits and vegetables through the implement ation of Phase 1 of the National Crop Strategy and A ction Plan. Some notable projects will include: the i mprovement of the Island’s agriculture infrastructure, including cold storage of crops, ice provision, and ba-nana ripening; and also a monitoring programme for plant pests as a means of quick detection and rapid response to end emerging problems. Strategies will continue to be developed to assist with our declining
local bee population and to help facilitate the import ation of new varieties of beneficial crops.
Mr. Chairman, the department will continue to
ensure the environmental assessments and monitoring programme for proposed development to Gov-ernment is undertaken as a priority on matters relating
to Bermuda’s important terrestrial and marine heritage
protected areas.
The Terrestrial Conservation section will assist the Department of Planning to undertake its r eview of the Bermuda Plan through a review of conservation protected areas, [and] continue restoration efforts of sensitive habitats.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Aquarium, Mus eum, and Zoo will continue its efforts to improve its infrastructure and prepare for re- accreditation with the
Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2018. Work will
be completed to numerous exhibits to ensure the
safety of the animals and enhance the enjoyment of
our visitors to the facility.
The Pollution Control section will implement
new regulations under the Water Resources Act 1975 to address sewage discharge from recreational boats
and to create “no sewage discharge zones.”
Mr. Chairman, the completion of the large
stakeholder consultation of licensees of Control Plants
under the Clean Air Act 1991 is expected to be com-pleted in 2017. This process has helped to inform the
conditions for the operator licences that the various
industries will strive to meet as part of the perfor-mance measures that are proposed to be put in place
as part of the amendments to this Act.
Mr. Chairman, the department with other ministries is expected to complete the stakeholder pr ocess of informing the public and industry of the risks associated with the use of the glyphosate herbicide as part of the recent technical study. The department will provide all of the necessary information to make an informed decision on whether to uphold the import ation suspension of glyphosate concentrate greater
than 2 per cent. The department will also provide a list
of recommendations necessary before any import ation suspension is lifted.
Mr. Chairman, I now conclude my present ation for Head 50, Head 32, Head 68, and Head 79 for
the Ministry of the Environment.


Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Thank you, Hono urable Minister.
Is there anyone else who wishes to speak to
these Heads?
The Chair recognises the Honourable Member from 13, Mr. Rabain. You have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
and I thank the Minister for that comprehens ive brief
that we were given. It leaves little wiggle room over
here, but I will endeavour.
Mr. Chairman, when I am talking about Head
50, the Ministry Headquarters, it is a curious thing. This was a new Ministry formed in May 2016 as the
Minister did talk about. It was the amalgamation of
moving Planning, from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Parks from the Ministry of Works, and Environment and Natural Resources from the Ministry of Health. But what struck me then, and still strikes me now, is that in this period of austerity that we hear from the
One Bermuda Alliance that we should be cutting back
on expenses, et cetera, the creation of this Ministry, by my calculation, has cost an extra fee of $2.5 million per year to the taxpayer.
So when I think about that and try and wrap
my head [around] the purpose of creating this new Ministry . . . because when I go back to the now dust -
collecting SAGE Report that was submitted with much fanfare by this Government back in October 2013, there was a recommendation. And one of those rec-ommendations of the SAGE Report was to reduce the
ministries from (then) 12 to 8 ministries. Notwithstan ding that one of those ministries happened to be . . .
one of those proposed ministries happened to be the Ministry of Environment. But the Ministry of Enviro nment was not to be a Ministry that was made up out of departments that were in other ministries; it was a
ministry that was supposed to take or combine two
other ministries and put it all into one.
So, we look at that and we think about the
austerity measures and how we are told we don’ t
have money , or as my Leader will point out we don’t
have Wi -Fi in schools and the like, under this current
Premier we went from January 2014 where we had 9 ministries to March 2017 where we have 12 ministries
. . . March 2017 where we now have 12 ministries . . .
9 to 12.
Now, some of us will wonder why that is the
case. Some will theorise that it is a power consolid ation play in order to bring friends into Cabinet to solid ify someone’s position. So if that is the case, are we truly seeing the needs of the country being trumped by the desires of the party?
Now I listened to the brief and, as the Minister
said, this is a new Ministry so there is really nothing to compare it to previously, the Ministry Headquarters.
But one thing was missing. This is the Ministry of E nvironment and not once did we hear in the brief an ything about recycling and sustainable development. Why have we not heard that? Because the brainchild of sustainable development has all of a sudden disappeared from this Government altogether, it does not
exist anymore. So if we are talking about a Ministry that is supposed to be about the environment and about sustainability, what happened to, what hap-pened to sustainability? What happened to recycl ables and those sorts of things?
But then that speaks to a SAGE Report where
the Ministry of Works should have been coming under the Ministry . . . the Ministry of Works should have
been turned into a department that came under the Ministry of Environment because Works handles rec ycling at the moment. But you would think it was som ething that would be moved to this department, this Ministry anyway.
Now, we created this Ministry. We created
one post, and that is the PS, $180,000 something, I belie ve was the salary there. We have now created a
budget for travel. We have created a budget for pr ofessional services and the like. But an interesting thing came out of the brief when the Minister said —and I
quote from the brief, and it is page 9 of the Ministry Headquarters —he said, “golf courses have been consistently underfunded for the last five years .”
Now, Mr. Chairman, who has been the Go vernment for the last four and a half? And it is quite easy . . . and that kind of stood out to me because
when I went back and looked at the Budget Books from previous years the last full PLP budget, golf courses got $1.8 million. They were not underfunded
then, if you read through the statement, but somehow
that budget got nipped at, nipped at, nipped at and they end ed up at $750,000, a whole million dollars
less.
But now we have a brief from the Minister
saying that golf courses have been wholly underfunded—consistently underfunded for five years. Yet we see where the underfunding came from. We have crept back up to $950,000 as shown on page C -18 of
the Budget Book, line 7092. But I just found it very curious that the Minister would point that out when
talking about his very own Ministry and his own Go vernment at the time. So . . .
And I have had conversations about the golf
courses and, yes, we know that there needs to be
some ideas put there to make them a bit more, make them more profitable, especially when we are talking
about Ocean View. But as the brief stated, some
things just require funding, and funding is not som ething that seems to be a priority when it comes to things like this. And, again, Wi -Fi in schools.
Now, as I said, this Ministry is brand new,
there is really nothing else to compare it to. I just
wanted to reiterate that it has been formed out of nowhere and it is costing us an additional . . . around
$2.2 million. And I just do not understand what just ifies the expense of creating this Ministry. Perhaps the Minister could delve into that question for me.
1498 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Now moving on to Head 32, the Department
of Planning, we have seen steady improvements in
the Department of Planning as the years have gone
by. We certainly have. And this is an example of what can happen when, instead of just wholesale budget cuts across the board, you actually just take an eval uation of a department and figure out how to make it
run more efficiently. Everything that has been put in place in the Department of Planning, which I remind you started just prior to . . . just early 2012 and it has
continued, has led to an improved service delivery.
Now this is a department that I am intimately
familiar with. I am happy to say I interact with this department literally on a daily basis when it comes to my
other life—and in full disclosure I am considered an Agent of the Department of Planning where I submit plans and deal with issues that happen up there. And so I do want to take my hat off to the Department of Planning, especially the current Director, but I believe
she is somewhere else working as a . . . I think acting
as a PS, Aideen Ratteray Pryse, and the current Ac ting Director Larry Williams. So my hat goes off to
those two.
Put in place was a much more robust vetting
system and this vetting system, as mentioned by the brief, was put in place to ensure that applications that come up to the Department of Planning are better. . .
not better, but fulfil the requirements and that you do not have, you are not going back and forth with asking agents for additional information and the like. So before the applications get into the system, they are vetted very properly to make sure they have all of the
good information that they need.
But when I look at page B -168 in the Budget
Book and we talk about the percentage of applications determined within 12 weeks, there . . . while there has
been a steady increase from a few years ago, it seems to have plateaued out at 75 per cent and it has
remained that way for last year, with the prediction that it will remain the same this year as well.
Despite what was said in the brief, there is a
need for a few more employees in that department. I know the brief talked about the challenges we have with the inspections and forward planning, but the front office staff is taking a beating as well and they are critical because they are the first people that peo-ple see when they go into the Department of Planning.
And it is not . . . and far too often you go up there and
there are people lacking or people are not there because, you know, the regular things that happen on a job, people are out sick, people are on vacation. And you know it is extremely frustrating to have something that depends on, you know, a speedy resolution only
to hear, Well, this person is on vacation so no one’s
going to look at it for the two weeks they’re gone, and
that sort of thing.
As I have m entioned on numerous occasions,
unfortunately, I did not get a chance to mention it last year, but when I sat in another place I mentioned it every single year, the performance measures within
the book need to list the total amount of planning ap-plications . We hear time and time again, we’re doing
wonderful, there are more applications than ever.
There are more building permits issued than ever, but
we never get numbers. So we are just told that is what it is, but we never get the numbers. And where the
translation does not occur is in the performance . . . in
the revenue figures where, year after year, we hear
the Minister (or whoever is in charge, the Minister at
the time) stand up and say, This year was a bumper
crop. We’ve had more planning applications. We’ve
had more building applications. But the revenue stays
the same.
Only this year was the first year that I have
seen this Budget Book since I have had time to co mment on it that predicted revenues will go up for buil ding permits. But again, revenues for planning applic ations will remain the same, which is interesting, which
is really interesting that you can say, We plan to have
more applications, but we don’t plan to get more rev enue from those applications.
Again, I want to reiterate that, you know, the
front office staff really does need some people there.
They have lost some people over the years through
departure, through retirement, and they just have not been replaced. Again, the Minister mentioned it in the brief, tons of positions and challenges that the de-partment has simply because the manpower is not there, so if we could get some way to move on with
that.
I am very happy that the Minister spoke to his
brief; I did have it in my notes, located on page C -11
of the Budget Book where there is an additional
$360,000 allocated. And at that time I assumed it was the replacement of BEMIS, and we have now got confirmation that it will replace the BEMIS system. The
BEMIS system has outlived its life by maybe six or seven years and I will tell you why we say six or seven
years. The BEMIS system has an ability for you to —
which was very useful when it came out —to go online,
using the mapping system, and look up various appl ications and such. You cannot use the mapping sy stem if your computer runs anything more advanced than Windows XP, which . . . I do not know if any of us
are techies up here, but Windows XP expired . . . end
of life, maybe eight years ago. So if you can find a
computer with Windows XP you are good, you can get
on this system and you can speed through and find all
the stuff you need, but as it stands now it is almost a useless system.

But as it stands now, it is
almost a useless sy stem.
We have talked about the ability to submit
plans, to submit revisions digitally for years now —for
years, even stretching back to the previous administration. I , for one, am very happy to see that we are finally moving toward that because it is going to r eBermuda House of Assembly duce so much . . . in an office that absolutely kills forests of trees. And in an earlier debate we heard you
talk about (not to reflect on an earlier debate) trees
being killed for applications in immigration.
You should see the amount of trees that are
killed up here. All right? Think about it. You are su bmitting a set of . . . I can recall an application I submitted that was 36 RGD sheets, which is 24x36. You have to submit five copies of that. So, you have five copies of 36 sheets going up to the Department of Planning and they only use one to review. I do not know what they do with the rest of them, but they only use one up there.
And, increasingly, as you have been dealing
with agents, they call you back and say, Please send
a digital copy so I can just review this online on my computer, so I don’t have to worry about having this
big roll of paper. And that is what we have been dea ling with for close to the last three, four years. They
request it and we send it. And it is so much easier to
do that. So, I am happy that we are finally moving that because it is a big inconvenience right now with the website, and the inability to look up and be proactive and find things you want. Even for the layman who
wants to go and say, What is the zoning of my property. Are there any special things that I need to worry
about within my propert y? So, now, they have got to
go and find somebody, hire a professional, just to go
do that job when it should be something that you should be able to do yourself online.
The Minister mentioned about Planning law
changes that are going to be coming with the e nforcement section. Again, changes that I welcome, if they are going to be what we anticipate them to be. We have heard about these changes now for close to four years. One of them that we talked about in the
enforcement is the ability to find not just the owner of
the property, but the contractor, because we have so many unscrupulous contractors who show up and say,
Sure I can do the work for you. The owner is not cognisant of what needs to go on with the Department of Planning, but who gets the fallout from that? The
owner. The contractors get off scot -free. They have
been paying the work, and now the owner is left to
clean up the pieces.
So, I hope that this legislation, as we have
been told by the former Minister (I think it has been
about four [Ministers] since then, but the second Mi nister, not the first one) who said that this would be
coming, and so it was greatly hoped for that it would be coming.
One thing I would have hoped that I would
have seen with the Department of Planning is the abi lity for changes to be done by negative resolution because the way the world works now, technology is changing, technology is advancing, things are done much faster. What we are finding as we build Berm uda more and more and more is that we are coming across mor e unique situations that require the flexibi l-ity for the department to say, Hey, we’ve got to do
something because we are seeing more and more of
this. It does not work that fast. And so what you end
up with is a costly procedure of making the application and, literally, this is how it works.
You apply to the Department of Planning and
you call and say, Hey, this doesn’t fit any of the parameters you have. I need you to refuse it so I can
take it to appeal. When in the very essence, it is
something quite simple that could be solved if we had a more flexible system that allowed the director, or someone else, or the Minister, to implement rules that can cover that situation. It is done in some cases, but
in other cases they are loath to do it.
I go back to w hen we had those two back -toback hurricanes. Someone (and I believe it was the Minister) said, We are not going to go through the
normal process because we need to open up slate to the Island. And that was fast -tracked and we had
about four slate productions open up within a week —
like that! That is the type of thing I am talking about. We need to be more flexible like that. But what if we had to wait? What if the department had made the
decision and said, Well, the process is this needs to through 12 weeks . We would have roofs uncovered
for 12 weeks. So this is what I am talking about when I
say more flexibility within the law in allowing the Minis-ter to make more . . . well, not the Minister, but the
director, to make decisions much quicker than how they a re now. We are talking about an Act that has
been around forever. When you look at this Act, you
try and figure out, What is going on here?
Now, I heard the Minister in his brief talk
about (from page C -18) the Heritage Fund, and that
there has been a grant of $10,000 to the Heritage
Fund. The question I have for the Minister is this: How
many interest -free loans have taken advantage of this
Heritage Fund in the last year, the year before that, or
whatever? Because it is very seldom that you hear . . .
and most people I know from my . . . most people in
my field know that sometimes it is such a cumbersome process that they just do not even bother. They
just do not even bother to do it. I would just be curious to know how many interest -free loans, or how man y
people have applied for these interest -free loans and
been approved for this Heritage Fund to make any sense.
Now, moving on to Parks, Head 68, which is
located on pages B -168 to B -174, and we also see
some bits and pieces on pages C -5 and C -11. As
menti oned, this is a very important department. It is a
very important department in keeping our Island’s parks, the Railway trails, our forts, our gardens, and
all of that, as beautiful as they are. And hats off to
these hard- working men and women that are in this
department. As the Minister said, they are often out there at the height of the sun, in the middle of the summer, sweating and toiling away, making our Island
1500 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly look beautiful. But this department is not without its
challenges.
A question to the Minister. I was surprised it
was not mentioned in the brief that the director, superintendent, and parks officer have been suspended for over a year now, with pay. And they seem to be no closer to a resolution of this than we were a year ago.
So, I was just wondering what is going on with those
three, who still remain out on suspension? Will we see a conclusion to that? Because I am sure they would like to know what they are going to be doing. And moving on with, you know, getting . . . from the ones I
do speak to, they are anxious to get back to their jobs.
And these are long- serving employees who have
worked for the Department of Parks for a long time.
So, you know, I am thinking they deserve a little better treatment than to just be left spitting into the wind wondering what is going to happen with their situ ations.
Now, when I looked at the Railway Trail, on
page B -170, [cost centre] 78100, we see that last year
$425,000 was budgeted, but only $80,000 was used. Eighty thousand dollars were used for our Railway Trail. And if any of you have walked the Railway trails
of last year, you will know that they are ridiculously
overgrown and in need of some serious help. I know that last year the department was supposed to put out an RFP to have these things cleaned and I think that is why the budget was so big, but for whatever re ason, it never happened. It never went forward. My
question is, Where did the balance of that money go?
Was it spent on anything or was it not spent on an ything? You are talking about over $300,000, around $350,000. Where did it go? What was it spent on if it was not used on railway trails?
Now, I see that this year $320,000 has been
allocated, which is some $105,000 less from last year. As the Minister pointed out, and as I know, there has been a tender process that has been put forward. I
would just like to know if it has been awarded, be-cause I know the closure was sometime in January.
But it was for, and I list interim landscape maint enance service for selected portions of the Railway
Trail. So if this contract was only for selected portions,
what is going on with the rest of it? I find it odd that the BTA has come out with the new moniker, “Rail Trail,” something I completely disagree with. It is the
Railway Trail. But anyway, BTA has come out with the
Rail Trail—

[Inaudible interjections and laughter ]

—the Rail Trail as a tourism
feature, but we have cut the budget. And we have al-so tendered out a project that says, for selected portions of the railway trail. So I am just wondering, what
selected portions are we talking about and what is going to happen with the rest of it. Has there been any discussion between this Ministry and BTA when it
comes to the Railway Trail initiative that they have
come up with?

Now, when I turn to page B -
170, [cost centre] 78055, and we are talking about
Tulo Valley. Now, Tulo Valley, again, was one of those apartments that was funded but the money was not spent. It was funded last year, $526,000, and only spent $367,000. This year the funding went down to $436,000, some $90,000 less.
Now, when I look at the performance
measures for this, and the addendum, I must say, this et cetera that we were given, has the wrong page
number on it, and I am not sure which one to follow. I will yield for clarification. Are we using this one or are we using the [Budget] Book?

Everything has been ca ncelled out to say “N/A” . . . even previous years say
“N/A.” So, I was wondering, how can we not know
what happened in previous years? But when we look
at the performance measures, and I just wonder, Well,
what happened here? because Tulo Valley is supposed to be Government’s main producer of bedding
plants and potted plants for government to use. From
my understanding, instead of going to Tulo Valley, we are now buying from the private sector.

Some Hon. Member s: Really?


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Diallo V. S. Rabain: So, I am just curious, what is
going on from there? Why are we leaning—

What? Am I . . . okay. Well,
the Minister can answer that when he stands up.
So, I would like to know what is going on with
the failing to rely on Tulo Valley. And the former Minis -
ter says that the . . . (my reliance is wrong) but when I
look at the business unit on page B -174 for Tulo Valley, I mean, I look at what you have given us and everything is “N/A”. So, I cannot say whether you are
going to produce more or less than what you did last
year. My sources tell me that you are going to pr oduce less. You have reduced the budget, so why
would you produce more?
[Inaudible i
nterjections]

Because when I look at Tulo
Valley, I wonder, you know, here is a place where . . .
they do propagation, they do growing and stuff. This
could be a perfect learning tool for people who are
interested in this sort of field that could be done through Government. My question would be, How many people are we training at this facility? And another question, Is this Ministry working with the D epartment of Workforce Development to develop any
sort of internships or apprenticeships to work at this?
[Crosstal
k]

Once again, a decrease in
funding is noted for Botanical Gardens, page B- 170,
[cost centre] 78065, by some $65,000. But when we look at the performance measures, they go up. This I
just do not understand. We expect more tourists, we
expect more plants to be planted but we are reducing the budget. I just do not understand it and I would love some clarification for that.
[Crosstal
k] Mr. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Now, now, now.
[Inaudible i
nterjection]

And [this was] confirmed by
the Minister’s brief, where he said that there is a cha llenge in keeping the parks clean and emptying the garbage cans and stuff. I reiterate that the parks have
been in dismal condition over the last year or so. Garbage cans overflowing, this can lead to increase in rodents, increase in feral cats, pests, chickens, and all the like. And we see it, every time I walk through Shelly Bay. If you are riding your horses there, there are enough chickens there to chase you away if you
are not too careful.
And so, one question, Although there is a
slight decrease in this budget, the Minister said in his
brief that there is only a one- person team that is
charged with cleaning bathrooms and the like. My
question is, What happened to the second person on
that team? It used to be a two- person team. So I am
wondering, what happened to that second person?
So, although we have increased the budget
for Eastern Parks, when we look at performance measures on page B- 173, business unit 78030, ever ything is lower. So, I do not understand, we have other
departments where we are decreasing the budget but we expect more production. And we have this de-partment where we are increasing the budget, but we expect less.
Another question, another thing that makes
you scratch your head and makes you go, Mmm,
Mmm, Mmm. Now, again with the Western . . . and
I will not belay the point, but with the Western
Parks, again, located on page B
-173. The budget
goes up. But this time at least the performance
stayed the
1502 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly same. So we are paying more for the same amount of
work.
Now, here is something that I was hoping I
would hear from the Minister in his brief. Snuck in
there on page B -170, line item 78065, is $65,000 for
the Annual Exhibition. We have a budget of zero for the year, but we found $65,000. Perhaps that is where
the unspent Tulo Valley money went. Perhaps that is
where the Railway Trail, or Rail Trail, unspent money went. But we were assured last year in this Honour able House that there would be no cost of the exhibition to the Government of Bermuda. But here we are. We see $65,000.
So the question would be, What did we pay
for? The specific question that was asked was, Would the private limited liability company that runs the exhi-bition have to pay for the use of park staff that had to
work on that day? Would they pay for the use of the policemen that had to work on that day? And we were
told no . . . No, I am sorry, we were told, yes, they
would. We would not be paying for them. But we an expense of $65,000 here, and I am just wondering where that $65,000 [went]. Because we look at the line item for the exhibition for this year and it is zero
again. So will we be coming back next year seeing
something mysteriously pop up there?
Now, the Minister’s brief listed 11 funded, unfilled industrial positions and 6 funded civil posts. But just all throughout the brief, he talked about in this
department, You can’t get this done because you
don’t have the people. You can’t get this done because we don’t have the people. You can’t get this
done because we don’t have the people. Why are we
having unfilled funded posts and not filling them? We are paying for them; get people in there. You need more people to clean parks and clean bathrooms. Hire
them! You budgeted the money for it. You budgeted
the money for it!
Now, here is another anomaly. I don’t know if
it is because you guys issued this addendum that has a whole bunch of “N/A” on it, but when I listened to the
Minister’s brief, on page 4 of the brief says, “Lif eguards w ill patrol five beaches.” And then on page 19
it mentions four beaches. And then when we look at
the performance measures, it says six beaches. So which number is correct so we know what beaches are being patrolled by lifeguards? And while I am on
the Lifeguard Programme, can the Minister let us
know have lifeguards been hired yet? And have the temporary park rangers been hired yet?
Now, just moving on . . . a department that I
am not familiar with, but I have listened to others who are more learned than me, and [I have] talked about it
with others in the public and private sector. So, going
on to the Environment and Natural Resources, it is located on pages B -175 through B -182. You can also
see pages C -5 and C -11. Now this is a newly created
department. It only emerged last year. This came
about by bringing the Department of Conservation Services and the Department of Environmental Pr otection together. From what I understand, it has been a relatively smooth transition and there have been no real issues with merging them because they both pretty much get the job done. But, if we look at the Budget Book on page B -176 . . . I don’t know. Is anyone looking at B -176?

If you look at [programme]
7906, Pollution Control, and below that, [cost centre]
89100, if we go over to the budget for this year, and
then right next to the column, the amount different
from the year before, I am hoping that is a typo. B ecause the budget has increased by 100 per cent if this
is true. I am assuming it is a typo because instead of increasing by $731,000, there only seems to be an increase of $8,000. So there is either a typo there or
we need some clarification on that.

Now, notwithstanding the
announcement made this morning, one of the biggest things that stands out that has been talked to me and I
have been called constantly about it, and I r emember
the former Minister saying that this was a headache of his, and the Minister before him, and I am assuming the new Minister is: Everyone wants to know about dogs.
And while I appreciate the statement given
earlier, just taking a look at the Budget Book, you
know, I extract a few things from there. When I look at the performance measures on page B -181, and we
look at the business units 89070, Animal Control, it
says here that you expect to have 4,100 dogs l icensed this year, which is the same amount you had
licensed last year, and the same prediction you had
the year before. But when I look at the licensing fee, there is only $25 per dog if they are fixed [and] $125 per dog if they are not fixed.
So, assuming that no dogs in Bermuda are
fixed (and I use $125) 4,100 dogs equals $512,000 in
revenue, which is less than what is shown for revenue on page B -178 which is $550,000. So, I am trying to
reconcile that within myself because surely not all
dogs are not fixed. So, there has to be some fixed
dogs in there. So, how do we get that revenue number
based on what we are showing as our performance
measures?
Now, even more concerning is that the performance measures say that 4,100 represents only 53 per cent of dogs on- Island, which is (by my calcul aBermuda House of Assembly tion) some 3,600 dogs out there unlicensed. What is
the Ministry doing to arrest that? Because, think about
it. If you are saying that 4,100 dogs is $550,000 in licensing fees, surely the department can use that ex-tra $400,000- and something if they go out and f ind
these other dogs. Surely they can do that. So what is being done to actually address that?
I see the Minister mentioned online licensing,
so maybe that is one of the things that perhaps will
help to get people to say, Hey, you know, it is a little
bit easier for me to do it. But the question I have for
the Minister, with that process coming in place, will
that be allowable for new dogs, or will it only be r enewals? Because I am thinking, if I had that pit bull and I get online and say I have a Yorkie Terrier, or something like that, and I register, you know, there can be some confusion on that. So, I am just curious with the online registration, will it be for renewals or will it be for new dogs as well? How will we police
that?
Now, the Minister’s brie f talked a little bit
about America’s Cup and how this new Ministry interacts with it. But everything that was spoken was li mited to developments that are going on now for Amer ica’s Cup and the impact it will have within our marine environment. My question is, How many studies have
been done to see what the impact of the extra boats that will come here from outside of Bermuda, some say in the hundreds, that will be here for America’s Cup? And what impact will they have on our marine
environment? Now, this should fall under the remit of
Marine Conservation, cost centre 89020.
And like I say, the Minister’s brief spoke to the
applications for works that are going on now, but did not speak to what steps are going to be taken to ad-vise visiting boats on what they can and cannot do. I
see it as a herculean task. And I am just curious to
know what Bermuda has done to ensure that their marine environment is protected by these boats that are only going to be here for a month (and a little bit) do their thing, and then they are gone.
Now, piggy -backing onto that, what collabor ation has been done between Marine Enforcement and America’s Cup organisers to educate visitors on what they can and cannot do in regard to the marine life—not the marine environment, but the marine life. I mean, all of us, or those of us who follow social m edia, were absolutely devastated to see a visiting fis herman posing on Instagram with a parrotfish, about three and a half feet long, just holding it up, saying,
Guess what I caught and killed? Right?
That picture is no longer around and this guy
has disappeared from Instagram once the Bermudi-ans started hammering him. But what is being done to
talk to the America’s Cup organisers to talk to all of
these boats that are coming down here to say, Hey,
you can visit but here are your restrictions. Because I
can guarantee you that anyone visiting Bermuda and sees a pretty little fish swim by, and has a fishing pole, is going to try and catch it, most likely. We are talking
about the Dockyard area where there are numerous
protected areas from fishing and the like. What are we going to do to make sure that boats do not go there,
see these fish congregating, and say, Let me just drop
a line. I’m in Bermuda, why not have some recreational fishing? Why not? We are only watching racing
a couple of hours a day, we are living on our boat,
what else are we going to do? So what has been done
for that, for the Minister of this department to talk to
the America’s Cup organisers?
Now, I do commend, as the Minister did, the
HSBC Bermuda and Ascendant Group and their work
at Cooper’s Island [Nature Reserve]. It is a place that during the summer I do tend to exercise at and walk, and it is a beautiful location. You go down there and there is a little tower at the end, and it has all the pi ctures of all the endemic fish and plants and animals and such. I was disappointed one time when I was
walking and saw a lionfish swimming in our corals —

[Inaudible interjection]

Well, I do not have a licenc e
to cull. I do not have a licence. But it was no more
than five feet from the shore in water about two and a half to three feet deep. And it was a sight to see be-cause it was the first time I had seen one, you know, right there in front of me. It was just swimming around,
doing what it does, destroying our marine life, eating
little fish, going about its way. I did not realise that
they actually came that close, like you could see them right off the rocks, but it was right there. I was stand-ing and looking down. If you go past the little tower
there, and there are those flat rocks where you can actually see the water, in some pools there, it was
right there in one of those.
One thing that came up in the Minister’s brief
was, he mentioned the registration requirement for
home gardeners and hobbyists. I was completely un-aware of that and I was just hoping that we could get
a little more—

[Inaudible interjection]

It was on one of the last
pages, I did not note the page, but he did talk about registered home gardeners and hobbyists. So I was
just wondering if we could get a little more detail on what that programme is. I am sure there are a ton of
people out there saying, Huh? When they are liste ning, saying, What is that? So, if we ca n get a little bit
more detail on that. You know, it was in the last brief that he read, maybe in the last five pages that was
mentioned.
Now, also within the brief, on page 28 (I will
help you out), he talked about 249 water rights notices with the debt collector. We all get these water rights notices. But I will tell you . . . these are for wells, for
1504 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly those in the listening public that did not know, they are
for wells that you have on your property. The problem
with that is you have to write a cheque and mail it in,
or come down to the department with cash in hand, or a cheque. It is a hindrance! It is a hindrance to do that. Why can this not . . . if we talk about streamlining, get
this online so people can pay it online. Even if it is like,
Here’s an account number that you can go online and
transfer money to, and then send us a receipt, get it
done. Trust me, I can personally tell you that I have
walked by my desk and said, Oh wow, six months later I see the cheque and the form still stapled there to
go in the mail. We could probably count on one hand
how many Members in this Honourable House actual-ly still have a chequebook, let alone the general pub-lic.
Again, I was happy to see a mention of the
glyphosate herbicide, otherwise known as Roundup, for those in the listening public. You know, I just wish
we would just move to the point where we just ban it, get it over with, find something more natural, a natural herbicide that we can use. I can see the PS over there
saying, There’s nothing else. But, yo u know, I hope
. . . I do believe that there has got to be something
else because if this thing is being banned in other
countries, there has got to be something else to take its place.
As I windup because I know there might be
some other Members who want to speak, and I do
know that the Minister has quite a few answers to
supply.
This issue was brought up earlier with the
previous Minister and it warrants an update as well. I
would like to know what further updates there are with the Nearshore Marine Spatial Planning for Bermuda. This was initiated to update the current Minister, this
was initiated as a private/public partnership between
the Government of Bermuda, the Waitt Foundation, and the Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences, BIOS. When we last spoke in this House, the former Minister
said that the Government was reviewing all of the i nformation that had been received and was working with the Department of Planning and the other r esources to craft the most appropriate spatial plan for the country. The question asked then was did the D epartment of Planning have the type of resources to work with this and the Minister said that it would be
looked at. So, I am asking for an update on what has
happened with that process.
Previously, the Minister also said that he
would provide an update for the following reports: Healthy Options for Bermuda’s Nearshore Marine Spatial Planning Process and the Legal Context of
Nearshore Marine Spatial Planning in Bermuda.
Again, these reports were in draft form when we last
spoke, and I was just hoping that I could get an u pdate on what was going on with them now. There are several people out there that are chomping at the bit to read these reports. And it has been going on for quite some time, Minister. I want to say about a year,
and we did talk about having them in place for this November. Some of this stuff that we talked about having in place for this November for the hurricane season, so I would like to just get some updates on that.
With that, Madam Chairman, I will sit down
and allow the Minister to answer or anyone else to speak on this head.

Thank you, Madam Chairman.
I do want to give the dual Ministers over there
opportunity of answering the questions and not just
the shake of heads that they have been giving us t oday.
Madam Chairman, let me first of all say that I
am referring to Head 68, page B -169, the mission
statement for the department and also the depar tment’s objectives. If you do not mind, I will just read one or two bits of it. It says, “To develop and maintain public parks, beaches” et cetera, and it also goes further down and says, “for the enjoyment of residents and visitors.” That is in the mission statement. If I refer to the department objectives, there are seven bullet points, and I will go with the first two [which are]: Maintain and manage all parks to the specified stan dards. Maintain all other designated areas of respons ibility to specified standards.
Now, Madam Chairman, I deliberately preamble my remarks with those statements because I want to be a little more specific because my Honourable Member talked generally about the points that I want
to raise, one of them in particular, and that is Railway
Trail.
Let me say that I am blessed to live in an area
where to the north of me is the Railway Trail and to the south of me are the beaches and the parks. And so I certainly take the opportunity of using the Railway
Trail a lot but, as I said, sometimes the blessings can
also be not so good because of recent the Railway Trail has not been kept to the standard that it was usually. I live in a section, I will give you very specific,
the Railway Trail is below Rocklands Estate, and so I go from there down to Ord Road. I can either run it,
walk it, take my mutton bike. I have not been able to
do that of recent. So I would hope that the Minister is
giving some attention, I understand that some parts of the Railway Trail are being addressed. I would hope that you could move it up to that area as well. So will you be doing that, Minister, because it would certainly


Bermuda House of Assembly help the residents of my area, getting off my back,
asking me about that stretch in particular?
Let me also— because as I said, I want to give
the Honourable Minister time— move to something
very specific and this may not come under your Mini stry Minister, so you can stop me in my tracks right
away. I mentioned it, I think, the first time I got on my
feet in the House, I mentioned about a playground in
my area. And I am a little confused because I actually went across there yesterday to take some pictures and there are actually two signs. One says, “Oliv ebank” . . . something. And the other one says . . .
there are two signs there. So one, who . . . and I think
this is the confusion that we are having because I am told, I have been given the run- around as to who
should be maintaining that playground. And because I
think of the two signs, it might be two different de-partments, ministries, I do not know. I am specifically talking about the playground that I describe as Jones
Village on one side [and] Rockland Estates on the
other side.
Who maintains it? And is it going to be maintained on a regular basis? Those are my two ques-tions, Minister.
Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chairman.

Thank you, Member.
Would anyone else like to speak to the
heads?
Okay, Minister, you may take the floor.
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Okay. I want to thank
the Members for their questions. There were quite a
few questions that MP Rabain asked, so I will try and hit his questions first. The first question had to do with the price tag
of the amalgamation or reorganisation of the depar tment. I believe the Honourable Member gave a price of $2.2 million. That is what he had calculated it to be. I have been reliably informed that the $2.2 million amount is not correct. What happened is primarily a
consolidation and reorganisation using already all ocated funds. These are accommodating the 2015/16
budget. So the actual cost of the amalgamation is much lower, and I have been told it is around $336,000. The support staff is coming from existing resour ces within the Ministry and other ministries. So
instead of it being at $2.2 million, the actual figure is closer to $336,000.
I take the Member’s point that he would like
changes to be made by negative resolution. I will try and look at that. I would like to refer to his question about the Parks performance measure where he said
the performance measures he was giving had a lot of
“N/A” (not applicable) listed. You will notice that the column for the actual outcome for 2015/16 is predom-inantly empty. The department has undergone a r eview recently which revealed that the accuracy that the data collected could not be verified. The measures for accurate data collection will be in place for the
2017/18 fiscal year. So that is why the information
here has a lot of “N/A” there.
I think the question regarding Tulo Valley,
they are now producing the product instead of ou tsourcing it and buying it from outside vendors. So that will cover that.
There was another question regarding unfilled
funded posts in Parks. What is the reason behind the lack of staff and having many funded vacant posts? The response is that the Parks model of operation reflects an outdated model. The Parks Department once again is undergoing a restructuring process in
order to reflect a 21
st century model. This process has
already begun.
There was another question asked about how
many beaches and what beaches do the lifeguards
patrol, and have the seasonal lifeguards and seasonal park rangers’ posts been filled yet? There are actually
five beaches where there are lifeguards and they are:
John Smith’s Bay; Horseshoe Bay; Clearwater Beach; Long Bay; and Turtle Bay. I guess the confusion was because due to the proximity of Clearwater Beach and Turtle Bay, they are sometimes counted as one. The
process to fill the seasonal lifeguards and the seasonal park rangers has already begun. Summer is co ming, so this process is already underway.
Another question was asked about what is
being done to educate visiting yachts and visitors. The department is very active in discussions with ACBDA
culminating with an online brochure stipulating r equirements for plant imports, fuels , pets, and fishing
regulations. These will be posted on the government’s
portal and the department website. The stipulations are currently with the ACBDA and the department for final review. So those were good points that the Honourable Member brought up, and they are being addressed.
There was a question asked about parks in
the east always being overgrown and trash overflo wing. There is an issue with the parks in the east. They
have been in bad condition over the last year. I
acknowledged in my brief that there have been cha llenges in keeping on top of the delivery of service in these areas. While I can confirm the team to clean the bathrooms consisted of two, I am not at liberty to discuss the specifics of individual team members. Like I
said, I would agree that sometimes the trash needs
attending due to volume, but every parish of the Island is collected every day. There was another question asked about what
is going on with Nearshore Planning. All options are currently being explored. Next month the Ministry’s
technical officers will be holding an on- Island threeday workshop with the International Union for Conservation of Nature [ICUN]. The topic will be to discuss other effective conservation measures. The depar tment will use the outcomes from these discussions in the development of recommendations for Nearshore
1506 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Marine Planning. No government funds are going to
be used for the work shop.
There was a question asked [about] how
many people have taken advantage of the Heritage
Fund. I can provide these numbers to you in writing in the very short term. But I must say that since being reappointed to the Ministry, I have had some brief di scussions with the director about the Heritage Fund. I live in a listed house, and when I was Minister the first go-round in this Ministry I had discussions about how
that fund was not really meaningful. I mean, $10,000, that is not really going to do much for somebody who
lives in a historic house. We have to replace like for
like.
So, I know the department is looking at beefing up that whole regime. And I do not want to get
ahead of myself, but we are looking at things like maybe if you live in a listed building, you get a reduc-tion on your land tax, or there are other options that
can be explored. But it definitely needs to be looked
at. It is something that I am passionate about. Once again, because I do live in a historic house, so that is a work in progress also.
Yes, a question was asked about the director
and the superintendent suspended over a year ago. That is an internal matter. It is a civil service matter. I have been advised that financial instructions were not adhered to and an investigation is ongoing; therefore,
I cannot comment any further on that.
A question was asked about the exhibition,
$65,000 in salaries were paid for the exhibition, and also for overtime. We have to keep in mind that it is a private/public partnership that we have now, Gover nment and the organisers of the Ag Show. So there is an expense that government contributes to putting on the Ag Show of $65,000.
A question was asked about page B -176,
whether it was a typo, the Pollution Control. It is a t ypo. The difference should be seven, not 731. Good catch, Honourable Member. That is one that slipped by me.
And a question was asked about dog licences, what can be done to increase the licensing of dogs, example online licensing. We are looking at all of that, Honourable Member. I do believe that the l icensing will be for new dogs and existing dogs. I can-not go any further into that because it is still a work in
progress, but we are looking at that.
I am going to move to the question asked by
MP Tyrrell. What I would suggest is that you and I go
out to the park, because I believe I know which one you are referring to. It is right at the end of Jones Vi llage. I do not think that this field is part of the park
system. I will have to find out. It is not part of the park
system . It is not part of the school system. So I will
just have to get back to you with an answer on that because I do not have the answer right now.
There was another question (yes, I think it
was MP Tyrrell again) [about] the Railway Trail not being maintain ed as well as it has been in the past. I
can say that the areas that have not been included in the tender are those that need acute attention. There are two main areas which will be addressed in an an-nual tender process that will be in process shortly.
[Crosstalk]
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: I think there was a nother question about the Railway Trail and the tender process. Has the tender been awarded yet for selec ted sections of the Railway Trail?

Rail Trail.

[Laughter]
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: The Rail Trail is a
marketing effort.
Anyway, the tender has been awarded to
several contractors I hear . The Railway Trail was used
as a promotion in an event at Shelly Bay two Sundays
ago, actually. The weather was not that great, but there was a good turnout there. The department has
no plans to change the name as the Bermuda Railway
Trail is steeped in history and appropriately describes our experience. In addition, the name is deeply e ntrenched in legislation. So, the BTA’s Rail Trail, it is a
marketing exercise.

[Crosstalk]

Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Just a few questions on this particular Ministry
of the Environment, Head 50, but my main question is
under Head 68, a couple of questions under Parks.
I would just like to say, as a former Minister of
the Environment, I was always very proud of the team that was at that Ministry and it does not have perhaps the big budgets of Health and Education, but that is a
Ministry that has a wide impact on the health and we lfare of the Island in so many ways. There is an excel-lent team there. I do believe that the amalgamation is
a good thing, bringing what used to be Conservation
Services and Environmental Protection together. That
was a good move and I expect that they will work well together going forward.
My main questions, as I said, under Head 68,
under Parks. I have a couple of questions. One is on
page B -170, and it is in relation t o Tulo Valley b ecause I did note the comments of the Minister in rel ation to . . . there was a question raised by the Honourable Member who sits in constituency 13 about the
creation of bed plants and whether Tulo Valley is doing everything that it should be doing in that area.


Bermuda House of Assembly Certainly, I am surprised to see on that parti cular [cost centre] of 78055 that the budget is being
reduced primarily for a couple of reasons. One would think that they are continuously doing work to assist with the keeping of our beautiful green environment. And always creating the necessary plant resources to ensure that on a yearly basis they are able to replace,
rejuvenate, and keep, certainly in all of our public
spaces, all the necessary resources there. Whether it be working w ith the Botanical Gardens or in all of our
parks that they are actually doing what is necessary. So I am surprised that there is a reduction of that much [of an] amount.
Also, in relation to Tulo Valley, I am interested
to know, and I do not know if the Minister answered this, he may have, but about training and education. I
would be interested to know if the Minister can answer if any of our local schools visited Tulo Valley in the last year. Because I think it is very important that we
are trying to promote an appreciation of our environ-ment and young people should appreciate that you
can grow things. And one thing I have learned over time because I have a number of people in my family who are either in the agricultural field or have a strong
interest in agriculture: my stepfather is a farmer, my
stepbrother is also a farmer, and my own father is a very keen horticulturalist and has worked in the pr ivate sector as well as for the Agricultural Department over the years in this area, so I am never far away from agriculture from that standpoint.
And I would hope that Tulo Valley is doing
everything it can to make sure that it takes the lead in
this area because, clearly, with all of our parks and all of our green spaces and all the properties that are under the Government assets, that is more land than any private sector provider has responsibility for. Even
working with some of our quangos, frankly, the quangos should see Tulo Valley as the first stop of oppor-tunity to get their own supply, rather than necessarily going to a private sector provider. And so I would hope, as the Minister seems to have assured us of,
that 90 [per cent] to 100 per cent of our plant r esources , Tulo Valley is providing to the Government
proper , and that actually no department, none of our
park resources or none of our planting resources have
to be bought from [the] private sector, unless it is such a special acquisition that only they can get it. You
know there are some things that, perhaps, only the
private sector . . . or it is more efficient for them to get
it for us because of certain connections. But I would hope that this is the case that almost all of our bedding resources, particularly anything we have had to get to recover from any hurricanes or storms, that all
of that is handled by Tulo Valley. We should not be
buying from the private sector when we have that wonderful resource there.
And it should be used as a tool for education,
young people should be able to get training down there and to sort of apprentice in the agricult ural field by working at Tulo Valley. Students who are interes ted should be working there because all the expertise is down there. There are people down there who have been working for years who know how to do ever ything around agriculture in Bermuda. So I hope that
those are the things . . . and that is why I am concerned about the reduction in the budget that it is able
to do these things.
The other thing is . . . I am particularly interested in because my honourable colleague who sits in
constituency 26 did ask about a park in his area, I am
interested to know if . . . because I have had concerns
for my constituents about the Pig’s Field, and I know
that, though there is some local responsibility for Pig’s Field by a local committee, it is the Parks Depar tment
that is supposed to regularly trim the field, and som etimes I get calls that it has not been done. So I just hope that that is something that is known to be . . .
needed to be done on a regular basis because the
field is used by the local community.
The other thing is a question in relation to the
Exhibition, under Head 68, under programme 6804,
[cost centre] 78110. The Minister . . . we note in the
budget that in 2016/17 there was $75,000 put there, this year there is nothing, but the Minister did no t
seem to give a clear answer on if the persons who are
contracted to run the Exhibition . . . this is supposed to
be they are funding it, how are we paying for the staff that will be assisting them in the Exhibition pr ogramme which, obviously, is next month? So if it is —

[Inaudible interjection]

Well, I am not going to listen to
the former Minister, I am interested in hearing the a nswer from the current Minister. And as far as I am concerned that is chirping, it is not an actual . . . him
actually officially answering.
So, Madam Chairman, I will look to hear the
answers as to . . . if it is not allocated here, I do not
recall the Minister saying where. I did not see it in Grants and Contributions. I did not see it anywhere
else in the Budget Book, anything going to the Exhib ition. And exactly what funding is going to be put aside to fund the staffing that will be made available for the Exhibition from that department. If that group is not paying for it, then if we are paying for it, where is the
money coming from.
The other question I had and I do not know,
the Minister may have spoken to this in his brief, and it
had to do with . . . and I will go to Head 79 and, perhaps, it is under page B -176, [programme] 7903. This
is a question pertaining the Bees issue of the Varroa
virus and other related issues that we have confronted
around the bees over the years , and this has been
sort of a project of mine. I know I have not seen lately
some of the interesting unique things about bees. I used to see wasps all around the Island and, you know, we do not see that anymore. So maybe is that
1508 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly because of environmental impact . . . I am not asking
the Minister to answer that, but just okay, for the sake
of conversation, I do not see the wasps that I used to see all over the place. But in reference to the reco very, how much money is being put in the recovery of
the bee population? And is the Minister of the view that this is going according to plan? Because it is still
very challenging to get the local honey, you do not see it in stores anymore, although I guess if you know someone you can get some. But that is something that I would be interested to know from the Minister,
How much funding is being put to the recovery of the bee population and whether that is on target.
I will sit down there so the Minister can answer any other questions that need to be answered.
Thank you very much, Madam Chairman.

Thank you, Member.
Minister, would you like to take the floor?
[Pause]
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
I will go back to the question about the Ag
Show. The $65,000—

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: All right. $75,000. The
$75,000 is to pay for overtime salary for the Ag Show.
And there is a lso one person from the department
who still . . . her salary is still showing up in that
$75,000.
Regarding Tulo Valley and the Honourable
Member had a question about Tulo Valley. Quangos—this is the insight I have been given—quangos
should use Tulo Valley as a resource as opposed to
purchasing from the private sector. Anything that should need replacing should be obtained from Tulo Valley. Tulo Valley does supply plants for other government departments and quangos. At times specific
plants that are not carried by Tulo Valley are pur-chased in the private sector. This is not optimum, but in order to manage finances, the type of plants cult ivated are carefully selected.
I think we are coming to the end of the debate
on this particular Ministry, so I would like to, before we end, I would like to thank the Director of Planning, Ms. Aideen Ratteray Pryse; and also the Acting Director of
Planning, Mr. Larry Williams. I would also like to thank the Acting Director of Parks, Ms. Jonelle Christopher,
who is here in the Chamber. I would also like to thank
the Director of Environment and Natural Resources,
Andrew Pettit; and also my secretary, Marva -Jean
O’Brien —my Permanent Secretary, excuse me, Marva-Jean O’Brien —and also the Financial Controller of
the Department of Environment and Natural R e-sources, Mr. Alvin ( and I hope I pronounce your name
right, sir ) Goulbourne. They make me look good.

Minister?

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
That concludes all the debate of the heads. I
would now like to move the Appropriation Act 2017.
Madam Chairman, I would like to move that
the following heads be approved as printed: Heads 1,
5, 56, 85, 92, 98, 101, 12, 26, 84, 96, 3, 74, 75, 11,
12, 28, 38, 59, 69, 72, 18, 19, 39, 46, and 89 together
with the heads already approved during this debate on
the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2017/18.

It has been moved that the heads be
approved.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Agreed to.
[Gavel]

[Motion carried: Heads 1, 5, 56, 85, 92, 98, 101, 12, 26, 84, 96, 3, 74, 75, 11, 12, 28, 38, 59, 69, 72, 18, 19, 39, 46, and 89 were approved and stand part of
the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the
year 2017/18.]

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.


Bermuda House of Assembly I move that the Current Account Estimates,
the Capital Development Estimates, and the Capital
Acquisition Estimates be approved.

The Cha irman: It has been moved that the Estimates
be approved.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Agreed to.
[Gavel]

[Motion carried: The Current Account Estimates, the
Capital Development Estimates , and the Capital A cquisition Estimates were approved and stand part of
the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2017/18.]

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Madam Chairman, I
move that the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure
for the financial year 2017/18 be approved.

It has been moved that the Estimates
of Revenue and Expenditure be approved.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Agreed to.
[Gavel]

[Motion carried: The Estimates of Revenue and E xpenditure for Financial Year 2017/18 were considered
by a Committee of the whole House and passed.]

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Madam Chairman, I
move that the approval of the Estimates be reported to the House.

Thank you.
Any objections?
Minister, carry on.

[Motion carried: Clauses 1 through 6 together with
Schedules A, B , and C passed.]

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: All right, Mr. Speaker , I
move the p reamble.

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you.
Any objections to that?
Carry on, Minister.

BILL

1510 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly THIRD READING

APPROPRIATION ACT 2017

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Mr. Speaker , I move that
the Bill entitled the Appropriation Act 2017 be now read the third time by its title only.

Carry on, Minister.

MESSAGE TO THE SENATE

APPROPRIATION ACT 201 7

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Mr. Speaker, I move that
the following message be sent to the Senate. And the
message is:
“To the Honourable President and Members
of the Senate: The House of Assembly has the honour to forward herewith the undernoted Bill for the concurrence of your House, the Bill entitled, the Appropri ation Act 2017. Copies of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 2017/18 are also forwarded for the information of your House.”

That concludes our Budget Debate.
And Order No. 2 is carried over. Order No. 3
is carried over. Order No. 4 is carried over.
And the Chair will recogni se the Minister of
Finance , Minister E. T. R ichards.
You have the floor.

BILL
SECOND READING

COMPANIES AMENDMENT ACT 2017
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I move the Bill entitled the Companies Amendment Act 2017, which has the Governor’s recommendation, be now read the second time.

Any objections to that?
Please carry on, Minister.

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the Government wishes this
Honourable House to give consideration to the Bill
entitled the Companies Amendment Act 2017. This Bill provides for a revenue raising measure in support of Government’s 2017/18 Budget.
Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members will recall
that in the 2017/18 National Budget Government an-nounced it will increase the company licence fees for
certain permit companies from $1,995 per annum to $25,000 per annum.
Mr. Speaker, Government has reviewed company fees , both incorporation fees and annual fees.
One of the principal considerations in this area is the international competitive landscape w ith other jurisdi ctions. Owners of such companies can be very sens itive to the cost of setting up an exempted company
and even though the capital in such companies might
be in the hundreds of millions of dollars or more, the decision to not incorporate in Bermuda might turn on just a few dollars difference in incorporation costs. Therefore, incorporation fees have not been i ncreased.
Permit companies, sometimes referred to as
overseas companies, are companies incorporated in another jurisdiction, but who desire to conduct bus iness from Bermuda, essentially setting up a branch in Bermuda. Bermuda’s company framework has al-lowed such companies for many decades and they
have had to pass the same rigorous vetting process at
the BMA as though they were actually incorporated in Bermuda.
Mr. Speaker, in recent years permit companies have been at the eye of the international storm as it relates to the tax haven and tax avoidance debate,
as such companies are mostly part of elaborate structures that allow multinational corporations to reduce their global tax liability.
Mr. Speaker, let me emphasise that, as far as
we know, there is nothing whatsoever unlawful about
these structures. If there were evidence of such unlawful activities , we would not allow them to use Be rmuda as a platform. However, in view of the current transatlantic crossfire over multinationals’ tax burden, their presence in Bermuda has meant that our excel-lent international reputation has become a casualty, a
reputation which the Government has a duty to


Bermuda House of Assembly staunchly defend. The defence against reputational
risk comes at a significant cost. Therefore, we are
raising the annual government fees on certain permit companies that have no physical presence in Berm uda from $1,995 to $25,000 to achieve additional rev enue of about $4 [million] to $5 million. Mr. Speaker,
currently there are approximat ely 430 permit companies registered in Bermuda.
With those introductory remarks, Mr. Speaker,
I invite Honourable Members to comment.
Thank you.

Good evening.

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I note the Minister’s
comments and they largely reflected the same comments that he made when he delivered his Budget
Speech on the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure.
But I think that the record should record, Mr.
Speaker, that this is seemingly the fifth r evenue
measure that the Government has brought forward and the fifth revenue measure that the Government
has had to adjust. We have seen the payroll taxes
adjusted due to what one must assume is lack of con-sultation. We have seen the Electronic Communic ations Act not be taken up for what we know is lack of
consultation. We will see that there are going to be amendments to the Customs Duty Tariff which are
going to be taken up due to push back from the pr ivate sector. We are aware of . . . and there was one
more. I mean, it seems that every single revenue
measure that this Government has brought forward it
is almost as though they have not thought it through,
so now they are having to change something due to
lack of consultation.
So, the question that I have, and the only
question that I have, is how confident is the Minister of his revenue figures, which we have just put in the E stimates, given that we are making yet another change
to what the anticipated revenue would be?
And I would also ask the Minister very simply,
he said there were a number of permit companies, but
in his brief he did not say what the proposed amend-ment would mean when we have . . . we understand
that they are going to change and separate those
companies who have a physical presence from those
companies which do not have a physical presence. So
I guess the question . . . I am more than happy to yield
if the Minister has an answer because it will be helpful to me . . . for my speech. But the challenge that I have, Mr. Speaker, is
that yet again we are here amending yet another revenue provision of this Bill . . . sorry , of this year’s
Budget , and it seems as though the Government is
having a problem getting these things right and con-sulting in the first instance instead of having to change every single revenue act.
This would be the fifth one which we have
amended—Financial Services Tax, Payroll Tax, Cus-toms Duties, Electronic Communications, and now the Companies Amendment Bill, Mr. Speaker. There has not been a single revenue provisio n, with the exce ption of regulatory authority fees , that has not had to be
amended inside this House.
This is something that, of course, should be
concerning, but I would hope the Minister could please clarify what consultation took place? Why is it necess ary to make these particular changes? And
how will this change affect the Budget?
Thank you.

Thank you, thank you very much, Honourable Member.
Are there any other Members who would care
to speak?
There are none. So, Minister of F inance?

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, we are making an amendment
to essentially carve out companies, current companies that have a physical presence in Bermuda, and this is
a result of consultation. And I would say to the Honourable Member who asked this question that when
you are making changes of the nature that we are making in this Budget you are basically breaking new ground. And you know, they say you have to break
some eggs to make an omelette, and this is what we
are doin g.
So I think that these sorts of adjustments . . .
and most of them have been very minor, are in keep-ing with something that we are doing that is new , and
so this is in keeping with that.
Now, insofar as the number of companies with
physical presence is concerned, I do not believe that
they number more than 40 of the 400 to 500 companies that exist. So it is not really a major thing, but of course it will be a major thing for a company that is
here and having to pay $25,000 already and they are
already here hiring people. We do not want to pena lise those companies.
So that is the idea behind this. I think it is a
sound idea. It is part of . . . it is part and parcel of
something, a process that we have started to change
things in this country , and so it i s what it is.
With that —

Hon. E. David Burt: Point of clarification, if I may, Mr.
Speaker.

1512 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Sure.

We are now in Committee of the
whole House for further consideration of the Bill entitled Companies Amendment Act 2017 .
I call on the Minister in charge.
Finance Minister, you have the floor.
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
Madam Chairman, this Bill seeks to amend
the Fifth Schedule of the Companies Act 1981 to i ncrease the annual fee payable by certain permit co mpanies under section 135 of that Act.
There are just two clauses , well, three clauses
to this, Madam Chairman.
Clause 1 provides the citation for the Bill.
Clause 2 amends Part II, paragraph 1B, su bparagraph (d) of the Fifth Schedule of the Companies
Act 1981, to increase the annual fee payable by permit c ompanies not falling within subparagraphs (a) to
(c), from $1,995 to $25,000.
And also that “the Companies Amendment Bill
2017 will be amended as follows” and that is clause 2,
which is different from the original clause 2.
Clause 3 provides for commencement.

Members, Members, do you have a
copy of the amendment?
Yes, okay, thank you.
Please proceed.

AMENDMENT TO CLAUSE 2

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Okay, Madam Chairman.
In clause 2 we omit the words “subparagraph
(d)” to the end and replace them with the following:
“Delete subparagraph (d) and substitute as
follows: (d) in any other case where the permit co mpany: ( 1) has a physical presence in Bermuda appl ying the definition in section 129(1)(aa) as if the permit
company were an exempted company; and (2) does not have such a physical presence in Bermuda.”
But the first one I have to add, particularly for
the listeners, the ones that have a physical presence, the tax for them , the annual tax for them will be
$1,995, and for those that do not have a physical
presence the tax will be $25,000.
But that is clause 2.

Thank you.
Are there any Members that would like to
speak to the amendment to clause 2?
The Chair recognises the Opposition Leader.



Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Madam
Chairman.
I will just make for the record the same points
I have already made before and, hopefully, the Financial Secretary can get an accurate figure as to the exact impact that this change will have on the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, which have been
passed, because it seems as though those Estimates
of Revenue and Expenditure given . . . I do not believe the Minister amended the Estimates of Revenue and we know that there have been multiple items where we have reduced the amount of revenue that the Government is expected to have via law. So, if the
Financial Secretary could please provide the accurate
figure of how much this will actually change, that would be useful.

Thank you, Member.
Are there any other Members who would like
to speak to the amendment to clause 2?
There are no other Members.
Minister .
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: I might answer that question, the answer is none, because what we are antic ipating, Honourable Member, is that some of these
companies may . . . some of these companies may
pack up and leave. So we are budgeting $4 [million] t o
$5 million here even though if all of them paid $25,000, that would be $10 million. So we have had a
conservative estimate here, and some of them may
pack up and leave, and with this increase we have taken that into account.
So, the carving out of the physical presence
ones really will not be material at all.

Thank you.
Are there any other Members that would like
to speak to the amendment to clause 2?
The Chair recognises the Opposition Leader.
Hon. E. David Burt: Well, that [question] solicited an
. . . elicited a response that I was not expecting. So,
the Minister is saying that with this change that he is
making he is expecting that there will be permit co mpanies that are registered in Bermuda who will no longer register in Bermuda, and they may take their
registration somewhere else. I want to . . . he can answer that.
The second thing is that, clearly, if the Government anticipated charging all permit companies
$25,000, and if we are carving out 40 permit compa-nies right now, then, clearly, there must be a difference of revenue that is expected.
The Minister is saying that we are taking it up,
but we are not expecting a difference, it just does not
seem to add up. If we were expecting . . . I do not
know if there were 430, and 430 companies were g oing to pay $25,000 and now, all of a sudden, there are 390 companies that were expected to pay that money
and the others are expected to pay less. Clearly, there
must be some type of difference to the Estimate of Revenue. We cannot just say there will be no change
because if you were anticipating this and now you have carved out a certain section in the exact same way that we were anticipating employee payroll tax for
a full year and as you carve out a certain portion there
has to be an impact on the Budget.
So, the Minister is saying this change where
we are lowering fees is not going to have any impact on the Estimates just does not make sense.

Thank you.
Are there any other Members?
The Chair recognises the Opposition Leader.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you.
I was hoping that the Minister could answer
the first thing that came from his answer last time. It is,
just to clarify, that the Ministry of Finance is expecting that permit companies will cease to register in Berm uda and will register with other places due to this
change .

Ah! The Chair recognises the Mini ster.
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: We are anticipating that
some companies may pick up stakes and leave, yes.
But what we are trying to do here is the companies
that really have a physical presence . . . we do not want to touch them. And those that are . . . as I sort of
euphemistically described it, in the eye of the hurr icane insofar as the international tax debate is concerned, those that really want to be here are going to
have to pay. Those that really do not want to be here,
See you later. And that is . . . but all in all, we will gain
from this.
And the idea here is that we cannot have
Bermuda being used as a platform for these sorts of
things where there is not a reasonable compensation
to the Island for it. These are not exempted compa-nies, they are companies that are mainly here as part of some sort of elaborate global tax avoidance scheme. And if they are going to be here, we think
1514 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly that the Government of Bermuda—which has to d efend them —needs to be appropriately compensated.

I think the Finance Mini ster’s answer is too cavalier and he is acting far too
conservative here. These companies are laundering .
. . not laundering, they are indulging in tax avoidance
to the tune of billions of dollars. So, if they want to
maintain the privilege of having some association with a Blue Chip jurisdiction such as Bermuda, and in an effort to really send a strong signal internationally or globally, then I think it should have been higher. I still think that we should be exacting a higher price for the
Bermuda brand in this regard.

Thank you, Member.
Are there any other Members t hat would like
to speak to the amendment to clause 2?
The Chair recognises the Minister.
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Yes, Madam Chairman.
I sympathise with the Honourable Member,
but I think that we have raised enough eyebrows with
this particular move . . . not only raising, but singeing
them. [Laughter]

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: So . . . and I certainly did
not mean to be cavalier, Honourable Member. I was
just trying to inject some humour into an otherwise dry subject.
So with that, Madam Chairman, I would like to
move clause 2 as amended.

It has been moved that the preamble
be approved.
Any objections to that motion?
No objections.
Agreed to.
[Gavel]
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: I move that the Bill be
reported to the House as amended.
The Chai r
man: It has been moved that the Bill be
reported to the House as amended.
Any objections to that motion?
No objections.


Bermuda House of Assembly Agreed to.

[Gavel]
[Motion carried: The Companies Amendment Act
2017 was considered by a Committee of the w hole
House and passed as amended.]

House resumed at 8:41 pm

[Hon. K. H. Randolph Horton, Speaker, in the Chair]

REPORT OF COMMITTEE

COMPANIES AMENDMENT ACT 2017

Honourable Members, the second
reading of the Companies Amendment Act 2017 has
been approved as amended.
And we move on to Order No. . . . Order No. 6
is carried over. So we move to Order No. 7 which is in
the name of the Minister of Finance as well, Minister Richards.

BILL

SECOND READING

BERMUDA PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY
AMENDMENT ACT 2017

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
Mr. Speaker, I move that the Bill entitled the
Bermuda Public Accountability Amendment Act 2017 be now read a second time.

Any objections to that?
Please carry on, Minister.
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Mr. Speaker, the purpose
of this Bill, entitled the Bermuda Public Accountability
Amendment Act 2017, is to put into place additional components of a framework for the audit profession activities in Europe. The Bill represents the final legi slative commitment given by the Government to the EU
Commission to comply with Directive 2006/43/EC dated 17 of May 2006, otherwise known as the EU Audit Directive, as amended from time to time.
Mr. Speaker, Article 45 of the Audit Directive
requires EU Member states to register non- EU aud itors that conduct audits in entities which have their
securities listed and traded on regulated markets in
the EU. If there are no arrangements in the non- EU
country for auditor oversight, which are equivalent to
the Audit Directive, then the Directive requires me mber states to apply their regulatory requirements to non-EU auditors. Mr. Speaker, the EU Audit Directive aims at
high level, though not full harmonisation, of audit r equirements. The objective of the Directive is to impose
stricter requirements on public interest entities, given that they have a higher visibility and are economically more important. The Act applies to public interest ent ities and public interest entity public accountants. Public inter est entities are abbreviated, Mr. Speaker , with
an acronym called PIE —P-I- E. So when you hear me
talking about PIE this and PIE that, we are not talking
about that thing that in mathematics which has to do with circles; we are talking about public interest entities, all right?
So, Mr. Speaker, and the term the “PIE public
accountant” is defined to mean “a public accountant or audit firm that is registered under [the Act] to audit the financial statements of [public interest entities].” Sec-tion 2 of the Act defines the term “Public Interest Ent ity” to mean “an entity that is audited by a PIE public
accountant and that is listed and traded in securities
on any stock exchange in the European Union me mber states or such other jurisdictions as the Minister may b y order specify.”
Mr. Speaker, the main objective of the Bill is
to further improve the supervision of auditors and the coordination of audit supervision in and from within Bermuda. The Bill concludes the legislative requir ements given [to] the Government of Bermuda [by] the
EU. Accordingly, the definition of the term “Public I nterest Entity” will be amended by providing for five
types of entities that are audited by PIE public accountants as follows:
1. Entities listed and trading securities on the Bermuda Stock Exchange as a domestic i ssuer. This provision meets the requirement to consider all entities listed and trading on a
regulated market.
2. Entities listed and trading securities on any
stock exchange in the European Union or in the European Union member states or such other jurisdiction as the Minister by order may
specify. This provision is already set out under
section 2 of the principal Act. It meets the r equirement to consider all entities governed by the law of EU member states and listed on a regulat ed market.
3. Entities licensed as a deposit -taking business
under the Banks and Deposit Companies Act 1999. This category meets the requirement to consider all credit institutions, whether listed or not. For the purposes of Bermuda law, it was determined that this provision would i nclude the banking and deposit -taking sector
only.
4. Entities registered under the Insurance Act 1978 as follows: a Class 4 or Class E insurer; a Class 3A, Class 3B, Class C, or Class D i nsurer, where such insurer underwrites more than 10 per cent of its business by premium
1516 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly volume in the retail business. This provision
meets the requirement to consider all insurance undertakings regardless of whether they are listed or not and regardless of whether they are life, non- life, insurance or reinsu rance undertakings. For the purposes of the Bermuda model captive insurers have been
excluded from this requirement.
5. Entities authorised as an investment fund u nder the Investment Funds Act 2006 and listed
and trading securities on the Bermuda Stock
Exchange. This provision meets the requir ement to consider all entities listed and trading
on a regulated market.
Mr. Speaker, there are no precise thresholds
set at the EU level, which allows Bermuda to retain a
measure of discretion in framing the oversight regime, provided always that the same outcomes in terms of investor protection and consumer protection are
achieved. Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, except for ent ities listed and traded on the stock exchange of an EU
member state, the list of entities set out above that
have a shareholder equity that is, or net assets that are valued at less than $10 million pursuant to the
entity’s lasted audited financial statements will be excluded from the definition of the term a “public interest entity.”
Mr. Speaker , there are presently four PIE public accountants registered under the Act —Deloitte,
EY, PwC, and KPMG —providing audit services to six
public interest entities. With this amendment the num-ber of PIE public accountants is unlikely to change, but the number of public interest entities is expected to increase to 65.
Mr. Speaker, if the EU Commission together
with the EU member states reach a conclusion that
Bermuda’s audit oversight systems guarantee, on the
whole, similar high quality supervision, it will be c onsidered equivalent and Bermuda’s auditors and audit firms would benefit from simplified oversight proc edures when auditing entities in Europe. If Bermuda
fails to obtain equivalency, audited entities may need
to switch to a European auditor registered in the EU
and/or report to audit oversight bodies based in all of the jurisdictions where they do business.
Mr. Speaker, the main principle underlying
any equivalence exercise is not to reproduce the identical provisions of the EU law, but rather to secure t he
same outcomes in terms of consumer and investor
protection. The Bill not only increases the regulatory scope of the Bermuda Public Accountability Board by way of a framework that makes sense for Bermuda, but it also aims to improve statutory audit quali ty in
general through more sectors of the economy. Ber-muda benefits by having its own legislative regime with the aim of having it recognised by the EU.
Mr. Speaker , I wish to express my sincere
thanks to the Bermuda Public Accountability Board, CPA Bermuda, the attorneys in the Attorney General’s Chambers, EU Advisor Alastair Sutton, and the Regulatory Unit within the Ministry of Finance for their assistance in this matter.
Mr. Speaker , I now invite Honourable Members to comment. Thank you.

Thank you, Minister.
The Chair will recognise the Leader of the
Opposition, the Shadow Finance Minister, D. Burt.
You have the floor.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker , and I thank the Minister for his brief on this
particular item.
Mr. Speaker , I have some familiarity with this
particular piece of legislation as, when I served in another place, I had the responsibility of piloting this r ather large and complex piece of legislation, which is rather boring for most people when dealing wi th it, and
there were lots of different —

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. E. David Burt: No, it is not riveting at all, Mini ster of Home Affairs; it is incredibly boring. But as the
Minister of Finance indicated, it is incredibly important.
And as we found ourselves the last time that
we were in this place —last week, Friday —talking
about changes to legislation which were required to ensure that Bermuda remains a jurisdiction of choice
for international business, these are the type of items
which we have to do.
I appreciate the Minister for [providing] his
brief. I understand the research that has taken place and the work that was required to get us to this point and this measure will enjoy the support of the Oppos ition.

Members, we are now in Committee
of the whole House for further consideration of the Bill
entitled Bermuda Public Accountability Amendment
Act 2017 . I call on the Minister in charge to proceed.
Minister, you have the floor.

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
I think that I would like to move all clauses,
which are— The Chairman: One through 3?
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: —1 through 3. [Clause] 3
was just very long.

Are there any objections to that m otion?
No objections.
Please proceed.
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
Clause 1 is the citation .
Clause 2 amends section 2 of the Interpret ations. This clause states that the principal Act is
amended in section 2— the Interpretation provision—
by repealing the definition of the term a “ [Public] Interest Entity” and substituting it with a provision st ating
that the term has the meaning as provided in pr oposed section 2A.
Clause 3 inserts into section 2A the meaning
of a “[Public] Interest Entity” or “PIE.” The definition of
the term Public Interest Entity is presently defined to mean an entity that is audited by a PIE public a ccountant and that is listed and traded in a securities exchange of any stock exchange in the European U nion—either European Union or European Union member state— or in such other jurisdiction as the Minister
may by order specify. I t is proposed to amend the definition by providing for five types of entities that are audited by PIE public accountants as follows:
• Entities listed and trading securities on the
Bermuda Stock Exchange as a domestic i ssuer. For the purposes of the Bermuda Stock
Exchange a “domestic issuer” means an entity
that is incorporated or otherwise established in Bermuda, but which is not an exempted
company.
• Entities that are listed and trading securities
on any stock exchange in the European Union
member states or other jurisdiction as the
Minister may specify.
• Entities licensed as deposit -taking business
under the Banks and Deposit Companies Act 1999. • Entities registered under the Insurance Act 1978 as follows: a Class 4 or Class E insurer;
or Class 3A, Class 3B, Class C, or Class D insurer (where such insurer underwrites more than 10 per cent of its business by premium
volume in the retail business). The term “retail business” is defined to mean the business of selling insurance products that are designed for and bought by individuals pursuant to sec-tion 30JA(2) of the Insurance Act 1978.
• Entities authorised as an investment fund u nder the Investment Funds Act 2006 which are listed and trading securities on the Bermuda Stock Exchange. Subclause (3) also gives the
Minister power to amend or vary the definition
of the term “[Public] Interest Entity” or “PIE” in
such manner as he deems appropriate.

In addition to the above, for all of the entities
cited above, except for entities listed and trading on the stock exchanges of EU member states have a
shareholders’ equity that is, or net assets that are, valued at less than $10 million pursuant to the entities last audited financial statements the new section 2A also makes provision excluding them from the defini-tion of the term a “Public Interest Entity.”
That is all we have insofar as the clauses,
Madam Chairman, and I would like to invite Honourable Member s to participate. Thank you.

It has been moved that the Bill be
reported to the House as printed.
Any objections to that motion?
No objections.
Agreed to.
[Gavel]
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
[Motion carried: The Bermuda Public Accountability
Amendment Act 2017 was considered by a Commi ttee of the whole House and passed without amend-ments.]

House resumed at 8:55 pm

[Hon. K. H. Randolph Horton, Speaker, in the Chair]

REPORT OF COMMITTEE

BERMUDA PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY
AMENDMENT ACT 2017

Thank you, Honourable Member s.
The second reading of the Bermuda Public
Accountability Amendment Act 2017 has been a pproved.
And we now move to Order No. 8, the second
reading of the Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2017,
in the name of the Minister of Finance. Minister of F inance, you have the floor.

BILL

SECOND READING

CUSTOMS TARIFF AMENDMENT ACT 2017

Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
Mr. Speaker, I move that the Bill entitled the
Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2017 be now read the second time. The Speaker: Any objections to that?
Carry on, please, Minister.
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
Mr. Speaker , Honourable Members are r equested now to give consideration to the Bill entitled
the Customs Tariff Amendment Act 2017. The Bill
proposes to amend the Customs Tariff Act 1970 with
measures that:
1. Raise revenue for the Government;
2. Create a new lower duty rate for goods for lo-cal commercial manufacturing; and
3. Provide more comprehensive energy related
duty relief.

These meas ures affect the principal Act and
the First and Fifth Schedules thereto.
Mr. Speaker , I will now comment in detail on
the various measures of the Bill. I begin with those amendments that are directed at raising revenue for
the Government.
In the Budget Statement in support of the E stimates of Revenue and Expenditures for 2017/18, I mentioned my intention to increase the Customs Duty
revenues to yield $223.7 million, or 21.5 per cent, of
total government revenues. After further post -budget
consultation with the retail sector some of the original
proposals have been amended. The revised proposed
changes in import duties are as follows:
• All current 8.5 per cent Duty Rates are to be
increased to 10 per cent;
• All current 10 per cent Duty Rates are to be increased to 12.5 per cent (which was prev iously 15 per cent);
• All current 12.5 per cent Duty Rates are to be increased to 15 per cent;
• All current 22.25 per cent Duty Rates are to
be increased to 25 per cent (and that was
previously proposed to be 28 per cent);
• All current 33.5 per cent Duty Rates are to be
increased to 35 per cent.

As I promised in the Budget Statement the
three lowest rates —0.0, 5.0, and 6.5 per cent —are to
remain the same as they apply to goods such as pr escription drugs, fresh foods, and clothing, which are
considered essential. These will avoid placing extra burdens on the least well -off.
I expect that these increases in Duty Rates
will increase Customs Duty by approximately $9.7 million. In the Budget Statement I also promised that
imposed Excise Duties would also be increased to continue the process of increasing the revenue yield
of indirect taxes. These increases in specific Excise
Duties on alcohol, tobacco, and petrol would increase
revenue by approximately $14.24 million. Accordingly ,
duty is to increase on:
• gasoline from $0.70 to $0.75 per litre;
• on kerosene from $0.30 to $0.35 per litre;


Bermuda House of Assembly • on diesel from $0.50 to $0.55 per litre;
• on fuel oils from $0.33 to $0.38 per litre.

For the avoidance of doubt , I should mention
that the concessionary rates on fuel for the Bermuda
Hospitals Board, the hotels, and BELCO will remain unchanged.
Mr. Speaker, duty will also be increased:
• on cigarettes by $0.10 from $0.27 to $0.37 per stick or $74.00 per carton of 200;
• on beer by $0.62 from $1.26 to $1.88 per litre;
• on cider by $0.20 from $1.68 to $1.88 per litre;
• on wines by $1.52 from $3.18 to $4.70 per litre; and
• on spirits and liquors by $2.12 from $29.23 to $31.35 per litre of alcohol.

Customs Duties for 2017/18 are now forecast
to be $218 million. This has been increased by $4 mil-lion from the original plan before some relief was gi ven to the retail sector. The net effect of their changes is a $5.8 million decrease in expected revenue.
I will now turn to the proposed new duty relief
for goods of local commercial manufacture.
Mr. Speaker, in the Budget Speech I reported
that the latest jobs figures from the Department of St atistics show that, as of August, year over year there were 56 more jobs reported than the previous year. Despite this improvement and evidence of additional
employment in the construction sector , I wish to pr ovide more impetus to that positive change. Specifical-ly, I wish to give the Ministry of Finance greater flex ibility in promoting manufacturing undertakings carried on in Bermuda, especially when the undertaking is likely to create new jobs and be of benefit to the gen-eral economy of Bermuda. Accordingly —

[Gavel]

Keep it down a little, you guys.
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Accordingly, the Bill pr oposes to introduce a new end- use duty relief for all
goods imported for local commercial manufacturing
with a low 5 per cent concessionary rate.
Mr. Speaker, the new relief is intended as an
alternative to Customs Duty Special Remission O rders which are restricted to undertakings not com-monly carried out in Bermuda. Any local manufacturer
of goods will be able to apply for their manufacturing
undertaking to be designated, by notice in the G azette, as an approved business and benefit from the
concessionary 5 per cent rate.
For the avoidance of doubt, the existing manufacturing- related remission orders for the Bermuda
Perfumery and the Bermuda Clayworks Ltd. will continue in force until expiring, whereupon those manu-facturing undertakings will be made approved organi-sations for the purposes of relief. Mr. Speaker, the following manufacturing undertakings are to be excluded from the relief:
a) preparation of foodstuffs;
b) manufacture of alcoholic beverages;
c) manufacture of products containing tobacco
or tobacco substitutes.

Thes e kinds of manufacturing already enjoy
other kinds of Customs concessions and arrang ements.
Mr. Speaker, I now progress to the measures
of the Bill that provide energy -related duty relief. The
Bill proposes to zero rate electric motor vehicles for
the transport of goods, (which is currently 12.5 per
cent) and electric vehicles for the transport of 10 or
more persons (currently 33.5 per cent). These measures are intended to encourage the importation and use of more environmentally friendly means of transportation.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill also proposes to intr oduce three new end- use duty reliefs in the Fifth
Schedule to the principal Act providing 100 per cent
duty relief in respect of:
1. renewable energy systems;
2. the L.F. Wade International Airport utility scale
photovoltaic installation; and
3. lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles.

Mr. Speaker, the proposed relief for renew able energy systems relief is designed to provide more
comprehensive coverage than the existing renewable
energy -related reliefs. Current reliefs do not account
for changes in technology, for example, micro-inverters, without which a solar PV panel would be far less effective. Nor are replacement parts and acces-sories for renewable energy systems covered by existing relief. Accordingly, the new relief includes all
goods imported for and incorporated in any renewable
energy system including integrated energy storage systems.
Mr. Speaker, separate duty relief is proposed
for goods imported for the development of the L.F. Wade International Airport utility scale solar photovol-taic installation. In this way the costs of that project can be reduced. This will, in turn, help to ensure that the energy delivered will be at the lowest possible price, which will be beneficial to all residents and
businesses in Bermuda as it will be reflected in the
energy price that all BELCO customers pay.
Mr. Speaker, the proposed duty relief for lithium ion batteries for electric vehicles is designed to
encourage more residents to purchase and use 100 per cent electric vehicles. At present the duty rate
for electric vehicles is 0.0 per cent, however, the r eplacement batteries attract a 33.5 per cent duty rate.
This higher rate of batteries has contributed to a situa-tion where the landed replacement cost of such bat-teries can represent up to 40 per cent of the original
price of the vehicle. This makes the prospect of i m1520 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly porting electric vehicles less attractive and makes the
replacement of the batteries in imported electric vehicles economically unfeasible. Without this kind of r einvestment such vehicles may be rendered inoper able.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill also seeks to amend existing end- use relief of CPC 4130 which is electrical
generating equipment to include under “qualifying goods” air quality monitoring instruments and assoc iated equipment. This extension to the relief is inten ded to help further minimise the cost of electricity pr oduction at BELCO. Honourable Member s may be
aware that the Environmental Authority and the D epartment of Environment and Natural Resources cu rrently require BELCO to operate two ambient air moni toring stations and associated equipment as a
condition of their operating licence under the Clean Air Act 1991. BELCO is required to monitor a range of pollutants as listed in the Clean Air Regulations 1993
at sites at Cemetery Lane and at the top of Langton
Hill. The purpose of the air quality monitoring at BELCO is to ensure that the outside air that people breathe in areas predicted to have the highest impact on the BELCO stacks are compliant to the safe limits
stipulated in the Clean Air Regulations 1993.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, the Bill contains a number of housekeeping measures and makes certain consequential amendments. These further hous ekeeping amendments of the Bill are various in nature:
1. to repeal obsolete end- use relief;
2. amend provisions concerning the obligation to
pay duty upon diversion;
3. update the Customs Tariff with the 2017
amendments to the International Harmonised System of nomenclature;
4. insert in the Customs Tariff a number of new
tariff codes as recommended by the World
Customs Organisation to assist in the global
monitoring of goods used to produce and use improvised explosive devices (or IEDs); and
5. amend the Customs Duty (Special Remission)
Act 1951 by repealing the provision concer ning the disposal of locally manufactured
goods.

I will comment further in detail on these matters when we move into Committee and right now, Mr.
Speaker , I invite Honourable Members to comment.
Thank you.

Thank you, Minister.
The Chair will recognise the Leader of the
Opposition, the Shadow Minister of Finance.
You have the floor.
Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker .
Mr. Speaker, as would be a f amiliar theme for
this evening, however, I believe this might be the last revenue raising measure that we have to deal with
during this budget session. I may be mistaken, the
Minister might come up with another tax. However, it should be noted, as I said, Mr. Speaker , that we are
five for fiv e. So five out of the revenue bills that came
to this House . . . all five had to be amended, and here
we are, once again, amend ing yet another Bill that
was supposed to be carefully thought out during a budget process from a Minister of Finance who al-ways prides himself or says that he is well prepared
and the coun try is in safe hands.
But the safe hands, Mr. Speaker, cannot put
together a budget that can make it more than a few
weeks without changes because we have seen a
number of changes. And it might be symptomatic be-cause we have seen the same thing happen with the conservative Chancellor in the United Kingdom, you know, putting out a budget and then having to bac ktrack because of the unintended consequences or the
lack of consultation that happened beforehand.
But does anyone remember, Mr. Speaker , the
Minister of Finance and the One Bermuda Alliance
Government in the run- up to the last general election
talking about reducing the cost of living? And here
today we will see gasoline taxes increase by 50 per
cent underneath his watch, Mr. Speaker, but we are
talking about reducing the cost of living. It is exactly as
the Chamber of Commerce said inflationary tax i ncreases . These increases will affect all of us. They will
affect every last one of us, Mr. S peaker , and they will
cause the position which we already hold . . . as being
number one. We might as well take a victory lap now
because we are certainly going to be the number one most expensive place to live after these tax increases come into effect, Mr. Speaker .
That is the record of the One Bermuda All iance. That is the record of a Government that said they would reduce the cost of living but have only added to the pain of the man and woman on the street, as the Honourable Member from constituency 5 likes to say, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. They are the
ones that are getting these increases in the cost of living.
But here is the other thing, Mr. Speaker —

I tell you, Honourable Member s, I do
not like backs. I do not like backs at all. So if you ar e
going to be in this House, I need to see your front, not
your back.

Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker , what I would say
also is Mr. and Mrs. Smith should be like Mr. Gibbons
because if Mr. and Mrs. Smith were like Mr. Gibbons,
when there were tax increases that affected the retail
operations, all you have to do is give a little call and
say, We don’t like these. And it could be Mr. Gibbons
or it could be Mr. Cooper —

Trimingham’s.


Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. E. David Burt: Trimingham’s. We don’t have
any Triming ham’s anymore. But it could be Mr. Cri sson—

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. E. David Burt: It could be Mr. Crisson. It could
be a few people who sell a whole lot of goods that
might have a whole lot of contacts with the One Ber-muda Alliance, that might give a whole lot of money to
the One Bermuda Alliance, that says your political
donations might be a little less if you put through this
tax. And look how quickly it gets wound back. No
need to march, no need to protest, no need to be pepper -sprayed, just pick up the phone and call and
the Minister of Finance will rewrite his budget for you.
That is what we have, Mr. Speaker , we see a
rewriting of the budget for what the Minister termed in his statement “relief for the retail sector.” That is what
he said. And I would invite him, when he finishes, if he
can at least elaborate because he did not in his brief, what representations were made to him by the retail sector and why he felt the need to give relief to the retail sector and what were the reasons behind t hese
particular changes, Mr. Speaker .
Because it is interesting that there are many
persons who have to seemingly protest and do wha tever they can to get the One Bermuda Alliance to lis-ten, but if you happen to be, I do not know, a Gibbons or a Crisson —

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. E. David Burt: Pardon?

Or Dunkley.
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. E. David Burt: Or a Dunkle y. I heard that one. I
hear a lot of calling from the side.
All I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, is those Ho nourable Members will have plenty of opportunity to get
up and defend your Government’s record of raising the cost of living. Feel free! But while I have the floor, Mr. Speaker, I am going to make sure that people in this country understand what they are getting from a government who promised to reduce their cost of li ving. So the Honourable Member from constituency 28
who wants to chirp, maybe if you are Sousa as well you might want some additional relief.
Now, Mr. Speaker, there is another issue that
we have and in that particular case, Mr. Speaker , I
think that it is also interesting that the Minister with the safe hands gave us a Budget Statement that stated
that in the new unified tariff rates if you are in tariff band number 9, which was 25 per cent, your taxes —
sorry —your rate will go to 35 percent. All of a sudden
we now find out today that that was a mistake. It seems there are a lot of mistakes in this book, Mr.
Speaker . Could it have been [due] to lack of consult ation? Could it have been through not thinking it through? Whatever it was, Mr. Speaker, we find our-selves a month away from the Budget presentation, once again, making major changes.
Then, of course, we see the increase in Excise Taxes. Now, we already spoke about the 50 per
cent increase in taxes underneath the One Bermuda Alliance watch—50 per cent, Mr. Speaker .
So, 2012 . . . [there was] 50 per cent less tax
than you will be paying on A pril 1
st on gasoline. And
that affects everybody, Mr. Speaker. It affects ever yone who drives a bike or rides a bike, it affects ever yone who drives a car, it affects all of . . . Member from
[constituency] 28, are you okay? I just want to make
sure. Listen up; I have got some good stuff for you.

Honourable Member , speak to the—
Hon. E. David Burt: It affects everyone who delivers
items, Mr. Speaker, because if you are in the food
business or if you are in any other business and all of
a sudden the taxes on the gasoline that you use to transport items increases, that means you have to
pass those on and those items get passed on and you
see them when you go and pay for your —

Groceries.
Hon. E. David Burt: Or your milk.
An Hon . Member: Your Cheerios.
Hon. E. David Burt: Or your Cheerios at the store.
So, Mr. Speaker , this is a challenge. And with
these increased Excise Taxes one of the things which
I spoke about before is we understand that the Go vernment will say, All right, let’s put in a new sin tax
because that is an easiest thing to tax.
But, Mr. Speaker , we are in the tourism bus iness. Now, we already have a reputation for being
number one most expensive place in the world. But if
we are now going to add additional insu lt to injury and
raise the taxes on beer in one step by 50 per cent,
how does that look when the Honourable Member
from [constituency] 28 will invite all of his friends down
for Bermuda Carnival and they have to pay extortion
amounts to have a beer while t hey are out on the
road? If we are trying to be in the tourism industry,
and it is exactly as I had said before, Mr. Speaker ,
when we were in Government we held back the i ncreases on alcohol for the plain and specific reason . . . understanding that we are in the tourism business.
1522 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly And if you want persons to come here and enjoy
themselves and have a little drink sometimes, then
you do not want them to pay an arm and a leg and go
home and say, Yeah, well, Bermuda was nice, but it
was too expensive. We already have a reputation for
being too expensive, let us not make it worse.
So Members on that side of the aisle will have
an opportunity to consider amendments coming from
this side of the aisle that will reduce that burden. B ecause if we are serious about tourism and if we are serious about making sure that the growth which we have had in tourism is sustained, if we are serious about ensuring that the new younger visitors that the
BTA is lauding that they are attracting can come here
and continue to come here, then we should not make
it a more expensive jurisdiction if they want to have a drink.
Now, Mr. Speaker, again, the Minister referenced in his speech regarding the unchanged rates to
BELCO and to the Bermuda Hospitals Board and to
the hotels. But in the same fell swoop, where certain dutiable items might be increased for the hotel and their cost will go up, in the same swoop, where we have taken away payroll tax benefits to hotels, we
have also not done anything about their costs. And we
know that our hotels are having a challenge. And a few years ago the Minister of Finance again increased the taxes on the fuel that is paid [ by] hoteliers by 50 per cent. And we all know that hoteliers . . . one of
their main items, one of their main items, is the cost of
energy.
So we have a choice to make, Mr. Speaker .
We have to question as to whether or not we are rea lly serious about tourism and we have to recognise and understand that every effect has another effect. So when you get a call from a Gibbons or a Cooper or
a Crisson or a Sousa to talk about the retail rates and the duty, the additional duty which you are being charged, and then you decide that you are going to lower their duty, but you have to find somewhere else
to make up for it, so you decide to say, Let’s raise taxes on beer by 50 per cent , understand that has an
impact. And it has a really large impact if we are trying
to market Bermuda as a fun destination where you can come and enjoy yourself.
And those, Mr. Speaker, are some of the
items which we have an issue with.
Now, here is what I will say, Mr. Speaker . I
support the Government and HM Customs for their moves to try to simplify the tariff structure, or as they call [it], “harmonise” the tariff structure. But as we see, the best intentions may not have actually made it to
the place where we want to go. And so we see some
changes and we see the Government pulling back on
some items.
I look forward to discussing more of these
particular specific items in Committee, Mr. Speaker ,
and as I said, we will be offering amendments for the
Government to consider. But at the end — [Inaudible interjections]

Honourable Members, you know, do I
have to ask people not to speak out loud? I do not
mind people speaking, but not so I can hear you.
Carry on please, Leader.

Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker .
Mr. Speaker, we will have further discussion,
of course, inside of Committee on these particular
items. But at the end of the day, Mr. Speaker , [for] the
fifth time there are two things that are the same:
1) this Government is increasing the cost of living for
everyday Bermudians; and 2) the Minister who pr ofessed to have safe hands . . . his hands are not safe
enough to write a budget that can last for a month.
Thank you, Mr. S peaker .

Thank you, Honourable Member .
The Chair will now recognise the Member
from constituency 29, MP Zane De Silva.
You have the floor.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start off where the
Honourable Opposition Leader Burt finished and that
is the lack of safe hands that we hear from the other
side.
In fact, Mr. Speaker, I submit that we are in
slippery hands, not safe hands. Why do I say that? Mr. Speaker, 90 per cent of the proposals with regard
to increases in taxes that the OBA —the Finance Mi nister—have brought to this House, 90 per cent have
been brought back. Mr. Speaker, the Finance Minister and the
OBA made a lot of noise with regard to the cents and minimal dollars that they would be putting in our peo-ple’s pockets with the rollback or deductions in payroll tax. But Mr. Speaker, what we are seeing tonight is . . . before they even get to realise a little savings out
of the payroll tax relief, they are going to take it right back with the increases that we see here tonight.
This from the Finance Minister, Mr. Speaker ,
that told our seniors that dollars don’t grow on trees .

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Oh, money. Money . . .
dollars . . . money doesn’t grow on trees . Okay, I will
not misquote you ever again, Finance Minister. You
told our seniors and they were quite offended when
you told them money doesn’t grow on trees.
Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: No, they weren’t.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Oh, yes, they wer e offended.



Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: No, they weren’t.

Honourable Member s.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Oh, yes, Mr. Speaker , I can
assure you. I think I spend a little bit more time with
seniors than the Honourable Finance Minister does
and I can assure you the feedback is they were offended! They were offended by that comment —
[Gavel ]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: —and it will be something
that I think the Finance Minister will live to regret.
Mr. Speaker, you know, I have seen in this
House . . . I have been here 10 years now, and I have
seen relief given to hotels. I have seen relief given to
our retail sector. But you know what? I have never seen any relief to the construction sector, Mr. Speaker, nothing that we can shout about . . . at a ll. And the
Honourable Member from constituency , I think, 28,
Mr. Sousa, can certainly —

The Honourable Member from consti tuency 28.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: The Honourable Member
from constituency 28, I am sure, would tell you that
with his little experience in the construction industry
he knows what I am talking about because we know that in the construction and landscape area, Mr.
Speaker , we have had no relief. And you know what?
We are the ones, Mr. Speaker (I say “we” and I d eclare my interest) . . . we are the ones that hire and will be responsible for hiring many of those 4,000 people that are unemployed in Bermuda today. But
we have not seen any reductions, any help from this
OBA Government, Mr. Speaker. In fact —

[Inaudible interject ion]

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Well, of course, Aecon did.
I guess . . . are they construction guys? I guess they
are because that is certainly what the OBA are hanging their hat on.

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: And Mr. Butt from S omers
Construction, yes, he is certainly . . . yes, he is because of course we know that Mr. Butt is also a director and shareholder of Aecon. Oh, yes, Mr. Speaker .
Now, Mr. Speaker , now what gives me great
concern . . . and I will talk about a few things, but let
us stick on construction for a moment. In that if you look at what the Minister proposed tonight and he says the current 33.5 per cent rates will raise from
33.5 [per cent] to 35 per cent, Mr. Speaker , that i ncludes parts, parts for equipment, parts for vehicles. And let us stick to equipment, Mr. Speaker , for
just a moment. You know what business I am in. Eve-rybody in this House knows what business I am in, Mr. Speaker . That 1.5 per cent [increase] on equipment
and parts, Mr. Speaker, is huge. It is already the lar gest, or one of the largest —because I think importation
of cars is the largest —but it is one of the largest duties
inflicted on companies in this Island. And we have had no relief, Mr. Speaker, for 10 years —none since 2008.
I have watched concessions out of the ying- yang in
this House, Mr. Speaker, with regard to retail or bus iness owners, with regard to hotel owners, but nothing for construction and we are the ones that hire these
guys that are out of work!

He already did. Wake up.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Come on, if you are going
to . . . Minister, if you want to make that comment you had better pay attention. Stop sleeping. Wake up!
Now, Mr. Speaker, if that is not bad enough
that we are going to pay another 1.5 per cent on parts
and equipment imported, we had this . . . and the Mi nister needs to explain to me, Mr. Speaker , because if
you look at the tariff code 2710.192 it says, gas oils
(diesel) from $0.50 to $0.55; and if you go down a
couple of lines, Mr. Speaker , under tariff code
2710.202 it says, “gas oils (diesel)” again. Now, Mr. Speaker , I had to look this up because if you look in
the Customs Tariff Act 1970 there is no difference be-tween the two.
Now, I ask the Honourable Minister, you have
to explain that to me and the people of this country, why you have two separate tariff codes that say the same thing on the document that he gave us to night
and they say the same thing in the [Customs] Tariff
Act 1970, Mr. Speaker , and maybe there is a logical
reason for it, but he has got, gas oils (diesel) —in
[round] brackets —$0.50 to $0.55. But Mr. Speaker ,
what really got my attention tonight was in 2701.202,
gas oils (diesel) —in [round] brackets again, the exact
same thing—from $0.37 to $0.55; that is a 50 per cent
increase!
Mr. Speaker, now someone who happens to
be in the construction industry or excavation industry
or demolition industry or trenching industry or land-scaping industry . . . and we deal with equipment on a
day-to-day basis, whether it be trucks, lawnmowers,
backhoes, track machines, the list goes on, my point
is we are going to get slammed for 1.5 per cent on our
parts and/or equipment and then . . . and I do not care
which number you use, we are going to get slammed again because “gas oils (diesel),” under 2710.192, is from $0.50 to $0.55; then two lines down under
1524 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly 2710.202,“gas oils (diesel)” goes from $0. 37 to $0.55.
Mr. Speaker , that is a 50 per cent increase. How the
heck are we going to survive?
So, Mr. Speaker , you will know on Friday I
announced that last week Wednesday I gave all my
employees a raise. So what is going to happen now, Mr. Speaker ? Now I have got a decision to make. Do I
look at my labour costs? Do I look at my equipment costs? Do I look at my parts costs, Mr. Speaker, and
make adjustments to my hourly rates? Or, Mr. Speaker, do I look at reducing my staff? In other words, Mr.
Speaker , I am just one guy . . . how many people are
going to look at these tariff increases and have to
make these decisions because it is okay if you have
two staff, but what happens when you have 12? What happens when you have 24? What happens if you have 50 or 100, Mr. Speaker ?
Those cents become dollars that become tens
of thousands of dollars, Mr. Speaker . And they used
to tell us all the time, You haven’t quite thought it through? But yet the Finance Minister can bring back
change after change after change because I do not think he has quite thought it through. Or maybe it is like my Leader says, maybe he received a few phone
calls last week.
Mr. Speaker, this is going to have a huge effect on businesses in this country. And as busines smen, I am sure you can appreciate, Mr. Speaker , if
you had your business today and if you looked at
some of these increases, depending on what business
you were in, because I tell you what I have an occ asion to go out to dinner probably six nights a week —I
do, I will put my hand up—and Mr. Speaker , I do
that—
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, Mr. Speaker , I do.
My schedule is heavy, Mr. Speaker, and I
cannot put my wife through cooking dinner nights after
she has been working . . . my wife gets up at 5:30 in
the morning with me, Mr. Speaker , sometimes 4:30—

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: And that girl goes to work,
Mr. Speaker. I cannot for the life of me . . . you know,
that girl works 10, 12 hours a day, I cannot say, Honey, let’s go home, cook me a dinner. I have got to take
her out for a little somethin’ somethin’, Mr. Speaker ,
give her a break.
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: And my honourable co lleague says I should try cooking. He would be happy
to know I had my three grandchildren on Saturday night and I cooked them breakfast Sunday morning. So you will be happy to know that. [Inaudible interjection]

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, I did. And you know
what, Mr. Speaker? Organic pancakes it was, but anyway we digress.
[Inaudible inter jection s]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: We digress, we digress,
Mr. Speaker .
But getting back to the going out for dinner . . .
and there was a reason for that, Mr. Speaker , because if you look at the wine here, Mr. Speaker, under 2204.210 it says the price is going from $3.18 to
$4.70. Now if my math is correct, Mr. Speaker , that is
48 per cent.
Now, Mr. Speaker , I know you like to . . . well,
I think you used to like to have a little glass of wine now and then. We all do. Mr. Speaker, it is not unus ual to pay $18 for a glass of wine. Not unusual. Now if
you go out to Southampton Princess up to Jasmine Lounge, you will pay $22 for a glass of wine.
Now, Mr. Speaker, $18 for a glass of wine,
you throw in 17 per cent gratuities, that is another $3,
so $21 for a glass of wine. And my colleague, I think it was the Honourable Opposition Leader Burt who said that here we are trying to increase tourism . . . we know the myth that Bermuda is the most expensive place to visit, and here we are . . . the former Touris m
Minister who is here—the Independent Member now,
of course—I will be waiting to see what he has to say
about this because, certainly, he must not be happy that his tourists that he was trying to get to come to Bermuda, Mr. Speaker , will pay $21 for a glass of
wine. And that is at a regular restaurant. I told you already they want $22 up at Jasmine Lounge, [and if]
you put 17 per cent on that, Mr. Speaker, you are not
getting any change from $25—no change from $25 for
a glass of wine.
Mr. Speaker, we had the World Par 3 Golf
Tournament here this week that was held up at
Southampton Princess. Now where do you think most
of the visitors stayed? They stayed at Southampton Princess. Well, I know because I had a couple of cocktails with a few friends of mine up there, Mr.
Speaker . And you know what? Those guys said, Man,
I love this place, golf course is nice, the people are the
most friendly people I have met in the world but, gee,
man, your wine is expensive. Okay, Mr. Speaker ?
That is before this increase. Now, Mr. Speaker , the other thing I think the
Finance Minister said— and he can correct me, I stand
to be corrected—he said diesel will not be increased
for Bermuda Hospitals Board, hotels . . . and did he
say BELCO?
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: He did say BELCO.


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, okay. We can let BELCO off the
hook because they are only going to pass it on to the
customers like everybody else, Mr. Speaker . But . . . I
mean . . . hospital? I guess. What are you going to do
about the hospital. Okay. They are cutting all sorts of other costs now they are going to jam it up . . . you
know . . . I do not know how they are going to make
out, Minister, a $25 million cut this year and now you are not going to give them any increase in fuel, but I did take note of that.
Now, Mr. Speaker, why does the Finance Mi nister not look at peeling back some of these costs and hit the duties that deserve to be hit, Mr. Speaker ?
Sweets and candies, mayonnaise . . . I have talked
about it a hundred times.

[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Yes, mayonnaise. I know
you guys like mayonnaise on your codfish. We talked
about that. But, Mr. Speaker , look, we have some of
the highest health costs on this Island.

[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Mr. Speaker, we . . . we . . .
our Minister of Finance has got it wrong. He is taxing
and increasing taxes in the wrong areas, Mr. Speaker ,
the wrong areas.
Now, Mr. Speaker —

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: I can chew gum and walk,
it is okay.
Mr. Speaker, let me say this, what we are
looking at here tonight are increases that are going to
hurt the business sector. But they will only hurt the business sector for a short time, Mr. Speaker , because what is going to happen is most of these bus iness sectors that are being hurt by these increases,
you know what they are going to do —
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: No . . . well, they may do
that; they may lay off some people. But Mr. Speaker ,
do you know what they are going to do? It is easy.
They are just going to increase the prices. Whether it is MarketPlace, whether it is Dunkley’s Dairy, whether it is Auto Solutions, or whether it is Island Construc-tion—

There you are.

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: —we have to look at i ncreasing—

[Inaudible interjection] Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: I will tell you what. I will
increase my price before I let go of staff. I have done
that too, Mr. Speaker, I have to do it. I just wish that all those wealt hy customers that used to use me before I
was PLP stuck to me and then they could pay for it. I lost a lot of those customers. But that is okay, Mr.
Speaker . That is all right. That is okay.
But Mr. Speaker, no, seriously speaking
though, seriously speaking, what is going to happen is that everyone that owns a business that is affected . . . they are just going to pass it on. Do you think for a moment when you go get your next glass of wine around Ascots, Mr. Speaker , if that is where you ha ppen to be (I am just throwing a reference), do you think your next glass of wine after this is implemented is going to cost you $18? No sir. It is going to cost you an extra $3, Mr. Speaker. And then you put 17 per
cent on top of that. That is how it works. And what is going to happen is our tourists that come to Bermuda
and they go out for dinner . . . where they can go to a
fairly nice restaurant in the States and they know that it is going cost $60 a head, in Bermuda it is . . . you know, the normal price per head, Mr . Speaker, is $100
when you go out for dinner. It is now going to be $110.
It may creep up to $115 or $120. Do not dare buy a
bottle or two of wine, Mr. Speaker , do not dare do it.

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: It should be cheaper. But
they are even getting slick to that, Honourable Member, because now they even worked it out . . . I try and
measure it out sometimes. I try and trick them. They have got it all worked out.
Mr. Speaker, it used to be you buy a bottle of
wine you know that . . . look, how many glasses —
anybody answer —how many glasses of wine do you
get to a bottle? Four?

[Inaudible interjection]

Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Four and a half. There it is.
You see? But I tell you what, they have got it all
worked out, Mr. Spe aker. You might as well just drink
it by the glass because there is no savings anymore, Mr. Speaker .
But, Mr. Speaker , I will tell you, seriously
speaking, the Finance Minister I think has lost the plot. I think his policies over the last four years have co ntinued to fail year after year, they have continued to fail, Mr. Speaker. And you know what? Instead of li stening to Honourable Member Burt for his last two
budget [replies], the last two [replies to the] Throne
Speech we have talked about job creation and we
have talked about diversification. Mr. Speaker , we
cannot get rid of the deficit that we have every year by increasing taxes. It is not going to work. We have to generate more funds by increasing the business in
1526 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly this country and, the words that the Finance Minister
likes to use, increase foreign exchange, Mr. Speaker .
If you think you are going to do it through i ncreasing these taxes like we are seeing tonight, it is
not going to happen. It is not going to happen, Mr. Speaker . We will suffer. Our people will suffer. You
can give a payroll tax break all you like, but if you are
going to give it today and you are going to take it
away tomorrow, Mr. Speaker, what are we doing?
So, Mr. Speaker , I am going to leave you on
this note: The Minister and many of the Government
Members that sit across the aisle, Mr. Speaker , like to
talk about safe hands. The safe hands are becoming
slippery hands more and more by the week. They are
dropping the catch.
Mr. Speaker, you will know when you sky that
ball up in the air you are not going to survive, Mr. Speaker , but I tell you what, if you have the OBA over
there you may because the safe hands are turning
and have turned into slippery hands, Mr. Speaker .

Thank you, Honourable Member .
The Chair will recognise the Honourable
Member from constituency 6, MP Wayne Furbert.
You have the floor.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
Mr. Speaker, the One Bermuda Alliance
prom ised this country in 2012 when they said, O ur
mission is making Bermuda more affordable. They
said, The high cost of living imposes a tremendous
financial burden on Bermudian families. We will make
Bermuda more affordable for them. Four years later
will the public be able to say that it is more affordable
for them or more expensive for them since 2012?
Mr. Speaker, the cost of living index for Bermuda is the highest in the world— 146.19. The next
closest to us is Switzerland 122.06; Iceland 111.71.

[Inaudible interjection]

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker , this is coming
from Google. It is coming from an online search, Mr.
Speaker , it is called a tele . . . tele . . . here it is, the
word is down here, “telegraphy.”

All right. No, no, I just like to know what
the source is.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: The highest in the world—
146.19— we have . . . I mean, we are in a league all
by ourselves. All by ourselves. And it was the One
Bermuda Alliance that promised this country . . . it was
them that promised this country —we will make it affordable for everyone. There must be some reason
. . . there must be some way that we can make life
much more affordable for Bermudians. We have not
had a pay increase now . . . most Bermudians, 80 per cent of us have not had a pay increase since 2012 or
even before that.
I have guests comi ng to my place. Mr. Speaker, as you know I have a few vacation rentals. I take
them to the MarketPlace down in Shelly Bay and they come out and say, How do you guys live? How do you
guys live?
By doing this, Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt
. . . very soon w e will not be able to afford to die. That
is tough. We will not even be able to afford to die b ecause our family has got to pay for a wake and that is
. . . liquor is up, food is up. Do not die yet . . . I cannot
afford to . . . wait until the PLP gets in so we can r educe that cost.

[Laughter]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Just hold on a little while
longer because we are going to reduce that cost. B ecause Mr. Speaker , they will do a proper tax reform.
That is my point. They will do a proper tax r eform to bring down the cost. But as long as this Go vernment is in, who are not thinking outside the box, they just plug these numbers in . . . let’s increase Customs Duties. And Mr. Speaker , let me just say this: I
am very concerned, and everybody else should be
concer ned, because we have had so many changes.
And I mentioned it on Monday . . . Friday. We have had so many changes to the budget that I do not know where we stand now. No one in this House can tell us
what the revenue budget is for 2017/18. There is no
one.
And we are going to be asked tonight, Mr.
Speaker , to pass what? The final Budget?

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Well, that is even sadder . . .
that is even sadder, country, because we pass som ething that no one knows . . . I am not even sure the
Minister of Finance knows where we stand as far as total revenue. If he does, I wish he would come out
and tell us.
And what is the deficit? What will the deficit
be? How much are we going to borrow for this year? It was $136 million, I think, that was projected. And we just . . . we just passed it.
What did we pass?
It is sad, Mr. Speaker, it is very sad. And the
country should know that. We have a responsibility; we have to be accountable for raising revenue and expenditure. And we are te lling the country we passed
a budget and we do not know what we passed. I
should have come from Red Carpet earlier, down
there with my good friend, —

Yes, yes, please.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Goods for local commerc ial
manufacturing. Goods must be imported for and used only in local commercial . . . that is a tax break going
down to 5 per cent.
So these things here, Mr. Speaker, have to be
a major concern for us. We have got the liquor going
up, as my colleague says, is going to affect tourism overall. The numbers . . . not the numbers, but the
cost of coming here . . . we have got departure tax going up, gone up, and going up again probably, and we are considering ourselves to be a jurisdiction that we are welcoming people?
Mr. Speaker, the average Bermudian cannot
even afford to live here hardly anymore. That is why
they are going off to the mother country. They cannot
afford to live here anymore. Who are we going to have left here besides the millionaires and bill ionaires?
Probably that is what they want to happen, for the rest of you locals just go up to England and see the
Queen.
So the Minister here tonight brings changes in
the Customs Duties which have a significant impact
on the cost of living. And we wonder why our people
out there are feeling depressed sometimes, tired, not knowing how they are going to actually afford to live in
this country we call paradise. Mr. Speaker , I believe
that the Minister has made some serious mistakes,
with the ramifications on this budget that we just
passed where nobody knows what the revenue is, nobody knows what the deficit is, nobody knows what we are going to borrow. It is a sad day here in this
House.
Thank you.

All right. Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will recognise the Honourable
Member from constituency 5, MP D. V. Burgess.
You have the floor.
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker .
Mr. Speaker, the reduction in the payroll tax
was certainly welcomed by all those that are going to
save some money. In fact, for somebody making
$48,000 a year it would be approximately about $11.50 reduction a week. But that will not go into ef-fect until about three months’ time. This [customs du-ty] effect will take place April the 1
st. If I have got it
wrong, the Minister will correct me, Mr. Speaker .
Mr. Speaker, when you consider the price of
gas, I think gas is just over $8 a gallon, and that is going up by 52 per cent. You know, that $11.50 is gone if you fill that tank up.
Plus, Mr. Speaker , the cost of food will go up;
it is guaranteed to go up because when the super-markets move their foods from the docks to their shop, they move it by truck. Trucks need gas and that will be passed on to the customer. We are not getting a reduction; we are getting an increase, Mr. Speaker .
And when you take up wine, wine is recommended for medicinal purposes.

[Laughter]
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: One glass a day . . .
ask my . . . where is the Minister for . . . yes, one glass
a day. That is all I have. If you want to keep those arteries clean, that is what red wine does. That is one
thing they recommend. The doctor will tell you that, you know. And even in the churches they give you . . .
not even a glass, but it is pretty strong, you know. At
my church they give grape juice and that is probably
not good for you because that certainly is going to
spike your sugar. I am working on that to fix that in the church, at AME church, Mr. Speaker.
But, Mr. Speaker , with these increases when
. . . when . . . if you have somebody [making] $48,000
a year as opposed to somebody making $150,000 a year, it really does not matter too much you know b ecause you have got excess cash. But with these i ncreases to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, this is dramatic to them. A lot of things they are not going to be able to
afford, Mr. Speaker. And then for the . . . what we call
the poor man’s cocktail in summertime is a beer. Beer
is going up by 49 per cent. Many of our friends have
at carny games and regular cricket games . . . that is what they do. I would rather they drink a beer than
drink something that is 151 proof, you know, because
sometimes that high octane fuel gets into some other
parts of the body and does some foolish things, Mr. Speaker .
Mr. Speaker, you know, when we think of
those employees that have not had an increase in five to six years, and their weekly deductions have i n1528 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly creased substantially in double- digit figures —
increased . . . I know the unions . . . thank God for the
unions. They are trying to get an increase this y ear.
But I know the Honourable E. T. is not going to give them the increase that they deserve to match the ex-penses that they are paying for this budget, let alone the six years they have not had an increase.
Mr. Speaker, the Government said in the
Budget Statement, We want to help, but there is really
no room to move or manoeuvre. Well, they are moving on our people by increasing the cost of living to them whilst those folks that report millions of dollars of profit get exemptions. And I understand about trying to
keep businesses going to keep people employed, but
nobody gives breaks to the employee, Mr. Speaker .
Mr. Speaker, with the gas prices going up,
even rum cakes are going to be increased.

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: Yes, rum cake, Mr.
Speaker , right on here. We had some outside today
courtesy of the Horton’s cake firm, Mr. Speaker .

[Laughter]

Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: But you know that is
going to cost . . . you are probably not going to make it
anymore after this , Mr. Speaker .

[Laughter]

Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr.: It would be much too
expensive, Mr. Speaker, but this Government can find
millions of dollars to give away in legal fees when they
have got an Attorney General’s Chambers out there
that can do the same work. As I said Friday night, it is
either the Attorney General’s Chambers are short of talent or they are not trusted to do the work that they are paying millions of dollars to law firms and these people are raking in millions . . . hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses, Mr. Speaker . Mrs. Smith
is not getting a bonus like that. In fact, what Mrs. Smith gets is maybe 40 weeks of work a year. Mrs. Smith does not stand a chance with this OBA Budget, Mr. Speaker .
Mr. Speaker, I guess when you give a way $20
million in head tax, and the Honourable Shadow Mi nister of Finance and Leader of the great PLP party has
said, You have got to replace that with something .
Why do you always call on poor people to make up
the difference when they cannot even make up differ-ences in their expenses at home? Why is it always the
poor people that have to pay?
Mr. Speaker, let me say this here. If you take
care of poor people in any country, your country becomes safer. If you do not take care of them, they do some desperate things in order to survive and feed the family. We do not advocate that. We do not con-done that, but you know a lady . . . I was out last week
talking to a lady and she says, If I can’t feed my fam ily, I’m gonna break in your house and take your food.
I understand that. I am not advocating that, I am not condoning that, but that is what desperate people do, Mr. Speaker .
So, Mr. Speaker , just like those six people
from Front Street called the Minister to say, Look,
you’ve got to ease up on me, all right ? Listen to us.
Listen to us. We . . . the people . . . they deserve to be
heard also, Mr. Speaker .
But not only that, Mr. Speaker, you know, right
now you go away; you come back home they charge
you 22.5 per cent for most items. That is going up by
11 pe r cent, from 22.5 per cent to 25 per cent. . .
11 per cent, Mr. Speaker . Everything is going up.
Some rates are even going up . . . the current 10 per
cent rates are going up to 12.5 per cent. That is a
25 per cent increase.
And people . . . it seems like they sit down,
Oh, let’s put these things together and we’ll give it to the peasants. They’ll pay for it. They’re used to suffer-ing. They know what suffering is. We can send John-ny to school with no sandwiches on Mondays and
Tuesdays and he’ll just have sandwiches three days a
week . . . lunch three days a week. We can do that.
They’re used to suffering.
That is not the way we should be looking.
That is not how we should be practi cing. We should
be practicing so that all our people can afford, because most people in this country want to be able to
feed their families in pride and dignity. Not that they
got to go to school where somebody has got to supply lunch and breakfast for their children. They want to do that themselves. A lot of Bermudians have to swallow their pride and take that. But we should not be putting
our people in that position, particularly when you have
a lot of people in this country making a lot of money and getting bonuses at a time when nobody is even getting a rate increase in their pa y.
Mr. Speaker, I would urge this Government —
they need to start governing for all the people of this
country, not just some, because a PLP Government will govern for everybody.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker .

Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
We have heard some passionate speeches
tonight, some humorous speeches as well. It is a ser ious issue, and the Government finds itself in a conundrum.
It found itself in a conundrum some years ago
and it is going to be difficult to really strike that ba lance. We know that it has attempted to cut expenses


Bermuda House of Assembly the best way it could without laying off civil servants. I
think it has pretty much cut to the bone and there is
not much more that can be cut, and so the other way
is to look to increase revenue. We heard, I believe on last year’s budget, the Finance Minister was lamenting the fact that revenues are soft. And so, the question then becomes, What is the best way? What is the
most appropriate way to increase revenues? And, you
know, we have heard some interesting comments. I think some compelling comments as well.
I can tell you I had an interesting experience,
a sobering experience, because I think sometimes we in this Honourable House take some things for granted. We come here, we say certain things, and I b elieve we are saying it from the heart, you know. But
then, you know, most of us here are professionals and we have day jobs in addition to being here on a Monday night at ten o’clock at night. But we do not actually feel the challenge sometimes and the pain that some
of our people are living.
I was actually at MarketPlace not too long
ago, just a few weeks ago. I walked in and I noticed a
lady with children there shopping. She had a co ncerned and perplexed look on her face. She was literally counting every single item that she was going to
purchase and she caught my attention. So I watched her and she would pick up something, look at the price and put it back. She had a child who was grab-bing for this and grabbing for that, and she had to say
no, no, we cannot get that. And it was such a difficult
thing to see—this woman trying to figure out what she
could buy whe n we normally go into a grocery store
and just get whatever we want. We do not really think about it. But every single item was being calculated.
And then when she got to the checkout she
was still over. And I saw, again, a look of embarras sment. And, you know, it could have just been coinc idence, fate, I just happened to be behind her and she turned to me and she said . . . she knew who I was and asked for a few dollars, and I obliged. And I was happy to do so.
But that is the reality. You have people go ing
into supermarkets not knowing if what they have in their pocket can purchase the groceries that they need. So how do we actually achieve the right ba lance? And that is the difficulty, because we are an expensive . . . I know people that go to gas stati ons in
their car and put $10 in their car —on a regular basis,
$10! And we think it is crazy, but that is what they can afford so that is what they put in their car.
I know people who borrow . . . it sounds crazy.
If you have to borrow money to put gas in your car, you should not have a car. But then if you have got,
you know, a parent that has children, they need a car.
But they do not drive it sometimes because they can-not put gas in the car. These are realities in Bermuda 2017. And it is funny because there is a segment of Bermuda that has no idea about that reality. Have no idea at all about that reality. But that reality exists and so, you know, how is it that we can strike that right
balance?
So I sympathise. I have said for the entire four
years of this administration that the one job that I
would not want is the job of Minister of Finance be-cause it is a difficult. You have to make difficult dec isions, and I know that his team has gone through this
and they have tried to figure out where can we i ncrease revenues to pay for deficits to help the economy and help Bermudians in the long run. But then,
somehow, you know, we have to figure out what can you do in relation to short -term fixes as well. And I
think that there were some compelling arguments.
You talk about sin tax and you talk about what is more
harmful. Let us be real. What is more harmful between
beer and soft drinks? If you were really to sit down and say, which is more harmful —

It is soft drinks by a mile!
By a mile, Mr. Speaker. And do you know what? I
found out after having to do some research in relation to my own health how, I mean, my brother, we joke all
the time. I have never been a big drinker. So, you
know, my brother teases me all the time, I am a cheap date because, you know, I would only do two drinks and then thank you very much. Okay? But beer in moderation, Mr. Speaker, is actually good for you. It is
actually good for you. And through my own research it
has anti -cancer properties, it prevents dementia, it
reduces the risk for cardiovascular disease. It has anti-inflammatory properties. It treats diabetes. It is a
good aid for digestion and . . . you know, maybe it is an excuse for people to want to drink a beer. But the reality is it has healthy properties to it.
I encourage everybody . . . we have our la ptops and our iPhones, research it. You will be shocked. And maybe try it if you have an upset stom-ach and see if it helps. But I guarantee you; you will not see that next to grape soda. You would not see all
those positive attributes next to soft drinks. So there is a viable argument as to whether we are we taxing the right sin, if you want to view it as a sin. So, I thought —
and, of course, as the Honourable Member from co nstituency 5, from the Bible Belt, you know, just said,
you know, Jesus turned water into wine.

We know that. So, clearly,
wine has got to be okay, Mr. Speaker, in moderation.
Again, do your research and look over to
countries like France and see their incidence of heart
disease —very low. Very low. And they attribute it to
their wine consumption there.
And there is also this thing called the Blue
Zone—there are areas all around the world known as the Blu e Zone areas where people live the longest.
1530 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly And it is very interesting. Many of those areas are a reas where they consume wine. They consume wine
as part of their daily diet. So, these are things that do have a positive impact on one’s health.
But I think the most compelling argument I
heard tonight (and I am looking forward to seeing the amendment) is in relation to the increases that are
going to be made on items that could have a deleter ious impact on tourists. And, you know, at a time when
we are seeing an increase in tourism, we also saw
contemporaneously an increase in taxes. We saw i ncreases in taxes at the airport. We saw an increase . . . now our departure tax is up to $78. So we saw two
increases over the last couple of years. And, of
course, the $16 airport improvement fee. So those are increases that are required to help support the airport development which I think is going to be good for Bermuda and for tourism as well.
But we already had the executive of JetBlue
sound his concern about the impact that these i ncreases may have on people coming to Bermuda. And again, we do not know but increasing these taxes on the items that we know tourists like to enjoy when they come here could also have an impact on their quality
of stay and whether or not t hey wish to return. I
thought there were compelling arguments, something
that I think Government can take into consideration.
I look forward to hearing what the amendment
is. I assume the amendment is going to come in Committee. But if we can achieve that balance b ecause, you know, the concern is —and it is a co ncern—as to whether or not . . . I mean, even in terms of the concessions in the hotel industry. Again, under-standing the position of the Minister of Finance, can he afford to continue to offer these tax holidays to this
industry? But then the inverse of that is, will these i ndustries be able to support not having the conces-sions. Mr. Speaker, only time will tell. But at a time
when tourism seems to be on the rise, we want to be careful about making decisions on the other end that could, in effect, Mr. Speaker, have a negative impact
on that improvement.
Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
Quite honestly, I was listening to the debate
and I was not intending to speak, but I felt compelled because just listening to the speech reminded me of
something. It reminded me of something from Febr uary 8
th, 2013.
February 8th, 2013, was the first Throne
Speech given by this Government. And the cover of that Throne Speech showed a picture of Tucker’s Town. It showed a picture of Tucker’s Town, and I
remember that because I said, when I sat in another place, I said, I hope that a picture of Tucker’s Town is
not a subliminal image of where this Government
wants to take Bermuda back to. I said that. And when
the Government came back in November and did their
Throne Speech, that actually made the Throne
Speech. I remember it, because I remember the
Premier at the time making mention of that and saying no, we are not going back to that. So, Mr. Speaker, when I think about that
Throne Speech back then, and I think about what was said, when it was said, this new Government believes
it will find ways to encourage increased levels of c ooperation, trust, and loyalty amongst all sectors of the community. I remembered that because when the Honourable Member that just spoke, said that he
would not want to be the Finance Minister because of the difficult decisions he has to make—

Thank you. Thank you, Mr.
Speaker .
When I think about what the Honourable
Member who stood before me said when he said he
would not want to be the Finance Minister because of the difficult decisions he has had to make and I be-lieve, I could be mistaken, I want to quote, he said We
have cut to the bone and now we have to do other things. But, Mr. Speaker, we have cut to the bone and
all we have seen is a widening between the haves
and the have- nots.

So, what else can we do?
What else can we do to bridge that gap? And making it more difficult to live in Bermuda, financially, is not
the answer. It cannot be the answer because it is just going to make that gap widen even more. Now, Mr. Speaker, we heard things thrown
around like trust and loyalty amongst other sectors. We heard things like two Bermudas. We heard things
like a widening gap. So, listening to the Opposition
Leader speak the other day, and when we talked about the customs tariffs and the Bill was pulled, it made me think . . . it made me think, Mr. Speaker . It
made me think that thousands of people have stood up and protested against the airport deal and were


Bermuda House of Assembly ignored by this Government; as a matter of fact, di smissed. Thousands of people signed a petition to say
let us have a referendum on gaming and they were
ignored by this Government.
A few people called the Minister and said they
were not happy with these customs tariffs and the Bill
got pulled. Who does the Government work for? Who
does the Government truly work for? The few people
who can pick up the phone and call? Or the people who got pepper sprayed out here and did not get one visit from the leader of this country? And I stand to be
corrected when questioned, the excuse was, What
was the purpose of coming out? They would not have listened to me anyway . The people need to see their
leaders right in the mix with them. I do not care what
you are doing. They want to see that you know, un-derstand, and feel their pain.
So, when the Finance Minister stood up and
said money does not grow on trees, I have talked to
the Finance Minister, he has his way of getti ng across
his point. But it takes a different type of person to understand that what you are saying hurts. It might be right, it might be wrong. But there is a way to say things to people and not make them feel as if they do
not count —especially the people that vote for you and
expect you to lead from the beginning, from the front.
Now, we talk about these taxes and we talk
about these sin taxes. And I agree with the Honourable Member that spoke. Are we taxing the right thing?
All we have to do is go back, I believe it was last year,
the Honourable Minister of Health brought a report up
here talking about the scourge of diabetes and how this is the number one killer and we need to go after it. The Premier has started an exercise campaign with all the schools. We see the pictures on Instagram and Twitter and Facebook. Last week Friday, the Premier
and a few Ministers, and candidates, were at West
Pembroke with this fitness programme. But, why can we not tax these things to assist with those types of programm es? What is the reason why? I do not know
but it could be their friends bring in some of that stuff.
You know? You cannot tax that.
You know, as a person who is diabetic I understand those challenges of fighting that and the, you
know, if the chocolate bars cost more I probably would eat less than I do when I want to cheat. But, you know, we have to . . . there always has to be a fine
balance between doing what needs to be done and
doing what is right. Sometimes those two do not align and you have to figure out a way to get to some way where we can balance that, Mr. Speaker . We have
heard lots of people talk and, you know, what really struck me was the story of being in a supermarket and
seeing people who cannot afford . . . and I think, I
hope we all can appreciate that story, because we see
it.
I have a constituent, Mr. Speaker , that I take
dinner to, you know, on a regular basis. I call and he
will say, Well, can you bring something because I just have not eaten. And, you know you feel . . . you feel
for that. I cannot afford it, but I know I can go home
and get something to eat, so with the few little dollars I
have in my pocket I will try and get something. You know, that is what we are living with today and that is the reality of Bermuda. The people see two Berm udas—they see one where they do not have to worry
about the everyday challenges, and they see another that is increasing that have nothing but stress in their lives. And, Mr. Speaker, if we are going to be a caring,
a compassionate and loving Government, we need to really sit back and understand the things we do today have detrimental effect to the people who are not in
here watching us.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker .

Thank you, Honourable Member .
The Chair will recognise the Honourable
Member —the Minister. Minister Patricia Gordon -
Pamplin.
You have the floor.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker .
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to make a couple of comments in contribution to this debate. It is
important to understand, Mr. Speaker, that as a Government our Finance Minister did not wake up one
morning and decide, Let me see how I can make pe ople’s lives more difficult, in terms of the taxation that
we have had to impose in order to go down the path
towards balancing the budget. The reality is, Mr. Speaker, that we had $186 million worth of debt service that must be met before one dime of expenditure is made anywhere within the budget. You must meet the bank, if I can put it that way.
So, we have to ask the question, What is the
purpose of the taxes? Do we think that all we can do is to just go and have a look and see what somebody
has in their purse and say, You’ve got enough so I will
take out what we think that we need? I think we have to look across the spectrum and decide what is re asonable under the circumstances and how can we exact sufficient taxes so as not . . . Governments are not here to make profit. So we do not want to make a profit. We just want to make ends meet. We want to prevent the ability for further downgrades which would
ultimately end up costing us more to finance the debt
that we have.
And I certainly heard very clearly the comments that came from Members opposite in terms of the impact that these taxes will have on some of our people. And we appr eciate that, Mr. Speaker . We appreciate that. But I think it is important, Mr. Speaker,
to understand that the situation with respect to a def icit and what we are facing in terms of our debt is an accumulation of the sins of the past. And when we have spoken over the course of the past three or four years as we have dealt with financial matters in this
1532 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Honourable House and we have said things like , What
would we be able to do if we had X, Y, Z? If we had
the extra 6 or 8 or 10 or whatever million dollars that was spent at the Port Royal. What if we had the extra money that was spent on the Emissions Centre or the millions on the Berkeley Institute? And, notwithstan ding the fact that the Wharf has paid for itself over time,
if we ended up saving the excess money between the
$38 million that we thought it was going to cost and the $63–65 million that it actually did cost because the revenue that came in as a result of those ships doc king there, that would have been extra money in the kitty.
So, Mr. Speaker, I understand. I think that
every one of us certainly feels the pain. But when we have to sit and recognise that in order to make ends meet we have to be able to exact —if we had the level
of sensitivity and concern from Members opposite when the coffers were being raided, then we would
not be in this position with the level of deficit and debt
that we are experiencing. And let me look at, Mr.
Speaker, what it is that we need to do in order to i nfuse more money into our economy.
We hear complaints and cynical comments
concerning the airport. The airport is not a project that is going to be done just for the sake of saying that we want to have something that is vainglorious for our community. It is going to be an added attraction or an added, I am sorry, benefit in terms of travellers coming where they will not have to come off the plane
and, yes, while some might consider it to be quaint, it
could be quite dangerous when you come off the flight, as I did the early part of the week, where the wind was blowing, th e plane was rocking and you are
coming down the steps and holding on for dear life and hoping that you do not fall or get blown over.
These are the things that a new airport is going to do.
But, more importantly, Mr. Speaker, it is going to cr eate some jobs and out of the creation of jobs there will be additional revenue that will come into the coffers by way of taxes.

From who?
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Payroll taxes —
payroll taxes for the employees —

[Inaudible interjections]

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Payroll taxes for
the employees as they earn their salary, they will pay
tax on it. They will pay payroll tax. I did not talk about the developers. I talked about the employees. This is
money that will go into the coffers. The building of a
hotel in the East End. It is going to create jobs. Crea-tion of jobs . . . it is going to create more revenue by
way of payroll tax coming into the coffers. The Amer ica’s Cup is going to have additional revenue that will be generated that will go into the coffers in order to
help the balance.
And, Mr. Speaker, if we are able to continue
to infuse revenues, yes, there are still lots of things that we can do in order to diversify the economy and bring in additional revenues. But we have to start from
somewhere. And in the immediate future the situ ations that I have just mentioned, such as the hotel, the America’s Cup, the airport, these are going to be im-mediate responses to infusing of revenues into the coffers. And those revenues, Mr. Speaker, will help to
ameliorate the charges and the stress that our popul ation will face by virtue of increased taxes.
We know and we hear and we all have experienced helping to assist somebody who is standing at the cash register short of a couple of pennies, or
somebody just asking if you could assist with purchas-ing a meal while they are on the street because they are hungry. And most of us, Mr. Speaker, in this Ho nourable House have not had that experience of being hungry. We may have all at some point in time had to
have done without because of what was a priority for us and we could choose one expenditure over anot her. We have had those choices to make over time. So,
I am not by any means denigrating people who are
not in the position to afford to buy any and everything
they want as and when they want it.
But it is a sad day for us as a country, Mr.
Speaker, that we have to continue to exact this level
of revenue from the pockets of our community in order
to be able to satisfy a debt that we can hear Members opposite say things like, Well, we spent the money on
social things . Yes, you did. I have said it a hundred
times if I have said it once, Mr. Speaker, that when
you spend twice as much as you need to and get half
as much as you did for the money that you spent, that
differential takes us further into a financial hole. And
we now have to continue to dig ourselves out of that hole, Mr. Speaker .
So, when Members opposite speak, I would
be really, really appreciative if some recognition was
made of the amount of money that has been spent
unnecessarily. Not money that has been spent on s ocial programmes —that is never unnecessary. But
money that has been spent that has drained the cof-fers, that could have been there to avoid the situations for which Members opposite are criticising us tonight.
We do not want, Mr. Speaker, to see our people having hardship. And while Honourable Member s
might talk about some subliminal message, you know, you can look almost for anything and you can interpret it any way you like to suit the rhetoric that coincides
with whatever message you want to put out. I, Mr.
Speaker, choose to say that in the absence of many
alternatives for revenue infusion, the Finance Minister
finds himself in a situation in which he does not have much choice to raise the revenue in order to work t owards balancing the budget. Is it the ideal position to be in? Absolutely not.


Bermuda House of Assembly One of these days, Mr. Speaker, we should
be able to wake up and say, Hallelujah! The debt has
been paid off . Hallelujah! Budgets have been ba lanced and we were able to live. We could have people, you know, as they say, [who have] a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage, Mr. Speaker .
That is the ultimate aim. But we are not there
yet. We are not there yet. And it would be foolhardy to think that we are going to be there in the short term with the amount of indebtedness that we have to face and that we have to retire.
So, all I can ask Members opposite, Mr.
Speaker . . . I can appreciate some of the recommendations that they have made. The Honourable Member who was a former Health Minister speaks of taxes
on mayonnaise and he speaks of the taxes on soft drinks and I had occasion, Mr. Speaker, to go to a
health conference in Aruba when I served as the Health Minister, and one of the things coming out of
Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) that was
very clear was that when people have to pay addition-al tax on things that we deem to be unhealthy for them, it is not necessarily going to give the result that we would want. It is not necessarily going to say that
because this mayonnaise sandwich is far too expen-sive, therefore I am not going to buy it. What you are going to find, rather, Mr. Speaker, is that if somebody
is determined to purchase that mayonnaise sandwich or that soft drink or whatever they are going to pur-chase it to the exclusion of that which is healthy.
So, what we must be mindful of is the extent
to which we have decided what is appropriate fare for someone to go into the shop and to purchase be-cause with all of the best intentions —we want a
healthy population. There is no question about that. But we want to also ensure that we are not cutting off
our noses to spite our faces in the practical application
of that which it is that we are trying to do.
So, Mr. Speaker , I am certainly mindful. I am
certainly sympathetic of additional costs. I hear Mem-bers opposite talking about the cost of a glass of wine
is going to be $22, or something to that effect —or it is
already $22 the Honourable Member says, Mr.
Speaker . I do not know. That would not affect me one
iota because I do not drink alcohol. So, you know, it is
probably going to hit me with a bottle of Perrier. It probably will. I do not know. But, Mr. Speaker, we do
not want to appear to be insensitive at all, because we are very mindful, Mr. Speaker . We know the pain. We
know the suffering. We know the choices, Mr. Speaker, that people must make.
But by the same token, Mr. Speaker, it could
be 10 times worse if we fail to raise the revenue to be
able to satisfy our basic financial obligations and that
is the message that I wish to leave with Members of our Honourable House tonight, Mr. Speaker, that the
Finance Minister —he may be stingy, but he is not
mean- spirited. The Finance Minister will hold the
brake on expenditure but . . . but, Mr. Speaker, he does it with love in his heart because he knows and
understands —
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: He knows and
understands, Mr. Speaker, what it takes to save us
from having to pay more than the $186 million that we
are now faced with, and in order to do that we have
got to get that principal down and down and down so that the interest expense is less and less and less, and therefore that money that is now being expended to pay for our financial costs will then be available to
provide further social infusion and to ease the burden
of taxes on our people, Mr. Speaker .
Thank you.

So, I am kind of caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to that. But, I have to stand. I would be remiss and my wife
would beat me if I did not speak on this. It has been touched on but it is such a significant point, and it is one where money could be raised and one where, you know, we have to focus on the right things in the right
place because I am all for raising the sin tax on things
and particularly on tobacco. I have got no issue with that. If people do not have the memo on the health benefits or the lack thereof of smoking tobacco and what the health implications are, then you cannot do any mo re than that. Everybody here knows, and I
have said it, we all know that I am a bleeding- heart
liberal. That is why I am sitting here in the middle.

[Laughter]

Everybody knows that I am all
you can go do what you want to, all righ t, that was my
view. I am almost like a Portugal guy. Like, legalise
drugs. Do what you want to as long as it does not do this: do not impact on me and my health and my fam ily’s health or on the pressure that you put on a medi-cal system or a country with r egard to your bad habits.
1534 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report
Bermuda House of Assembly But otherwise on that, if you do not have the memo on
what cigarette smoking is going to do, then that is
your problem as far as I am concerned. And the tax then should be increased on that because of what the implications are on health and what the system is bur-dened with with regard to having to take care of you when your lungs drop out. Okay? We are having to
look out for that type of impact.
Now, if we do not have the memo—and the
Health Minister over there (who is not here right now )
surely should be in the mix on how sugar is 10 times
as addictive as cocaine. That is a fact. Look it up, as
my honourable learned friend said. Sugar is 10 times
as addictive as cocaine. That is a fact.
Sugar impacts on health more significantly
than probably anything else. It feeds cancer cells. It
triggers weight gain. It promotes premature ageing, diabetes, high blood pressure . . . and listen to all those things —all real Bermudian problems. Real, si gnificant Bermudian problems. Sugar. A bottle of Mou ntain Dew soda has 27 grams of sugar in it. The equal amount of a bottle of Grey Goose vodka has zero [grams of sugar] in it. And no, I am not saying okay so let us all go and drink that much vodka, because it is
like with anything, you know. If you overdo it, if you
overdo anything, if you smoke too much weed, you
lose the benefits of whatever the health proponents are. You drink too much red wine —well they are
there— you drink too much red wine, a glass a day is
good for you. But do not go chug five glasses of wine
every day because what good you might be doing for your heart, you are damaging your liver.
So everything is about . . . my favourite T -shirt
at home that I wear that says Balance. Balance. So,
how you can go about taxing alcohol and wine and all
these things, beer, that have shown to have some
health benefit and completely ignore the absolutely
criminal impact of sugar on our society —that grape
soda is poison on the shelf!
Now, as a former Attorney General I always
said (and you have h eard
me say it here before, Mr.
Speaker) the way to go about things is look at what
other plac
es are doing that make sense and plagiarise
it and use it and fit it in here and make use of it here.
So, we know what the US has just done (in particular
states ) in relation to the sugar tax, and why they did it.
All of the studies are there to be looked at. Why did
we not just go with that one? I am all for the raised
revenue. I heard the speech about, Oh, you know,
how much money was spent on this and how much
money they did with this and how much money they
did . . . great. I get that. I have made those arguments,
too. I know the history. I also get what . . . the Finance
Minister has a heart, and I know that his good heart is
not drinking 27 grams of sugar a day, I hope, from
Mountain Dew. What he should be looking at with r egard to finding that balance . . . so why not tax when
you look down this list what makes the health sense? I
want to hear from the Health Minister because I can-not imagine that the Honourable Health Minister was
not standing around the Cabinet table saying we have
to tax sugar, we have to tax sugar . This will be an i mpact here on what we need to do.
So the tax here is
going to get passed on with
regard to liquor, it is just going to jack up those prices as the arguments that have been made, you know,
and hit people that are going to have some form of
enjoyment from a daily glass of wine or a weekly drink or so on, that God only knows we all need, especially if you spend enough time up here.
[Laughter]

You are going to need to have
it. But nobody is going outside and taking a break from Parliament. They are going down the road to get a grape soda, I hope. And if they are, they better check in with what they should be doing.
So, if we would have come up here and I
would have seen we are going to double the tax on Mountain Dew soda, on grape soda —I would have
been jumping up and down saying, Hallelujah! Let’s
get on board with that. It makes imminently no sense
to raise tax on alcohol in this way, not a huge taxation, but it would increase the price, the tax, on alcohol and leave the sugar products alone.
The largest selling soft drink in the United
States of America last year was water! Hallelujah! W ater. What we should be doing is thinking about getting
people drinking water because that is healthy. It is
drink more water every day for health and get that price down. Bring down the price of bottled water and jack up the price of sugar drinks and jack it up with the tax and pass that on to the importer and pass that on
to the retailers and pass that on to the consumer and
get the message there: Do not touch this stuff. But if
you do not want to listen and get the memo, if you do not want to do that and all of the impac ts, Mr. Speaker, that come from that, then you are going to have to
pay the piper. And not only are you going to pay him
with the tax, but you are going to pay him with the
health.
And, by the way, the increased tax is going to
support what we will have to do for you when you have to have amputated limbs, you are suffering from obesity, you are suffering from high blood pressure
and insurance rates and everything on Medicare have
to go up because of your bad habit in sugar. When you go in for those medical tests, what is the thing that
they always ask you about? Do you use tobacco
products? Do you drink alcohol? And they swab your
gums —I know somebody who has had it done— to
make sure that you are not touching any tobacco. And boy, if that comes up positive, your insurance is going
to go through the roof.
But none of the forms are saying, How many
grape sodas are you drinking a year? How much C oca-Cola are you drinking? How much are you giving of


Bermuda House of Assembly this to your kids? And that is where the focus needs to
be.
These are simply logical, sensible things that
find a balance for the society which includes raising
the tax. So, do not be saying, Oh, these are not the
things to be taxed. Certainly, there is tobacco. It is just
a valid question to ask why, sensibly, with all of the
information and all of the health benefits, would you
not be saying let us leave this where it is and let us tax the sugar. So, my answer to that would be, right, well, I cannot see how I am going to support an i ncrease in tax on these things that relate to some of the alcohol products when you choose not even to a ddress that issue of a sugar tax —which is just what
they have called it in the States. A sugar tax because of what the health impact is across the board when we talk about a sin tax, it is a bigger sin to have that much sugar being used and abused by people more so than it is with regard to these other things that are being
taxed. Tax the sugar.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker .

Thank you very much, Honourable
Member .
Any other H onourable Member care to speak?
The Chair will recognise the Minister for Health, Mini ster Jeanne Atherden.
You have the floor.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Mr. Speaker, several
comments have been made with respect to the areas
that have been targeted in the Finance Minister’s and
the Government’s tax and what areas should be taxed and should not be taxed, and I just want to make a couple of observations because as one comes and tries to determine, when you are raising taxes, to me
there are two things that one looks at. One is the aspect of raising revenue and the other is the aspect of changing lifestyles.

No, please carry on. You do not have
to stop, Minister.
Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: As I said, when anybody
is ever trying to do something, you always have what I
call this balance of . . . you are trying to raise revenue
and at the same when you are looking at revenue, you are trying to decide what areas you should look at from the point of view of either how much revenue you
can raise or sometimes, on the other hand, what type
of things do you want to sort of change. And the rea-son I say that is because we, for a long time, you call what we call the sin taxes, and the sin taxes have been deemed to be tobacco and alcohol. And in the past those commodities have been taxed because in
addition to being something that everybody seemed to
want and therefore it seemed to have a degree of elasticity from the point of view of whatever level you increased it to, people still seem to buy —it did not
seem like they reduced their demand for it. It just seemed to be fairly elastic.
But on the other hand, I do not think people
realise that part of this —

She missed what elasticity means.
That is not elasticity.

Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: —having these commodities taxed is bearing in mind what it was doing to society. Tobacco— it was creating some very long lifetime
illnesses from the point of view of once a person
started to smoke at an early age, it was creating the
number -one disease at the highest level in terms of
mortality and, so, for the longest . . . while tobacco
has been the product that one has looked at taxing,
alcohol came right behind it because on top of that alcohol also created some conditions that an early age, in terms of consumption, resulted in long- term
illnesses or early deaths. So, those were tended to be
driven by what I call the impact on society and ther efore then they got the name of the sin taxes.
Now, more recently you have had sugar coming up as a commodity that persons have a concern about and not so much—it did not come so much as a
call of being a sin tax, but something that was creating
a problem with respect to the impact that it had on individuals —and we talk about obesity, we talk about
diabetes, and it was understanding that that had a significant influence.
Now, Mr. Speaker, for the last year or so, I
have been looking and monitoring what has been happening in other countries. I have been monitoring what has been happening in the Caribbean in terms of who has introduced sugar tax, who is sort of thinking about it, and the reason why I have been monitoring it
is because one of the dilemmas is when you introduce this tax on sugar, whether you end up getting what I call the improvement that you want because most places when they start to introduce it, they were not introducin g it so much to increase their revenues.
They were actually trying to come up with
what I call changing in terms of health consequences. They were not going after it because it was going to be a big revenue item. They were going after it be-cause it was going to change health consequences. And that is why it has been very important, when I started to look at to sort of say, okay, what other
1536 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly things can we do in Bermuda to change tax cons equences and in doing that, what has been very important is that we have been starting to educate ev erybody about what you need to do in terms of your lifestyle.
You will know as I came up here and we
talked about it, we have our Healthy Schools pr ogramme where we have water in schools because we made people understand that for the children, drinking water is very important. We have the healthy lunches in schools where we make children understand about eating and drinking and water, et cetera. So, I am sa ying we have been trying to change behaviour rather
than talking about using it as a revenue source. And
the point I am trying to make is that I know that there has been the suggestion about looking it as a revenue source.
But the other reason why I keep looking at this
and why the jury is still out is because if you do not
change the demand for it, change people’s mind- set,
all you are going to do is for those people, unfort unately, who have less in their pocket to go out and buy
these products and therefore you are going to have an impact on the families because they are still going to
be buying these sugary drinks because it is like the
alcohol that the adults have. They are going to be out buying it because they have this need, this sugar ad-diction, and therefore they will be going into their pockets to buy it.
So, what we are going to be doing, Mr.
Speaker, is we are going to turn around and we are
creating a demand and then we are going to have to turn around and deal with the consequences. So, I am not saying that we might not end up turning around and looking at that as something we might consider. But, Mr. Speaker, I do not believe that we are looking
at it from the point of view of saying it is a source of revenue. We are looking at it . . .if we go down that
path to say it is a health benefit that you are trying to introduce, it is a reason that you want people to shift,
but at the same time you really have to change the
lifestyle of individuals and we were talking earlier
about some of the other taxes here and what people might do.
You know, Mr. Speaker, I am mindful of the
fact that a long time ago, people did not drive ever ywhere. They actually walked. They did more walking.
More walking results in less consumption of fuel. More
walking means that people can turn around and act ually counterbalance some of this expenditure that they would have for the higher price of fuel and I think, Mr.
Speaker, as we go forward, you know what they say,
necessity is the mother invention, sometimes you will
find that people will have to turn around and they will
have to look at their budgets and they will have to say,
Okay, what will I have to do to turn around and try and
make myself not so much impacted.
Now, Mr. Speaker, every month or so I get
things and I read and I look at stuff and if you can just bear with me for a minute, I look at things that are
talking about what is happening in the NCDs [noncommunicable diseases] in North America and what
people are doing, and we are talking about heart at-tacks, diabetes, and cancer being [the cause of] the majority of premature deaths and I think to myself —

So, where are you reading from?

Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: This is from . . . this is a
report that I get from CARICOM which is a report
which came . . . let me just see . . . this was the . . . if I
can just find the last bit . . . this was the Executive
Board of World Health —this was a recent meeting
that they held in January 2017 and this was a report where they were reporting on what the various —this
was an Executive Board and they were talking about what the various countries were indicating was ha ppening in the region.
And, so, I look at it because not only do we do
things in Bermuda, we obviously want to see what is happening around the world. And do you know what it said? It says, “ As documented, the economic losses
caused by smoking far outweigh global revenue from
tobacco taxes,” and they estimated that it was $27
million[sic]. . . and they were saying that in “ all cou ntries that raised cigarette taxes by about 80 per
cent[sic] per pack, annual tax revenues could i ncrease
by 47 percent , amounting to an additional $140 billion
[per year ].”
And it was telling them that, hey, cigarettes
seem to be a place where you increased it, it still
seemed like the revenue was up there but the taxes were going up even more and ye t they were actually
making people understand, as I say, this balance of generating revenue as opposed to looking at this thing
of balancing against what I call the health conditions.
And so, for me, I do not know what else is g oing to be proposed tonight but I just want to say that
from a health perspective I continue to look at the
question of taxes on sugar items, but more importantly
what I have found and which is what we are starting to
consider is that there is a belief that we should start having more information and more emphasis on labe lling. Labelling of products so people understand what actually is in the things they eat. How much sugar is in other things —and sugar is not just in sugary drinks. It
is in lots of things that we consume normally. A nd you
just think it is healthy but it has actually got sugar, and so I believe and what the Ministry and what we will be looking at is more emphasis on educating the public on reducing their consumption of sugar and salt for these things that actually impact on them.
I do not know what else might be proposed
today, but all I can say to you is that I look at what I call something that is trying to generate revenue as opposed to something else which is turn around and talk about trying to improve the condition of our health and our people in Bermuda. And we will continue to


Bermuda House of Assembly do that. But I do not think that just turning around and
saying a tax on sugar is the answer because, as I
said, I really believe it is more an education of people in Bermuda to understand what impacts their lifestyle and what things are actually cheaper that they can buy in terms of water and all sorts of other things and I do not know what is going to be proposed tonight but I
do think that the Minister has tried to address those
items, as I said, those items which normally have had
this elasticity and therefore the beer and the wine and the alcohol, et cetera, which in the past studies have shown that the elasticity is there.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker .

Thank you, Honourable M ember .
Any other Honourable Member . . . the Chair
will recognise the Honourable Premier.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker .
I will start where my honourable colleague,
the Minister of Health, left off and thank her for her
participation in the debate. I think this has been an
interesting debate tonight. There has been some ser ious information put out by colleagues. There have
also been one or two laughs which is always good to
have in a debate. But, I applaud the Minister of Health for standing up and giving her perspective. Look, sug-ar tax is something we should definitely consider. But until we learn to moderate our lifestyle, our habits, sugar tax is going to do one thing: It is going to raise
the cost of living. That is exactly where this debate
started this afternoon, this evening, on the cost of li ving and raising the cost of living.
Many jurisdictions have looked at it. Some say
they have had some success; others are still strug-gling with it. For honourable colleagues who have not
looked at the Duty Book, at the present time, I believe
water is 15 percent and it is going to stay at that. The
duty on soft drinks is proposed to go from 33 [per
cent] to 35 percent. So that is a pretty large duty rate
that is paid on items like that, and one of the things that we have tried to do, as the Minister alluded to,
through programmes in the school with Marie Beach -
Johnson, who does an excellent as the Healthy School coordinator, is to get in there and to change the habits of our young people. And it started years
ago in the schools with taking out the vending m achines —taking out the sodas from the vending m achines.
And, Mr. Speaker, I have to say it, too often
we are hypocrites up here. What do we get in the fridge when we go in there for lunch and dinner? S oda! But we are going to stand up here tonight and talk
about well, we know what is right but we are drinking
soda out of the fridge up there.

They need to fill it with wine!
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: But go in there every night
and that fridge is empty. So, I mean, somebody is
drinking it. I do not see mice and rats running in there
taking it out. But that is fine. That is our choice. It is all about moderation and what you do in life. It is all about the moderation and what you do. But until we change people’s lifestyles and habits and get them to
understand the value of nutrition, a sugar tax is going
to raise the cost of living drastically. And that is som ething that we have been wrestling with and will conti nue to consider as we go forward.
I will tell you an interesting story, Mr. Speaker .
A number of years ago I had this gentleman working
at Dunkley’s. And one day I heard that somebody had
passed out on the loading ramp, and I went out there and it was the gentleman. One of the ladies from the office realised right away that he must be a diabetic. So, she had what it takes to deal with him and the ambulance came and he was all right.
So, I was talking to the lady in the office and
she goes, You know, he never told anybody but I
could just recognise it because I am a diabetic as well and I know that he smokes. I know that he drinks a bit .
And so afterwards I spoke to him. I said, Look, you
flopped out —dangerous! You know, let us take care of
that. You are a young man . . . at that time, you know,
he was probably . . . I am 58, he was probably 15
years younger than me, and this was 15 years ago, about. And, so, everyone was worried about him be-cause he is working in a busy environment and if
something like that happens, you could be driving a
forklift and you flop out if you do not eat right and you
are not taking care of yourself.

That is right!

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: And the driver could flop
out.
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: No, your drivers drink
chocolate milk.
[Laughter]

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Cocoa powder!

[Laughter]
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Less sugar!

1538 20 March 2017 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly [Laughter]

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: They come in and get it
from the Dairy. They come in and get it from the Dairy.
No, but, seriously, Mr. Speaker, back to the
seriousness about it. And, so it went on, it went on, it
went on. This gentleman could not deal with the challenge he had with diabetes and he left the emplo yment of the company and years later I went down to
the hospital to visit somebody and I see the gentl eman outside the hospital, the visitor’s entrance. I see him out there in a wheelchair —lost his two legs, lost
his two arms, got somebody holding a cigarette to his
mouth and he is crying, saying, I need help, I need
help, I need help. It is the sam e thing that he said the
first day he flopped out on the ramp and came to, I
need help. But he was unwilling to have the strength
in himself to get the help. The only time he needed the
help was when he was in pain. As soon as he started
to feel a little bit better, somebody put the cigarette
back in his mouth.
Well, the gentleman passed away shortly after
that. So, we want to talk about what to tax and how to tax it. I think we need to be real in how we look at it.
Mr. Speaker, I am going to say it right here, right now,
it is very difficult to decide what to tax and at what rate
and how to tax it. We are in a hole. We are digging out of that hole. If any of us here have the magic potion of the right levels and the right areas, well, put your hand up. I want to listen to you. But I do not think that this is
the case. We have to work together to make sure
these things happen.
But, just look, no one is arguing about cigarettes tonight because people know the harm to our society from cigarettes. People know t he addiction
from nicotine. I say it over and over and over again.
My father died from smoking cigarettes. He had a
stroke. Could not stop. We all know about cigarettes. But people still smoke them. Every year we put up the duty on cigarettes. It does not matter what it is, we put
it up and people still buy cigarettes.

No elasticity at all.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: No elasticity —Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe what a cigarette costs now. But
people still put them there and you know they go down and they try to buy one cigarette at a time or
somebody gets a pack and he sells them around and
makes a couple of cents on every cigarette. But, Mr. Speaker, now, let us get real. Cigarette . . . The Honourable Member said cigarette consumption has gone
down, but the nicotine level goes up. Now, let us get
real, Mr. Speaker, we are talking about taxes and alcohol. That has some elasticity in there as well.
But, Mr. Speaker, I am telling you here t onight: look at the negative impact alcohol has had on
our community and I am not surprised we are all talk-ing about raising the tax on alcohol because alcohol is way too prevalent in our community. Yes, Mr. Speaker, I drink. I will admit it. I drink. But being a politician, I
probably drink a little bit more. But, Mr. Speaker, look
at the negative impact of alcohol in our community
with our young people, with road traffic accidents, with abuse in the home.
Mr. Speaker, we want to talk about the value
of certain products —yes, alcohol does have certain
values to it in certain quantities. Got a lot of sugar,
too. It has got a lot of sugar, too. So I listen to these arguments tonight and I think they all sound good, we have all done a little research. But, you know, taxing alcohol in Bermuda is not going to stop a visitor from
coming here. If we go crazy it could have a little bit of an impact. But at these levels, this is not going to stop a visitor from coming here.
Mr. Speaker, we need to be realistic at the
challenge we face. And no Government wants to raise taxes. They do not want to raise taxes on any item at
all. But at this point and time we have no choice. We have to raise taxes in certain areas and we have to be real about how we raise those taxes. The Opposition started this debate out and they said the cost of living, raising duty rates for the cost of living and then they
said a few retailers came and talked about it and now
we are here reducing those rates. Well, they have just argued right around circling themselves because first they talk about raising the cost of living and then they talked about a few retailers who approached the Gov-ernment. They cannot have it both ways.
Mr. Speaker, it is clear to me, if we do not
balance duty rates what is sold in stores throughout Bermuda becomes less competitive, and there will not even be the need to bring some of these items in an-ymore. And then what happens from there? Bermudi-ans lose jobs. Retail has been under tremendous
amount of pressure over the past couple of years.
That is why we see it is harder for them to make mon-ey. That is why we see fewer stores in Bermuda. That is why we see young entrepreneurs trying to get vivid with the imagination and the spirit that they have to
open it and do what they have to do. As we make
these changes and try to get the revenue which is r equired not only to run Government, provide the ser-vice they need, but pay that $500,000 a day in debt servicing, we have to consider how we are going to inflict the least amount of suffering on our community.
And look, there has been a lot of talk tonight
about the price of gas going up. We have been fort unate because over the past four or five years as the duty on fuel has gone up, generally, fuel prices have stayed low. Oil has gone from $100 a barrel down to probably about $50 a barrel at this point. Been down
in the upper $30s for a number of months. So, the tax
increase has been probably more than offset by the drop in the price of the barrel of oil.
And, so, we come here tonight and everybody
has gotten a view on it. I would like to see the Oppos ition’s amendments so we can take a look at it with the


Bermuda House of Assembly most time and we can try to decide on how we can
work together. But issues such as a sugar tax is
something that has been on the table, but it has to be done right. Because if we are going to tax sugar we
are going to increase the cost of many things we have not even thought about yet. And that is going to i mpact Bermudians, Bermudian entrepreneurs who are
struggling —
[Inaudible interjections]
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: No problem, a soda tax —
soda is taxed at 35 per cent with this budget. I hear
the Honourable Member s saying —we are at 35 per
cent. You want to put it up? Go ahead, put it up. Put it
up higher and see what it does to the man in the street who is struggling. See what it does to the man in the street who is struggling. They stop buying it. That is what they say. Just like cigarettes, they stop
buying it. Until we change lifestyles, until we get people to understand the value of nutrition, I think it is go-ing to be a very diff icult sell for the people of Bermuda
to understand it.
So, Mr. Speaker, the last thing I will say is I
have listened through the budget debate and certainly in the economic debate I heard Honourable Member s
from the Opposition talking about Government needs to put more money into tourism, more money into this, more money into that. I find it interesting that while they have talked about putting more money into var ious Government ministries, at the same time there has been very little input on how we raise the appr opriate amount of taxes that we have going forward.
And I know my colleague, the Minister of F inance has worked hard on appropriate taxes and that is why he has come back with those changes because
we realise we have to get it right and it is ver y difficult
to do. But if we are going to change taxes, we have to
think about it. And while a sugar tax makes sense to many people, it has to be thought through in the ap-propriate way so it is sustainable and it does not i ncrease the cost of living.
So tonight we are all health experts. We all
have it right. But at the end of the day, we have to continue to move this country forward by getting our finances in a better position and that is what these changes are about as much as we do not like to do it,
Mr. Speaker. Because we all, whether we tell our st ories about people in the community who we help out
or we know their struggle, we are all well aware of it. We all have those stories to tell on how people are struggling in various parts of our community. S o, we
do not want to increase taxes and if there was a magic wand, somebody would be waving it right about
now.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker .