February 29, 2016

Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker. I would then ask a supplementary.
Can the Minister, seeing that she says she
does not agree, explain the steps that were taken by
her Government from the time that the judgment was
laid down by Justice Hellman last year in February up
until the point of the Bermuda Bred case insofar as
establishing the margin of appreciation inside of the Bermudian community?

Minister.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: We held many
consul tative meetings, both with the clergy, with pe ople interested in the issue, people against the issue.
We have also included open town hall meetings. And
we also opened a website, which enabled people to
give contributions to that website to give their con-cerns and the interest that they had in the matter.

Yes, thank you. Thank yo u, Mr.
Speaker.
Would the Honourable Minister also indicate
that, by virtue of the Government’s failure to even a ppeal this case, the [Justice] Hellman case, that it left a lot of ambiguity within the law, as well as it presents
the position that we find here today, by virtue of the
fact that the Government did not appeal the case with
respect to the [Justice] Hellman case for more clarity?

Minister.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker. Mr. Speaker, let me just say that I am really
thrilled to hear Members so interested and concerned
when they have been out, and the bird has had their
tongues, leading up to this point in time.
But in response to the Honourable Member’s
question—

[Inaudible interjections]

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: In response to the
Honourable Member’s question, let me say that —

Just a minute. I cannot hear you, Honourable Minister.
This is a matter that is important. And I think
that Members should listen. So I think it is importan t
for us to be attentive to what is being said. It is important and it is also helpful to me if Members are attentive. Thank you.
Minister.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker.
In response to the Honourable Member’s
question, let me say that I am not an attorney. Ho wever, through discussions with respect to whether an
appeal ought to have been launched on those prior decisions, it was determined that any grounds of appeal would fail, and that we would be throwing good
money after bad if making an appeal, knowing that it
would fail. That was my understanding. I am not a
lawyer, so I am afraid I cannot speak any more pr ofessionally towards that.

Good morning.

QUESTION 1: SAME- SEX MARRIAGE AND CIVIL
UNIONS

Hon. Marc A. R. Bean: Mr. Speaker, I would like to
ask the Honourable Minister, based on previous experience (when we can remember), we are discussing the Human Rights Amendment. And the argument
was that that will lead to claims for same- sex ma rriage, and it was denied.
Does the Minister consider this draft Civil U nion Act as providing an opportunity for future claims by
proponents of same- sex marriage for same- sex ma rriage, being that civil unions will seem to be the next
logical step after two words and a comma?

The Chair will recognise the Minister.
854 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly
Hon. Patricia J. Gor don-Pamplin: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker, and I appreciate that question because the
Honourable Member would be aware that we tabled
two weeks ago (to which I have made reference in my Statement) the Bill entitled the amendment to the Ma trimonial Causes Act, which seeks to confirm that marriage remains exclusively a relationship between a
man and a woman.
So that has been solidified by the tabling of
that particular Bill, Mr. Speaker, which is yet to be de-bated. And we will proceed with that appropriately.
With that said, this Government indicated, by
way of the two words and a comma, as that Honourable Member asked, that this would not lead to same-sex marriage. And this amendment to the Matrimonial
Causes Act is to solidify that position, which was not
made at that time two years ago. And I think that this
rectifies that situation.
With respect to what will happen in the future,
clearly, if the legislation now provides for restrictions
as it presently does, we cannot say what a future go vernment would be will ing to do if it wanted to change
legislation. But we have said that this Government has
made that commitment to the people of Bermuda, and
we have evidenced it by the amendment that we are
attempting to put down.

Yes.

SUPPLEMENTARY
Hon. Marc A. R. Bean: The Honourable Minister will
know that just a few days ago, her own appointed
Human Rights Commission had made a public stat ement and have circulated the same in a letter to all Members of the Legislature, making it clear that they will seek, at some point, to challenge the Matrimonial
Causes Amendment Act on the grounds that it is outside of the review, or discriminatory in terms of human
rights.
Now, if the Minister’s own appointed Human
Rights Commission has publicly stated something contrary to what the Minister is putting on the table
today, how can she guarantee, Mr. Speaker, that this
would not be challenged in the future, if not by others,
but by those whom she has appointed?

Minister. Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Mr. Speaker, in
life, there are no guarantees. I cannot guarantee that
this s ituation will not be challenged. And I believe that
the purpose of our having a legal system and con-struct is to provide anybody who is aggrieved by legi slation that is proposed, legislation that is passed, Bills
that might come to this Honourable House, i f they are
deemed to be ultra vires , anything, then people have
the opportunity to challenge such in the courts.
I cannot say what people will do or whether
they will or whether they will not. I am afraid I do not
know. I am not a mind reader in that regard.

I have a supplementary, if I may,
Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in the Minister’s answer just
now, she said that there are no guarantees that can
be given. Would the Minister at least, I guess, admit
that her Government told this House that the amendments to the Human Rights Act would not lead to any
claims such as have arisen i n this case? And that advice was given to this Parliament when we were debating the Human Rights Act. Can she at least admit
that fact?
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I stated, Mr.
Speaker, that at the time that two words and a comma
were debated in thi s Honourable House, the thenMinister of Community, Culture and Sport and the
then- Premier committed that this would not lead to
same -sex marriage. And as a result of that commi tment, there ought to have been, in my estimation, legislation to support that at that time, which was not
done.
Hence, we have tabled two weeks ago legisl ation that supports that position, and it will be debated at the appropriate time.

Supplementary, yes.

SUPPLEMENTARY

Hon. Marc A. R. Bean: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
The Minister’s last response just reminded
this Honourable Chamber that it was the former Attorney General who, in fact, made the position of the Government at that time abundantly clear, that there
would be no steps taken towards same- sex marriage.


Bermuda House of Assembly Would the Minister not consider it to be . . . (I
do now know the right parliamentary term.) But now
that the former Attorney General is also the lead
counsel in driving forward same- sex marriage, is there
a conflict, Mr. Speaker? Does the Minister consider
that to be a conflict in terms of the Government’s
overall position, when you have the former Attorney
General say one thing, but then in the private sector
end up doing the complete opposite?

Minister.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Mr. Speaker, I
think that the position that was taken by this Gover nment at the time of the debate and the tabling of the
previous Act to which we have now been referring has
been consisten t. We said at that time it would not lead
to same- sex marriage. We have now tabled an
amendment to the Act in which marriage has been
defined. And we are solidifying that by virtue of the
amendment that we are putting forward now. And I am
afraid I cannot speak to how people deal with their private businesses in terms of their representation.

Thank you. Thank you, Honourable
Minister.
The Chair —

SUPPLEMENTARY

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Supplementary.
And I just want to make sure to clarify. I am
not sure if I heard it. But can the Honourable Minister
confirm that by not accepting the amendment at that time it was a mistake by the Government?

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: By not accepting
the amendment?

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Accepting the amendment
way back in 2013 was a mistake by the Government at that time?
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: If you mean the
Human Rights Act Amendment? I do not believe it
was a mistake, no.

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: You do now?

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pampl in: No, I do not.

Thank you, Honourable Member.
The Chair will now recognise again the
Leader of the Opposition. This is your second question. Yes?

QUESTION 2: SAME- SEX MARRIAGE AND CIVIL
UNIONS
Hon. Marc A. R. Bean: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
On the second page, the Honourable Minister
referred to the Supreme Court ruling between Ber-muda Bred Company and the Minister of Home Affairs
and the Attorney General. In the next paragraph, she cites the ruling that says that “non- Bermudian samesex partners of Bermudians who are in permanent
relationships are entitled to live and work in Bermuda free of immigration control.”
Notwithstanding the ruling of the Chief Justice, from a legislative and policy perspective, and
immigration control perspecti ve, can the Minister explain how we determine who is in a permanent rel ationship?

Minister.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I do not want to tread on the feet
of another Ministry, but in my understanding I can give
it to you as best I understand. And that is that there
are a set of regulations which are used to determine
whether two people are in a permanent relationship,
one of which might be if a same- sex couple were married outside of the jurisdiction, which would somehow
signify that this relationship is permanent. There may
be other considerations, but I would like to defer that
response. I am happy to bring it to the House of A ssembly, but I do not wish to misspeak.

Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Based on the rulings regarding same- sex
couples, when you look at heteros exual couples who
are in long- term relationships, what is going to be in
place regarding them? Because one would think that if
this is only going to apply to same- sex couples, then it
is setting up a prejudicial situation. Because heter osexual couples may somehow be hampered.
And on top of that, you can even look at it in
terms of polygamous relationships. What happens
then if you have a situation where one person is mar-ried to, let us say, seven different people? What is
going to happen in a situation lik e that?

Hold on.
Honourable Members, Honourable Members.
I need to hear what is being said. I need to hear every
word. Thank you.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Mr. Speaker, polygamous relationships are not enshrined in Bermuda
law. So therefore, they are not legal. In addition to which, heterosexual couples, notwithstandi ng the
Honourable Member suggesting that it might lead to a
further discriminatory claim, at least heterosexual
couples can get married, whereas same- sex couples
cannot.

The Minister in her statement just
indicated that polygamous relationships or polyg amous marriages are not recognised in Bermuda law.
Nor are marriages of same- sex [couples]. So again,
back to the original question: What processes will be place by t he department to determine what is a permanent relationship? The Minister indicated in her
answer that it would be if they were married outside of Bermuda. It is not recognised in law in Bermuda. So
again, what would be the determining factor as to
what cl assifies as a permanent relationship?

Minister.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I answered in the
previous question. I answered that this would be one
method by which couples can show that their relationship is permanent. There may be other s that will come
under the ambit of the Department of Home Affairs.
And I am afraid I do not know what all of those considerations are. I did commit to finding out and to bringing that response to the House.

We have just heard the Honourable Minister indicate that polygamy is not recognised
in law in Bermuda. So, therefore, there would be no
issues concerning the question that was raised by the
Honourable Member from constituency 3. However, in
the next breath, we heard the Honour able Minister
indicate that, in order for the determination of what is
a permanent relationship, one method would be
whether or not the parties were married. Well, we
know in Bermuda that same- sex marriage is not legal.
It has not been acknowledged in Berm uda, which is
also in line and akin to polygamy.
So I ask again, what will the department determine as to what a permanent relationship is?
Unless, of course, the Minister is indicating in this
House that they will rely on unlawful means.

Minister.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: No, that is not
what I am saying, Mr. Speaker. I do not know how the
Honourable Member can deduce that same- sex ma rriage is akin to polygamy. All I can say is that that is a different legal construct than that whic h I understand.
But let me say that the purpose of tabling the
Civil Union Bill will enable that segment of the co mmunity to be recognised within whatever rights and privileges that they would be entitled to have should
such a Bill be able to pass through in legislation. I
cannot speak to whether it will, whether it will not, Mr.
Speaker. This is something that is still at a consult ative stage. And we have to go through this process to
ensure that all eventualities are considered.

Yes.

QUESTION 3: SAME- SEX MARRIAGE AND CIVIL
UNIONS

Hon. Marc A. R. Bean: The Honourable Minister said
that in the first phase, from receipt of a petition in May
of 2015, this Government committed to hearing all
sides of the issues. Mr. Speaker, you would note that
that is not the first petition that has been generated by
the citiz ens of this country during the tenure of the
One Bermuda Alliance. There have been multiple pet itions —i.e., Lamb Foggo Clinic, and others.
Can the Minister explain, what is the difference between those petitions, which caused no r esponse by the Government , and this petition, which
has caused these actions by the Government?

Minister.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I think it is important to put this in the context, Mr. Speaker, that when
this Minister has received any petition or any infor mation, I have acted upon it. I have taken information to my Cabinet colleagues, and I have acted upon it.
I cannot speak to how other matters may have
been dealt with. But I have dealt with this particular
matter in the manner in which I deemed to be most
appropriate.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Bearing in mind that the Oliari case, to which
the Honourable Minister has cited, speaks of the i mportance of a margin of appreciation insofar as ad-dressing the issues of the jurisdiction, and bearing in
mind that the majority of the 22 countries that have legalised same- sex marriage, both of those matters
have come as a result of public involvement by means of a referendum, would the Honourable Minister confirm to this House that they are commi tted to abiding
by the Oliari case as it relates to margin of appreci a-tion and the precedent set in other jurisdictions, like
jurisdictions, by allowing the people to make the determination as to the way forward concerning civil u nions, by issuing a referendum?

Minister.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: I think I have r esponded to that question, that the margin of appreci ation as identified in the Oliari case is one that perhaps
could have been adopted by the community at the
time that two wo rds and a comma were debated. That
was a margin of appreciation that could have been determined at that point in time.
Subsequent to that, I have made every effort
to determine the margin of appreciation by having
very open forums in which people were abl e to express their concerns and their fears. I have opened
websites so that people can give submissions. And I
have taken every single one of those submissions, Mr.
Speaker, evaluated them, read through every single one, evaluated them, categorised them, and been
able to come with a specific determination. So I do not
know that there is any more than I can say on that that
is likely to satisfy the Honourable Members opposite.

Yes. Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, in the Minister’s Statement, the
Minister refers t o the Bermuda Bred case. And inside
of the Bermuda Bred case, there is specific reference
to the February 2015 A. and B. v. the Director of Child
and Family Services , which I do believe falls underneath the Minister’s remit. At that time, the Justice ruled that there was a portion of the Adoption Act that
was inoperative due to discrimination based on marital status. And I make that key —based upon marital
status, not upon sexual orientation.
At the time of that declaration, which came
down from the Justice, can the Minister please say what steps her Ministry took to engage in a consult ative process regarding the Adoption Act and what she
did up until the point of the Bermuda Bred case? And I
would appreciate to hear the feedback on that, Mr.
Speaker.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes, I appreciate
the question, Mr. Speaker, because at the time that the A. and B. case was determined, the department
straightaway went into overdrive in order to determine
858 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly what exactly was required, what Acts might need to
be changed as a result of taking recognition of what
the A. and B. Justice Hellman’s decision was with r espect to marital status.
And that particular issue drove the continuing
discussion, investigation, determination of how other
countries that dealt with such issues—it has been an
ongoing process since that particular decision was handed down in the A. and B. case, which had to do
with the Department of Child and Family Services.
And it was a same- sex adoption, a same- sex couple
adoption of a child.

The S peaker: Thank you, Minister.
Yes, MP Burt again.

I thank the Minister for her r esponse. However, once that ruling was handed down,
the Governm ent had to come up with a decision. And
the decision was to accept the ruling of the court in
making that statement inoperative, or looking to
amend any legislation to confirm the will of the people
and the will of Parliament in this case.
Can the Minister please state for us, what is
the position of the Government as it relates to (1) same -sex adoption, [same- sex] couples for ado ption; (2) adoption [by] unmarried opposite- sex co uples? Because those are the items which are put forward in this Bill, not in this ruling. And I would like to
know, what is the Government’s position on those
cases?

Minister.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, the issue of adoption has not
been the topic of this particular Ministerial Statement
that I have given today. And I am quite happy to have further discussion relating to what further has been
done with respect to same- sex adoptions and ado ptions of unmarried people of opposite sex. That is a
different topic.

Though the Minister may say that
they are a different topic, she makes specific refer-ence to the Bermuda Bred case. And Bermuda Bred
case made specific reference to A. and B. v. the D epartment of Child and Family Services. And the re ason it is relevant, Mr. Speaker, is that the deadline which was put in place for today was based upon the
one-year from the Department of Child and Family
Services ruling. Because the Justice said that the
Government did not act from the period of September
all the way until the period of the Bermuda Bred case.
That is why it is important. These are all issues that
are related.
So I ask the Minister again i f she could please
give the Government’s position regarding same- sex
adoption, and also adoption by opposite- sex couples
who are not married.

Because we have heard quite a bit
of discussion today regarding the margin of appreci ation. And this is something that is very important i nside of the human rights context. The human rights context states that the government must test the margin of appreciation.
Is the Minister telling this House that her view
of the best way to test the margin of appreciation is by the open forums of which she has been holding thus
far?

Minister.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Let me say that
the forums that have been conducted thus far are part and parcel of an entire strategy and accumulation of
information, dissemination of information. And we i ntend to continue that discussion with the public. It is
important to point out that what we are tabling today is a consultative paper. It is for information. It is for di sBermuda House of Assembly cussion. It is for further development. And I do not
know what more I can say other than that.

Thank you, Minister.
Yes, you have a supplementary? The Chair
recognises the Leader of the Opposition.

SUPPLEMENTARY

Hon. Marc A. R. Bean: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Again, I would like to ask the Minister, because we are not speaking about or asking about a
strategy. We are asking about the test for margin of
appreciation. Now, can the Honourable Minister confirm that she considers consultations and having little
talks around the Island as the legal test for margin of
appreciation?

All right. Thank you.
Minister.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Mr. Speaker, I do
not know how many different ways the Honourable
Members are going to try to ask the same question. I
believe I have responded to it. And I just do not think
that we are getting anywhere by trying to go over
ground that has already been responded to.

Yes, Mr. Speaker , and this is supplementary on this particular issue. Because I think it
is important that the public understand and are able to
drill down.
The Minister has stated that the Bermuda
Bred case will go into effect today. So, the question is,
given that this paper has been laid down, is the Mini ster saying that it is the position of the Government that
same -sex partners will be able to adopt and will be
able to have the rights of residents, as is currently afforded . . . (Sorry.) Not only same- sex partners, but
also opposite- sex partners who are not married will
enjoy the same privileges that married couples do in
the Bermudian context currently?

Minister.

[Inaudible interjection]

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: No. The Honourable Member said he will repeat the question, but I do
not know that I am equipped to answer that question
at this particular point in time, as I do not wish to mi sspeak. But the Honourable Member mentioned about
adoption and opposite- sex couples, and while that was not t he topic of my Statement today, I accept that
it was part of the Bermuda Bred decision that has
been handed down. And that decision I would like to have the opportunity, in order to respond effectively to
the Honourable Member’s question, to have further consultation with the Ministry that was responsible.
Because remember, the Bermuda Bred case was an immigration issue and not a Department of Human Rights issue.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I will accept the Minister’s r esponse that she will come back to us, and I look forward to the answer for that particular question on
Wednesday. However, I will pose the quest ion again.
Given that the Bermuda Bred case, as the
Minister stated, will take effect today, does that now mean that it is the position of the One Bermuda All iance Government that same- sex couples and opposite-sex couples in Bermuda who are unmarried will
now enjoy the same rights and privileges as married couples?

Yes, thank you.
If I heard the Honourable Minister’s answer to
my colleague that they are responding to the decision
of the Supreme Court, if that decision is not in accor-dance with the position that the Government has,
could the Honourable Minister indicate why they did
not (a) appeal; or (b) amend the legislation, bearing in
mind that Parliament is supreme?

Yes, thank you very much.
Mr. Speaker, in the response from the Honourable Minister, we just heard an interpolation from the Honourable Deputy Premier, saying that Parli ament is not supreme. I think that I want to make it
clear, and I think the Minister should make it clear in
her response to this question, that Parliament is supreme.
Following on from the answer which was just
given, it is the case of the Government —
[Crosst alk]

Thank you.
It is the case of the Government, what they
would like to put in place. As the Minister just answered a question that came from the H onourable
Member from constituency 34, she stated that if the
Government has an opposite position to the courts, they can either (a) appeal; or (b) change the legisl ation. Would the Honourable Minister please clarify for
the Bermudian public, what is the position of the Go vernment? Are they opposed to the ruling of the Justice in the case? Or do they accept it and will make sure
that they follow through by granting the same rights to unmarried couples, both heterosexual and homosexual, as they are to married couples currently in this
country?

Given that, in the court of law,
the judge is there to rule within the confines of the law,
what is being put in place —certainly, something must
be put in place, because we cannot operate in a vacuum—to counter or deal with the possible onslaught
of people just coming here and claiming that, That is
my boyfriend, That is my girlfriend, That is my par tner? Something has to be put in place, because ot herwise, we are going to be subjected to all sorts of violations.
And given that people are supposed to come
here only to live if they have employment, or be able
to take car e of their partner, if people can just come (I
am using this term loosely) willy -nilly, then how, as a
country, are we going to be able to combat this?
Sorry, Minister, I have to ask that question.

Thank you. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I wonder if the Honourable Mi nister can explain to me, bearing in mind the answer that she just provided to this Honourable House and
the public, with respect to the answer to our reasonBermuda House of Assembly able questions that we are asking, should be best
served by asking the other Minister . . . If she could
explain to me for my own edification, what is collective
responsibility? And does that not mean that all Cab inet Ministers are responsible for a decision as they
discuss around the table? So perhaps I have a poor
interpretation of collective responsibility. So if the Mi nister could answer that, I would be grateful.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Yes, Mr. Speaker.
I am perfectly adept at the concept and construct of
collective responsibility. However, it is not my responsibility to respond to questions that are directed at a
different Ministry.

And that is absolutely correct.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Honourable
Members ought to know that.

The S peaker: And right now, the Honourable Members will have to know that she is absolutely right.
Even though . . . Yes. The Members may have co ncern. But a Minister, in answering questions, answers
questions for which he or she is responsible.
Yes. The Chair will recognise the Honourable
Member from constituency 6. MP Furbert, you have a
question?

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Yes, Mr. Speaker.

Just a minute. Honourable Minister, I
cannot hear you. I cannot hear.
This is an important issue, Members. It is an
important issue around the country! So let us try and
be clear. Let everyone have the opportunity to hear
everything that is said.
Thank you, Minister.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: If the Honourable
Member said “adoption,” I thought the Honourable
Member had said “immigration,” and that is the reason
I said I would refer to the Minister responsible for that.
With respect to adoption, I would be happy to
bring to this Honourable House, at the appropriate
time, the information respecting adoption.

Thank you. Thank you, Minister.
Yes. MP Burt. Yes, you have your second.

SUPPLEMENTARY

862 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that, and
I am hoping that the Minister can indicate, given that
the case goes operative today, when does the Mini ster believe is the appropriate time? And also, Mr.
Speaker, the Minister has deferred a number of ques-tions to the Minister of Home Affairs. The Minister of
Home Affairs does not sit in this House. However,
Standing Order 17(1) states that a question directed
to a Minister can be directed to anot her Minister
and/or a Junior Minister. So if the Minister does not want to answer those questions, hopefully she would allow the Junior Minister of Home Affairs to make
clear [what] the position of the Government [is] to this
House, as we would like to understand the position of
the Government with respect to this matter.
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Which matter?

The Minister asked, Which matter?
The Minister has deferred to the Minister for Home
Affairs. The Junior Minister for Home Affairs sits in this
House. So if she is deferring, the Junior Minister for
Home Affairs can make clear the position of the Go vernment on this issue.
What I am saying to the Minister is, she just
said in her answer at the appropriate time she will
bring something to the House. The case goes into
effect today. When is the appropriate time if the case
goes into effect toda y for her to state the position of
the Government as it relates to the adoption of not
only same- sex couples, but also opposite- sex couples
who are not married?
Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: What goes into
effect today, Mr. Speaker, is the Bermuda Bred decision, which is relating to an immigration matter. It is
not the decision respecting the adoption matter that
goes into effect today; it is the immigration issue on
the Bermuda Bred case that goes into effect today.

Yes. Absolutely, yes. Thank you.
Thank you, Honourable Minis ter.

Dr. the Hon. E. Grant Gibbons: The Honourable
Member from constituency 18 had referenced an art icle in Bernews from the BTA talking about 1,170
America’s Cup visitors who had checked that box on
the immigration form. And he had asked the question,
because in my report I had indicated there were 1,499
visitors. I said at the time I did not have the inform ation at my fingertips, but I can provide that now if that would be helpful.

Minister, carry on please.

Dr. the Hon. E. Grant Gibbons: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, as indicated last Friday, there
were 768 America’s Cup vacationers. There were 409
business -related travellers. There were nine visiting
America’s Cup family and friends. In addition to that,
based on information coming from the America’s Cup
Event Authority, there were 57 media for ACTV, which
is the America’s Cup TV channel. There were 122
other media, including Land Rover, BAR, SoftBank
Team Japan, Artemis Racing and some BTA -invited
media. There were 35 concert -related individuals, and
there were 99 team members. Then this totals up to
1,499.
As the article in Bernews indicated, the check -
the-box for the visitors and the businesspeople did not
include those who were attending the event on a work permit, such as concert performers and media, et cetera. So that is the difference between the 1,170 and
the 1,499 that I referenced.


Bermuda House of Assembly In addition, Mr. Speaker, the Honourable
Member (I cannot remember which constituency J amahl Simmons is from . . . 36? 34?) —

[Constituency] 33.
Dr. the H on. E. Grant Gibbons: Thank you.
—from [constituency] 33 had asked about
media representation. I do not have a complete list of
all the media that attended. But what I can tell him, if it
would be helpful, is there were two representatives
from Australia; five from Austria; thirty -two from Be rmuda, who were taken out of those media numbers I
just referenced; four from Canada; nine from France;
five from Germany; two from Hong Kong; four from
Italy; eleven from Japan; one from New Zealand; one
from Slovenia ; two from Sweden; twenty -seven from
the United Kingdom; and thirty -three from the United
States.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the Minister’s giving
those numbers. Given that he read them off very
quickly, I will just ask to be able to be provided a wri tten copy. And just to clarify for the record, when I
asked the question on Friday, I was not referencing a
Bernews article. I was referencing the actual statistics
from the Department of Tourism. So I just want that to
be clear.

Good morning, colleagues. Goo d
morning to those in the listening audience.
I rise today to ask the Honourable House to
send congratulatory remarks to the Berkeley Institute
dance programme, in particular the Director of Dance
and the dance teacher, Nakia Manders. On Friday
evening, I thoroughly enjoyed attending their dance
concert called Bring the Noise. And this truly showed
the future of dance in Bermuda. There was a variety of dance, everything from classical ballet, modern,
jazz, hip -hop. And of course, what was great is that
the students were heavily involved with this, learning
everything from lighting backstage to actually doing
the choreography.
I am also happy to say that eight students will
be going overseas in the next couple of days, actually
this week, to the National Hi gh School Dance Festival
in Pittsburgh, which is at Point Park University.
And in closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to
say that it was great to see this local talent on display,
and it truly showed the future of dance in Bermuda.
And I would certainly l ike to see dance, the visual and
performing arts supported as sports are in this Island.
Thank you very much.

First, I would like to be assoc iated with the congratulatory remarks for the dancers
at Berkeley Institute.
Secondly, I would like congratulations to go
out to the students of Cedar Bridge Academy, who
bragged spectacular results on their GCSEs [General Certificate of Secondary Education]. It just speaks to
the expert performance of our students in those inter-national exams. And all I can say is that we can look
forward to even more i mproved results. And let me
also add that the Berkeley Institute, as well, can brag
excellence from their students, who likewise did a
spectacular job when sitting their GCEs [General Certificate of Education].
Mr. Speaker, I would just like to send condolences to the Tucker Family of St. George's. Mr. Add ison Ernest Thomas Tucker was recently laid to rest.
He was a well -known figure in St. George's, especially
known as an ambassador of Bermuda because he
was a taxi driver, I think of some 40- plus, maybe even
50 years. So, Bermuda definitely has lost a great am-bassador.
864 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly And, Mr. Speaker, I would also like cond olences to go out to [the family of] Mrs. Grace Beatrice
Smith. She was the mother of a former MP of the
United Bermuda Party, Phillip Smith. And she was in
her 99th year, Mr. Speaker, and a matriarch of St.
George's. She used to be a beautician, and many of the St. Georgian females walked through her doors to
be beautified. Mr. Speaker, I just want the family . . . I
would like to associate the entire House with the loss
of Mrs. Grace Smith.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

All right. Thank you, Honourable Member.
The Chair will now recognise the Honourable
Member from constituency 29. MP Zane De Silva, you
have the floor.
Hon. Zane J. S. De Silv a: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I would like the House to send
congratulations to Mr. Eron Hill, who is currently in the
UK attending Durham University, which is ranked third
amongst the law schools at the moment. Mr. Speaker,
Eron, you might know , is a young man who is showing
much potential in the law space. And he maintained a
first average as a result of his work over the last year.
He has been accepted into a two- year accelerated law
programme at the University of London. So we will
keep an ey e on young Eron and continue to wish him
well. I am sure that Bermuda will be proud of him once
he returns to Bermuda with all of the qualifications that
I know and we all know that he will attain.
Mr. Speaker, whilst I am on my feet, I would
also like the House to send congratulations to Mrs. Tawanna Wedderburn, who is the new CEO of the
Bermuda Health Council. MP Walter Roban would like
to be associated. Mr. Speaker, I had the privilege of
working with Tawanna whilst I was Health Minister, as
did my colleague, Walter Roban. And if anyone knows Tawanna, Mr. Speaker, [they know] she will undoubtedly do a great job as CEO of the Health Council as
she moves into a spot that was left vacant when Dr.
Attride -Stirling left to become PS [Permanent Secr etary] of t he now -Health Department. Minister Pat
Gordon- Pamplin would also like to be associated.
Thank you.

Thank you, Honourable Member.
The Honourable Minister Atherden, you have
the floor.

Hon. Jeanne J. Atherden: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Obviously, I want to be associated with the
congratulations to Tawanna Wedderburn, and I am
obviously looking forward to her contribution to the initiatives that we have with respect to the Health D epartment.
But, Mr. Speaker, I am also rising today so
that congratulations can be sent to Agape House on their 25
th anniversary. But equally important, the
Friends of Hospice had a tea for them, which I had the opportunity to attend. And, Mr. Speaker, the ladies
who were out there with their hats on, it was just a
very interesting and beautiful presentation. And I must
admit, 25 years is a long time. But all the other entities
that are involved in cancer and in helping out were
there. And I would like to say congratulations, and
Bermuda should be very proud of their achievements.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I rise to bring a request of condolence to
someone; I am not sure this was done. But this gentleman passed away during the summer when we
were at break, Mr. C. Ross Smith. I am not certain that condolences were brought for him. Ross Smith was a
well-known St. Georgian. As many of us know on this
side, he was a . . .

[Inaudible interjections]

But I would like to be, of
course, associated with the congratulatory remarks
given to Ms. Wedderburn. She is a very old friend of mine, and I am always happy to see Bermudians taking roles of leadership in this country in their chosen
professions. So to see her succeed, Dr. AttrideStirling, is really a wonderful thing. And she follows the tradition in her family of strong women in leadership roles.
The only other congratulatory message I
would like to be associated with —and I am sure that
the Premier himself will do this; I do not want to take the Premier’s thunder —is with the new commanding
officer who has been appointed head of the Regiment.
And I am going to allow the Premier to do the full
thing.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: No, go ahead. Go ahead.

Lieutenant -Colonel Curley was
made up this weekend as the new commanding off icer to succeed Lieutenant -Colonel Foster -Brown. I
wish to ensure that a congratulatory message is sent.


Bermuda House of Assembly I generally would have liked to have the Premier, because he is the Minister responsible for the Regiment
and, obviously, it is his ball to carry. But I appreciate
that he is allowing me to rise and give the congratul atory message, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you very much.

Good morning, Mr.
Speaker. Good morning, colleagues.
I would jus t like to ask that a letter of congrats
be forwarded to the CedarBridge Academy on the
Lady WildCats, who just participated in the Disney President’s Cup football tournament. Our young ladies
went to the tournament undefeated. They came home
as champions. And I would like for a letter to be sent
to the coach and staff, and specifically to the young
ladies, on their wonderful accomplishment on behalf of our Island of Bermuda. I will associate the Honourable Glen Smith with those congratulatory comments.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask
this House to send a letter of condole nce to the family
of a former Dean of Bermuda College, Mr. Bertram
Guishard. And we are going to associate, I expect, the
entire House. Mr. Guishard was one of my deans for a
period of time at Bermuda College, Mr. Speaker. He
had a quirky personality, a funny man, but someone
who had the utmost dedication to improving educ ation. And as dean, he instituted a series of very pr ogressive measures for education reform. He worked
hard to ensure that there were real opportunities for
our young people, that the programmes that were being developed were matched to some of our needs. He recognised the importance of technical education
for our young people.
And he really left an important legacy. It just is
unfortunate, Mr. Speaker, that we do not always ac-knowledge what people do during their lifetime, and
here we are today recognising Mr. Guishard’s contr ibutions. And all I will say, Mr. Speaker, is that he is
one of a long series of great educators in this country.
It is important for us to recognise it. I am very happy
that the entire House wishes to be associated with the letter of condolence. And I hope that, with his passing,
his legacy will not be forgotten.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Honourable Member. The Chair will now recognise the Honourable
Minister of Economic Development. Honourable Dr.
Grant Gibbons, you have the floor.

Dr. the Hon. E. Grant Gibbons: Thank you, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, I would ask that congratulations
be sent to the XL Group. As some Honourable Members will be aware, today they announced that they
wish to change the parent holding company’s place of incorporation from Ireland to Bermuda.

[Desk thumping]

Dr. the Hon. E. Grant Gibbons: Obviously, this is a
huge vote of confidence in Bermuda. And they said in
the release that “a significant portion of XL’s business,
in fact our largest operating subsidiary, has for decades been located in Bermuda and regulated by the
Bermuda Monetary Authority (“BMA”) . . .” The dec ision was based in large part on the Solvency II
equivalency that the BMA recently achieved. And they
said that they felt that “the BMA is best situated to
serve as XL’s group- wide supervisor and to approve
XL’s internal capital model. This is a change that we
believe will benefit XL’s clients, partners, and shar eholders alike.”
So, thank you, Mr. Speaker.

[Desk thumping]

Thank you very much, Honourable Mi nister.
The Chair will now recognise the Honourable
and Learned Member, constituency 36. MP Michael
Scott, you have the floor.

Hon. Mic hael J. Scott: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Hearing the reference by my colleague, Mr.
Brown, MP Brown, to Dr. Guishard, may I ask that this
House send congratulations to the Bermuda College
on the occasion of the appointment of and recognition
of Honorary Fel lows, the two more recent Honorary
Fellows (of which you are one, Mr. Speaker), of Mr.
Gary Phillips and Mr. Cummings Zuill.
Thank you.

Good morning.

866 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Rolfe Commissiong: I would concur with the
Honourable Minister for Economic Development. It is
great news for Bermuda. The House will also n ote the
great work, the ground- breaking work that went into
this by the former PLP Government under the leader-ship of Finance Minister Paula Cox and her team.

Yes. Wilbur Keith Dyer. He
was more commonly referred to as Keit h Dyer, by his
middle name. The nickname was “Corney.” That goes back to his great -grandparent, or his grandfather. But
he passed away roughly about a couple of weeks ago.
A great Key West man from out Spanish Point, In gham’s Vale, where the family is situated. And I want to associate the Shadow Minister from constituency 36,
Mr. Michael Scott, and the Shadow Finance Minister,
Mr. David Burt, along with the Minister of Health, Ms.
Jeanne Atherden, as well. Mr. Dyer is going to be sadly missed. He was a great guy. And one of the
things about Mr. Keith Dyer was that he always was
one to serve. Not as some member of a civic organisation, but just as a quintessential Bermudian who
was always there for his family, his loved ones, his
neighbours, his community. He spent the last few of his years up at the
Elizabeth Hills Senior Residential units, up at Happy
Valley there. And so, he became my constituent as
well. And again, he is going to be sadly missed by
family and friends.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

All right. Thank you, Honourable Member.
The Chair will now recognise the Honourable
Member from constituency 35. MP Dennis Lister, you
have the floor.
Hon. Dennis P. Lister: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, today is one of those dates that
only c omes around every four years, February 29
th.
Mr. Speaker, that is Leap Year. And for those persons
who were born on this day, they do not get to reco gnise their birthday every year.

They stay younger than us.

Hon. Dennis P. Lister: They s tay younger than us —
very true, very true.
But I have a cousin who was born on this day,
Mr. Speaker. So she gets to celebrate that rare-occasion birthday today. And I would just like to stand
back to recognise her on her birthday. You all in the
House wou ld know her, the daughter of our former
Member, Mr. Walter Lister. His daughter Lisa was a lucky Leap Year baby. This is her birthday today. It is her . . . I am trying to think in years what it would be.

It would be 10.

Hon. Dennis P. Li ster: Yes, 10, yes, it would be 10. I
had to stop and think. Yes, she is 40. So it is 10. So
we would like to recognise her today on her birthday.
My colleagues from [constituency] 36, Mr. Scott, and
from [constituency] 13, Mr. Rabain would like to be
asso ciated with those remarks, as well. And of course,
the Member from [constituency] 34 would also like to
be associated with those remarks. And across the
floor, the Minister of Health. Thank you.

Thank you. Good morning,
Mr. Speaker, again.
I would like to be associated with the comments for Ms. Lisa Reid, who is a cousin of mine, as
well.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like a letter of congratulations sent to the Elliott Primary School family
for their science fair that they held last week. A great
event, it is something that happens every year. And I do encourage all Members, when they do come up,
please take some time out and go and visit these sc ience fairs, for these young charges really do apprec iate when we stop by and take a look at them.
Also, I would be remiss if I did not wish my
mother a happy birthday, celebrating her birthday on
Frida y. My mother is the stalwart of our family, a
staunch PLP supporter, can always be found at any
PLP event. And so, I just want to make sure that I send out a happy congratulations to her.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Honourable Members, we will resume
in Committee of Supply for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the Year
2016/17. I would like to ask that the Honourable
Member from constituency 14 please take the Chair.

[Pause]

House in Committee at 11:25
[Mr. Glen Smith, Chairman]

COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2016/17

Good morning, Members and the li stening audience. We are now in Committee of Supply
for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue
and Expenditure for the Year 2016/17, for the Ministry of Home Affairs, Heads 93, 27 and 29. Five hours
have been allocated to this head.
I call on the Junior Minister of Home Affairs,
the Honourable Member Sylvan Richards, to proceed.

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. I move that the House do now resume in Committee of Supply to consider the Estimates of Revenue
and Expenditure for 2016/17.

[Pause]
MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: I now move Heads 93,
27 and 29, Ministry of Home Affairs Headquarters,
Immigration and Registry General.
Mr. Chairman, as I stand before this Honourable House once again to present the Budget for Fi scal Year 2016/17 for the substantive Minister of Home Affairs, who sits in another place, I wanted to first acknowledge the hard work and dedication of all the
staff within the Ministry. W ithout this group of dedicated and highly skilled persons with a variety of
technical backgrounds, the Ministry simply could not
function. Without a doubt, the Ministry of Home Affairs
will always be a topical one, since it covers planning
to labour and im migration, inter alia.
This is quite evident when considering sevenand-a-half hours have been allotted to debate a
budget of $18.7 million, the second- smallest budget.
Mr. Chairman, it is no secret that we find ourselves in some very challenging times f rom a labour
and immigration perspective. However, every government will always find themselves facing difficult
times, and we are no different. And as such, we will
continue to face these challenges head- on for the betterment of Bermuda.
With these openi ng remarks, I would like to
report that the budget allocation to the Ministry of
Home Affairs for 2016/17 is $18,703,000, a decrease
of $487,000, or 3 per cent less than Fiscal Year
2015/16. Of this amount, the Ministry Headquarters
allocation for Head 93 totals $4,562,000.
Mr. Chairman, I would now like to move that
Head 93, Ministry Headquarters; Head 27, Depar tment of Immigration; and Head 29, Registry General
Department be considered.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

HEAD 93 —MINISTRY HEADQUARTERS

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: I would now invite my
Honourable Colleagues to turn to page B -297, Est imates of Expenditure and Revenue, for Head 93, the
Ministry of Home Affairs.
Before I start, Mr. Chairman, I would like to
take this opportunity to thank the many men and
women in the Ministry of Home Affairs who work tir elessly on a daily basis to deliver the many services the
Ministry provides. Without them, it would not be pos-sible for me to stand here today to deliver this budget
brief.
With that said, Mr. Chair man, I present the
Fiscal 2016/17 Budget for the Ministry of Home A ffairs, which speaks to the services delivered by the
various departments within this portfolio, as well as a few of the enhancements to programmes already established.
The Ministry of H ome Affairs has responsibi lity for:
868 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly 1. Department of Workforce Development;
2. Registry General Department;
3. Department of Planning;
4. Bermuda Economic Development Corporation (or better known as BEDC);
5. Department of Immigration;
6. Consumer Affairs, which includes responsibility for rent control;
7. Nine Parish Councils;
8. Charities; and
9. Two municipalities —namely, the Corpor ation of Hamilton and the Corporation of St.
George’s.

The total budget allocated for the Ministry is
$18,703,000, a decrease of $487,000, or a 3 per cent
decrease, over the prior year.
Of this amount, the Ministry Headquarters
allocation, Head 93, totals $4,562,000.
The Current Account Estimates for Head 93
include funding for all of Headquarters administration,
which is inclusive of an operational grant of
$1,150,000 to the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, as well as $70,000 to the nine Parish
Councils, as found on page C -20 of the Budget Book.
The mission of Ministry Headquarters 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.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry of Home Affairs,
has a number of core objectives it will focus on in the upcoming fiscal year, whi ch are as follows:
1. Complete the policy and legislative fram ework for the introduction of a Pathways to Status, as
well as continue public consultation regarding civil
unions;
2. Host a National Jobs Fair with developers
who are investing in our country to determine what
jobs are required so locals can prepare to fill these
jobs;
3. Continue the ongoing work of enhancing
Bermudian opportunity in the workplace, as well as
protecting the rights of international workers to ensure
they are made to feel welco med;
4. Complete the work of consolidating all l abour laws to ensure that they are more responsive
and inclusive;
5. Introduce a civil penalties regime for the
Department of Planning whereby the Director of Planning has powers to issue fines to landowners [or co ntractors] who do illegal development;
6. Complete the work of Part II of the National
Training Plan, as well as promote the Government Job Board Part II, to ensure all employees post jobs
via this venue;
7. Complete the work on the North East Hamilton Plan under the Department of Planning; 8. Continue work relating to the upgrading of
the Land Use Register;
9. Continue electoral reform work, which is intending to introduce amendments to the Parliamentary Elections Act 1978 that are intended to est ablish an
up-to-date and more accurate parliamentary register
of voters inter alia;
10. With the introduction of debt collection legislation under Consumer Affairs, the Ministry of Home
Affairs will introduce licensing legislation for debt collectors that will create a regulatory framework through
which the licensing authority will have the powers to
regulate the conduct of the debt collectors, among
other benefits.

The Ministry’s resources will be directed t owards achieving these objectives.
The Minist ry continues to be actively engaged
as a participant on the Economic Development Committee. The Economic Development Committee continues to work towards streamlining regulatory processes while removing roadblocks and barriers assoc iated with major developm ents in Bermuda in a bid to
create new jobs. This will be done by focusing on the
core objectives, as previously mentioned.
Mr. Chairman, the departments within the
Ministry of Home Affairs have accomplished much
during Fiscal 2015/16. Many of the initiatives were
presented as our primary goals for that period. I am
pleased to advise that the Ministry accomplished the
following:
1. Completed Phase II of the Job Board
within the Department of Workforce D evelopment;
2. Introduced Civil Penalties for the Chief Immigration Officer within the Department
of Immigration. This legislative enhanc ement is proving quite successful;
3. Completed the move of the Ministry of Home Affairs Headquarters from the
Dame Lois Browne- Evans Building into
the Government Administration Bui lding;
4. Tabled the Vendors Act 2015; and
5. Continued the policy work relating to the consolidation of all labour laws —with the
intent of tabling this later this year.

Mr. Chairman, the Ministry actively engaged
stakeholders during the past year and conducte d ind ividual stakeholder meetings with the following:
• Chamber of Commerce;
• Association of Bermuda International Companies;
• the Association of Bermuda Insurers and R einsurers;
• Bermuda Trade Union Congress;
• Bermuda Public Services Union;
• US Consul General;
• Philippine Consular;


Bermuda House of Assembly • Bermuda Entertainment Union;
• Bermuda Hotel Association;
• Salvation Army;
• BEST.

Against that background, Mr. Chairman, I
would now like to draw your attention to Current A ccount Estimates for Head 93, the Ministry of Home
Affairs, found on page B -299.
Current Account Estimates. Mr. Chairman,
there is a Programme 9301 that comprises Administration, as well as Consumer Affairs.
Cost centre 103000 —Administration Variance
versus 2015/16. Mr. Chairman, Administration costs are $3,824,000, do wn from $4,169,000 from the pr evious year, which represents an 8 per cent decrease
from the original estimates from 2015/16.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry Headquarters is
staffed by eight full -time employees. These include a
Permanent Secretary, Executive Ass istant, Policy
Analyst, a Business and Compliance Officer, a Com ptroller, one Finance Officer, and one Accounts Assi stant. The Policy Analyst post remains vacant due to
the hiring freeze and should be filled on a substantive
basis.
Mr. Chairman, with a quick review of the Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates, the
allocation of the funding is clear, with the three most
significant line items being that of Salaries, Professional Services, and Grants and Contributions.
The Grants and Contributions line item repr esents the operational grant to the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation. Notwithstanding, this grant
was reduced by some $150,000 when compared to
the Fiscal Year 2015/16.
Funding for Professional Services represents
such items as l egal and consulting fees for specialised
work to be carried out by the Ministry in the exercise
of its remit. Such work includes support of the Imm igration Appeals Tribunal, legal matters relating to j udicial review against the Ministry for decisions made
relating to Immigration or Planning matters, as examples.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to present to you
the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for Con-sumer Affairs Fiscal Year of 2016/17 within Head 93,
as found on page B -299.
Mr. Chairman, cost centre 103010/103015—
Consumer Affairs/Rental Unit. The proposed fiscal
2016/17 budget for Consumer Affairs continues to
reflect the additional service delivery due to the mer ging of Rent Control within Consumer Affairs.
Mr. Chairman, the 2016/17 fiscal budget for
Consumer Affairs is a total of $738,000. This co mprises cost centre 103010, which is $601,000, and cost centre 103015, which is $137,000, as seen on
page B -299 of the Budget Book. This represents a
decrease of $44,000 over Fiscal Year 2015/16. Mr. Chairm an, provisions for the establis hment and operational duties and authority of Con-sumer Affairs are statutory under the Consumer Pr otection Act 1999, the Rent Increases (Domestic Pre mises) Control Act 1978, and the Supply of Services Act 2003. They are also directed by law to be the e nforcement agency for the Copyright and Designs Act
2004.
Consumer Affairs has been authorised to
carry out criminal and civil investigations for prosec ution under their Acts. It also provides mediation and
advice services on i ssues that have a direct impact on
the provision of consumer goods and services. Co nsumer Affairs is responsible for the safety of our cit izens, by carrying out the appropriate redress for all
product recalls. Their mandate requires consumer
education init iatives, market research, review and development of consumer legislation, and all other tasks
assigned by the statutory Consumer Affairs Board.
The Consumer Affairs/Rent Commission r esponsibilities include processing and deciding on applications for rent increases, inspections of rental
units, and providing general advice to landlords and
tenants on the legislation. It also facilitates all rent i ncreases appeals via the Rent Increases Appeals Tr ibunal.
Mr. Chairman, Consumer Affairs’ reporting
year, stat istically, is January 1
st through to December 31st of the same year. In 2015, Consumer Affairs
conducted 1,012 case investigations, of which 12
were invalid. A case is deemed invalid if there are no
legal grounds or no evidence to support the claim, or if
the claim was malicious in nature. The top four indus-try complaints in 2015 were:
1. Retail— and of this category, the top three
complaints were refunds, returns, and defective products;
2. Automotive and Cycles —the top three complaints were repairs, defective automobiles,
and availability (or the lack of it) of parts;
3. Service Providers —the top three complaints
were contracts, appliance repairs, and com-puter repairs;
4. Telecommunication—the top three complaints
were the Internet service providers (ISP), cellular ser vice contracts, and cable TV.

Mr. Chairman, Bermuda operates within a
global market, which exposes our citizens to product
quality and safety concerns. For example, parts for
one product can be manufactured by multiple countries, all of whom operate under different product safety requirements or none at all.
Under the Consumer Protection Act 1999,
Consumer Affairs is responsible for overseeing that products sold locally are safe, having regard to all
safety circumstances. As Bermuda does not have its
own product testing laboratory, Consumer Affairs r elies on regular notification from the United States,
870 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Britain, the European Union, and Canada Product
Safety Commissions. These notifications are reviewed
and assessed as to their probability of being sold l ocally.
Of products recalled, 192 were investigated in
2015, of which 54 required one of the following actions to be implemented:
1. pulling the recalled product from sale and destroying it;
2. importing replacement parts and contacting consumers for installation appointments;
3. providing manufacturer’s instructions on how
to remedy the fault or clarification on use of
the product;
4. issuing manufactures’ refunds through the l ocal company;
5. voluntary compliance; and
6. general pre- warning of potential hazards as
testing is being carried out.

Mr. Chairman, I think it is important to note
that the dominate recalls in 2015 involved cars and
children’s products. One of the largest car recalls was
the Takata airbag recall that affected 19 brands and
numerous models over a 15- year manufacturing time
frame. Executing a massive recall like this one takes
teamwork between dealerships, manufactures and Consumer Affairs. Bermuda’s motor car dealerships
are to be commended on their due diligence and excellent recordkeeping, as this required substantial
man- hours, from cross -checking model VIN numbers
against recall numbers to tracking down cars, some of
which were on their second or third owners. After an exhaustive investigation, 106 recalled vehicles were
sold locally and remedies were applied.
Children’s recall products were toys, clothing
and baby furniture which contained one of the follo wing hazards: lead paint poisoning, laceration, strangu-lation, fire and reported death.
Mr. Chairman, Consumer Affairs/Rent Control
play a vital role in the relationship between landlord
and tenant. Its function is that of rent increases,
unlawful rental charges and unlawful evictions.
Mr. Chairman, the Consumer Affairs/Rent
Control statistics for the latter part of 2015 were as follows: $164,918 in rent increase applications were
approved, and 23 rent increase applications were denied due to health and safety conditions within the
rental unit or illegal subdivisions.
There were three appeals before the Rent
Increases Appeals Tribunal, w ho ruled that the dec ision made by Consumer Affairs/Rent Control was fair
and reasonable in all circumstances. There were two
Rent Increases Arbitration Tribunals under Part II,
section 10 of the Act, which ruled in the favour of the
tenant due to a lack of evidence to support the land-lord’s case. In addition, 451 walk -in clients were attended to. The next section is entitled Enforcement, Mediation , Consultation. Mr. Chairman, on a positive
note, Consumer Affairs noted a significant decrease in
business clo sures for businesses that supply goods
and services to Bermuda’s consumers. We see new
companies in which Bermudians are partnering with
overseas companies to provide innovative goods and
services that speak to the plugged- in generation of
consumers. Another positive indicator is the low number of second- hand purchase complaints and the
steady increase of new car and cycle sales.
The positive indicators in the Rental Control
section have been in the area of renovation upgrades
of rental units and inherited properties.
Mr. Chairman, one of the mandates of Consumer Affairs is to oversee business transactions with
consumers to ensure they are fair and equitable in nature. In 2015, Consumer Affairs, under the direction
of the Consumer Affairs Board, addressed four major
concerns as they relate to consumer fairness:
1. BELCO’s request for a tariff increase;
2. regulation of debt;
3. telecommunications; and
4. amendments to the Rent Increases (Domestic Premises) Control Act 1978.

BELCO’s request for a tariff Increase: Th is
tariff application came at a time when the average
consumer and most businesses had endured extreme
financial hardship over the past four to five years. It
also came at a time when there were some signs that
the economy had started to improve and a rate increase would, undoubtedly, have had a negative i mpact on the economic recovery and could potentially derail the recovery altogether.
An analysis of BELCO’s financial performance
deemed it necessary for the Board to write to the
Chairman of the Energy Commission, identifying 10
concerns with the granting of approval of the tariff ap-plication.
Debt Collection Agencies: The Consumer A ffairs Board commissioned a subcommittee to look at debt, collections practices and the underlying cause —
the issuance of credit and its control by businesses. Debt collectors and their practices would be reviewed to find a balance between ensuring business conf idence in repayment enforcement, and ensuring that
consumers are fairly treated regardless of their ci rcumstances.
The subcommittee report recommended the
introduction of fair debt collection practices within the
Consumer Protection Act 1999. The proposed legisl ative provision is intended to create a regulatory
framework through which Consumer Affairs will have
the power to ensure that fair business practices are
being adhered to by businesses and debt collectors.
Telecommunications Regulatory Authority:
The meetings were confidential in nature; therefore,
details will not be given other than to say that conBermuda House of Assembly cerns raised by the board were discussed in detail.
The Regulatory Authority assured the Consumer A ffairs Board that they were going to be addressing
many of the concerns raised through legislative amendments. The board strongly advised the Regul atory Authority to get their house in order, or the board
would exercise its powers under the Consumer Pr otection Act 1999 to ensure consumer protection in this
area.
Amendments to the Rent Increases (Domestic
Premises) Control Act 1978: The main point of rent
control is that its relevancy is tied to the economic
conditions during any given time within a country’s
history. Rent control promotes social stability by slo wing displacement of our most vulnerable citizens in
booming economic times.
Government, through the administr ation of
this Act, impacts a high percentage of its residents, government departments, seniors and persons with
special needs, and charities.
Significant man -hours have been expended
analysing the relevance of rent control; researching
other jurisdictions’ rent control legislation; and revie wing our legislation, the core functions provided, court
document rulings, and stakeholders’ concerns and
thoughts on improving and providing fair and compr ehensive services. The data collected will provide d irection f or the amendments to the Rent Increases
(Domestic Premises) Control Act 1978.
Mr. Chairman, in the coming year, the Consumer Affairs Board will continue to monitor these i ssues and will continue to work towards a resolution
that is fair and equitable, hav ing regard for all circumstances.

Education

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, the Consumer Affairs education budget, which is included in
cost centre 103010, found on page B -299 of the
Budget Book, has been reduced significantly in the
past two budgets, which means that the Education
Officer had to make every dollar count in order to ensure that their messages reached both consumers and businesses.
Through the use of online and offline marketing channels, including social media, Consumer A ffairs maintained a strong education and outreach
presence, covering a wide range of topics, with a f ocus on the Consumer Affairs website as a primary source of help and advice to both consumers and
businesses.
Mr. Chairman, as part of the training and d evelopment of the team within Consumer Affairs, the
Education Officer was seconded to the Department of Communication and Information from August 2014
until September of 2015.
Notwithstanding this secondment, the officer
still maintained and updated the Consumer Affairs website and Facebook page; managed all advertising
initiatives; and continued monthly consumer interview
segments on FM 89.1 (now Ocean 89) and Power 95.
Due to the Education Officer’s secondment, there were fewer presentations to organisations during that
period.
Mr. Chairman, before concluding, I would like
to thank the staff of the Consumer Affairs for a job well done. It is a quiet and sometimes underappreciated
office that continues to work diligently to ensure that
unfair business practices and unconscionable acts are
not prevalent in everyday consumer business transactions.
The team continues to deal with consumer
complaints and landlord and tenant issues, as well as paying close attention to those emerging consumer -
related trends in our global marketplace. They are
proactive in identifying and addressing the important issues, especially those relating to our current ec onomic climate.
Mr. Chairman, I will now continue my presentation on Head 93, Ministry of Home Affairs, with the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation (or
BEDC).

Bermuda Economic Development Corporation
(Quango)

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: For those who are li stening at home and have a Budget Book, the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation (Quango)
can be found on page C -20, Grants and Contributions,
of the Approved Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure of Fiscal Year 2016/17.
Mr. Chairman, it gives me great pleasure to
present the budget for the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, a quango presently under the
Ministry of Home Affairs, found on page B -297 of the
Budget Book.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation's activities are guided by its
three- year Strategic Plan for the period 2013/16. The
organisation’s mission is as follows: To pos ition the
Bermuda Economic Development Corporation as the
foremost resource for small and medium -sized bus inesses and community enterprises through the prov ision of effective technical guidance, financial assi stance, useful relationship networks, pertinent business
intelligence, and accurate and timely business and
data- based policy advice.

Historical Background

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: The Bermuda Economic
Development Corporation (or BEDC) was originally
established as the Bermuda Small Business Dev elopment Corporation, under the Bermuda Small Bus iness Development Corporation Act 1980, to assist with the development of the small business sector
872 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly through the provision of financial support, business
start-up and management advice.
The Bermuda Small Business Development
Corporation commenced operations on January 20th,
1981, funded by an original capitalisation of $680,000.
Such capitalisation was subsequently increased to $1
million in 1996 and was contributed as follows:
• Government of Bermuda— $500,00 0;
• Bank of Bermuda Limited— $228,600;
• Bank of N. T. Butterfield & Sons Ltd. —
$228,600; and
• Bermuda Commercial Bank Ltd. —$42,800.

Presently, operating expenses for BEDC are
funded by way of a Government grant. The Corpor ation, via its legislation, is able t o provide guarantees of
up to six times its capital; therefore, it can provide a
total of $6 million in loan guarantees at any time.
BEDC is currently responsible for overseeing
the operations of the Economic Empowerment Zones
(or EEZs), for providing fi nancial support and technical
advice to small and medium -sized businesses, for
managing the operations of outside vendor markets, and most recently, for managing vendors and issuing vending licences.
BEDC is Bermuda’s source of free, confidential busines s advice, with a singular focus to actively
assist the development of a strong, well -managed and
prosperous local business sector in Bermuda. The
organisation’s key objective remains to assist the Government in encouraging economic growth in order
to posit ion Bermuda’s local businesses for success.
Mr. Chairman, under the Act, a “small business” is
defined as a Bermudian- owned and owner -operated
business enterprise having an annual gross payroll
not exceeding $500,000, or having annual sales rev enues of les s than $1 million.
In addition, under the BEDC Act, a “medium -
sized business” is a Bermudian- owned and owner -
operated business enterprise with at least three of the following attributes:
• gross annual revenues between $1 million
and $5 million;
• annual payr oll between $500,000 and $2.5
million;
• a minimum of 11 and a maximum of 50 employees;
• in operation for a minimum of 10 years;
• with net assets of less than $2.5 million.

In 2015, the BEDC held records on its Bus iness Register for some 5,748 small busines ses and
83 medium -sized businesses. The Corporation is sy stematically going through these records to determine
whether these businesses are still operating or not.
In this regard, it encourages all local small
and medium -sized businesses to register with the
Corporation, to ensure they are able to access BEDC’s services, programmes and benefits when needed. It also encourages businesses on the register
to update their existing data.
I will now give the 2016/17 revenue overview
for the BEDC. Mr. Chairman, it is estimated that
BEDC will generate a total of $1,214,500 in revenue in the upcoming 2016/17 Fiscal Year. Revenue will be
generated from a combination of government grants,
private sector sponsorship, fees for services, and i nterest on fixed deposits. The breakdown of the antic ipated revenue is as follows:
• a grant from Home Affairs in the amount of $1,150,000;
• fee for service of $39,300;
• sponsorship of $10,000;
• bank and investment interest, $9,200; and
• loan pay -out repayments of $6,000.

This represent s a total revenue of $1,214,500.
In 2015/16, the BEDC received $1,357,000 in
grants from the Government. For Fiscal Year 2016/17, grants totalling $1,180,000 will be advanced. This
represents a decrease of $177,000, or approximately
13 per cent, on the gr ants offered in the 2015/16 Fi scal Year.
The 2016/17 expenditure overview for the
BEDC: Mr. Chairman, the total current expenditure is estimated to be $1,214,500 for 2016/17 compared to
$1,519,470 for 2015/16. This represents a decrease
of $304,970, or approximately 18 per cent lower than
the current expenditure of 2015/16. Unfortunately, it is
anticipated that there will not be any 2015/16 carr yover in budget funds, normally used to fund any op-erational funding deficit, in 2016/17. In this regard,
BEDC ha s implemented an ongoing programme to
work with industry partners in order to sponsor various
initiatives and supplement any shortfall in Government
funding.

BEDC’s Manpower

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Mr. Chairman, for all it
achieves, the BEDC is a relatively small organisation
and currently has nine substantive full -time posts, as
follows: one Executive Director; three Economic D evelopment Officers; one Small Business Director; one
Information, Education and Communications Officer; a
Finance Director; an Administrative Officer; and a R eceptionist/Data Clerk.
Some restructuring of the Corporation took
place in 2015 in order to rationalise the organisation’s
staffing with its current responsibilities and functions. Furthering restructuring will take place in 2016 to take
account of new and expanded responsibilities such as
management and growth of the Business Register,
and management of vendors and vending licences.

BEDC’s Services



Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: There have been drastic
changes to the global and local economic enviro nment over the past few years. As a result, there has
been a greater need and demand for affordable, pr ofessional business advice and financial assistance for
both start -ups and existing local businesses. The
BEDC fulfils th is need.
BEDC’s legislation gives the Corporation the
authority to undertake the following functions:
• granting of loans or other forms of financial
assistance to assist persons in establishing,
carrying on or expanding small businesses,
medium -sized busin esses, and entities within
economic empowerment zones;
• provision of technical advice or assistance to
persons who are seeking or who are granted
financial assistance;
• operation and management of markets;
• oversight and management of the develo pment and implementation of economic e mpowerment zones; and
• maintenance of the Register of Small Bus inesses, Medium -Sized Businesses and ec onomic empowerment zone business entities, which may be divided accordingly.
I will now address the BEDC’s major
achievements. Mr . Chairman, 2015 was a very busy
year for the organisation. Therefore, I would like to
share some of BEDC’s major achievements over the
year.
Business Planning Advisory Services: Mr.
Chairman, for the 12- month period ending December 31
st, 2015, the BEDC officers met with 777 persons seeking business planning and management
advice. These advisory meetings are individual bus iness coaching sessions, generally lasting 60 minutes,
and are offered free of charge to the public. This is a clear indicator that, eve n in this challenging economic
environment, Bermudians are still looking to become entrepreneurs. This is also an indicator of confidence in the direction in which the economy is going. A pproximately 12 per cent, or 95, of these persons were
interested in taking advantage of BEDC’s Loan Guarantee programme.
The BEDC Loan Guarantee Programme: As
of January 2016, for Fiscal Year 2015/16, BEDC
managed a guarantee portfolio supporting 55 businesses, consisting of 35 loan guarantees and 20 m icro-loan guarantees . The total value for the 55 guarantees was $1.6 million, which supported $5.2 million
in bank loans.
As at January 31
st, 2016, five of the loans
supported by these guarantees were on the Corpor ation’s Watch List for either restructure, seasonal or
distressed circumstances. BEDC officers are in
monthly contact with these clients, providing business
advice and counselling, as required, to mitigate the
risks of these loans’ being demanded. These mitiga-tion practices have resulted in BEDC’s not paying out
on any called guarantees in 2015, which was an exceptional feat given the challenging economic climate.
As of January 2016, nine of the loan guarantees extended to local businesses were successfully
satisfied, with the guarantee certificates returned to
BEDC by the financial institutions.
Thus far, during Fiscal Year 2015/16, nine
new BEDC guarantees have been advanced, totalling
$255,700 supporting $455,700 in loans. These com-prised one loan guarantee and eight micro- loan guarantees. To date, the EEZ has supported 12 EEZ bus inesses with BEDC loan guarantees/micro- loans in the
amount of $555,539 to secure $1,183,577 in bank
financing.
Mr. Chairman, through creativity and collaboration, BEDC partnered with many organisations over
the reporting period to hold the Corporation’s popular
quarterly business seminars. These seminars provide
entrepreneurs with up- to-date professional business
advice and knowledge of best business practices. In
this regard, BEDC partnered with the Bermuda Tourism Authority and thei r Summer 2016 Lunch and
Learn series to provide business plan and development advice to entrepreneurs applying for a Tourism
Experience Grant.
The BEDC also partnered with Interise, the
Bermuda College, the Bank of Bermuda Foundation, Bermuda Community F oundation, HSBC, KPMG and
Clarien Bank to introduce the revolutionary StreetWise
MBA™ programme to Bermuda. One of BEDC’s off icers was trained as an instructor for this revolutionary
programme. The first cohort saw 17 businesses successfully graduate the programme in summer 2015.
The second cohort of this six -month programme began in February 2016, with a cohort of 11 local bus inesses.
BEDC held its own annual seminar series with
the following workshops titled, Taking the Leap into
Entrepreneurship in July 2015, and Government Pr ocurement and Tendering in February 2016, resulting
in over 100 persons attending in total. The last sem inar in the series, entitled Accessing Alternative F inancing, will be held in March 2016. So, stay tuned for
that.
Mr. Chairman, recognising the business opportunities that come with the 35
th America’s Cup,
BEDC formed a partnership— with the America’s Cup
Event Authority (ACEA), the America’s Cup Bermuda
(ACBDA), and the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce —
called AC Business Connect, to ensure that all Bermudian businesses and entrepreneurs were, firstly,
aware of the potential business opportunities emer ging out of America’s Cup 35, and secondly, well pr epared and positioned to respond quickly and profes-sionally when those opportunities ar ise.
Mr. Chairman, the first tangible demonstration
of this collaborative partnership between the four or-ganisations was seen with the joint hosting of a series
874 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly of information sessions during May and June 2015. A
road show, of sorts, the idea was to speak directly to
local businesses throughout the Island, which saw
nearly 300 persons attend the meetings in St.
George’s, Somerset, and North East Hamilton.
The BEDC, through this partnership, agreed
to act as a conduit for the America’s Cup to funnel
busin ess development opportunities and AC35 information to the businesses on its business register. The
BEDC also agreed to participate on the selection
committee of vendors for the AC World Series Event Village, which took place on Front Street in October of
last year.
BEDC has been busy during 2015 fielding
hundreds of enquiries on AC35 business opportunities, meeting with businesses on fine- tuning their
business proposals and applications, and assisting them in negotiating licensing agreements.
Mr. Chairman, the BEDC also administered
the grant provided by Government’s Department of eCommerce for the coordination and execution of the Inspire eBusiness initiative, which included a series of
six workshops held between October 2015 and February 2016. Topics cov ered were as follows:
• Local Requirements and Regulations for
eBusiness;
• Customs and BEDC Letter of Credit;
• Using Social Media to Drive Traffic to Your
Website;
• Processing Online Payments and Cyber S ecurity;
• Finding Financing for your eBusiness; and
• How to Build Your Ecommerce Presence—Websites 101.
Average turnout for each workshop has seen
approximately 25 people attending.
The BEDC also facilitated the Startup Wee kend project under this initiative. From December 4
th to
December 6th of last year, the second Startup Wee kend was held on- Island and focused on the theme of
tourism and hospitality business ideas, thanks to a
partnership with the Bermuda Hospitality Institute.
More than 40 people participated in proposals, and 23 pitched business ideas, including eight -year-old Aal iyah Muhammad and nine- year-old R. J. Lightbourne,
whose team, Kool Toons, won the People’s Choice Mention at the end of the event. The weekend even-tually saw eight businesses launched in the span of
54 hours. The third Startup Weekend is scheduled to
take place from March 18
th to March 20th of this year.
Lastly, in 2015, the BEDC launched a series
of multi -week intensive courses aimed at increasing
the entrepreneurial, business, and financial acumen of our Island’s SMEs [small and m edium -sized enterprises] and to provide a continuum of learning opportunities for entrepreneurs, from idea generation to new
start-up through to established and growth phases. Mr. Chairman, in September of 2015, the
BEDC introduced the internationally renowned Ice
House Entrepreneurship Programme to Bermuda.
Inspired by the life story of Pulitzer nominee Clifton
Taulbert, the Ice House Entrepreneurship Programme is a powerful learning program designed to educate
and engage participants in the fundamental aspects of
an entrepreneurial mindset and the unlimited opport unities it can provide.
The overall objective is to empower learners
by exposing them to entrepreneurial thinking while
immersing them in real -world entrepreneurial exper iences. BEDC was fortunate to train two of its officers
to deliver the programme and was able to bring Ice
House curriculum creator Gary Schoeniger to Bermuda to host an engaging speaking event on the e ntrepreneurial mindset and the programme. The first
cohort of 20 graduated i n November of last year, while
the second cohort started in January 2016. BEDC i ntends to run this eight -week programme twice a year.
In January 2016, the BEDC launched its
eight -week Business Financial Statements and
QuickBooks Course. The course was created because BEDC found there was a huge knowledge and
skills gap with small businesses understanding or
producing their own financial statements, hence i mpacting on the success of their business. Businesses not only learn to understand financial statement s; they
also learn to cost and price their services and goods
correctly. They learn how to use QuickBooks to manage their business finances, and they receive a copy
of the software. The BEDC intends to run this course twice a year.

The BEDC continues t o partner with the
Community Education and Development Programme,
under the Ministry of Community, Culture and Sports,
to teach an eight -week Entrepreneurship 101 course
twice a year. The Entrepreneurship course is aimed at helping existing business owners and new entrepr eneurs through the basics of taking their business idea
and developing it into a first -draft business plan. In
addition, the course allows the entrepreneur to understand market and competition, how to access f inances, government obligations and benefits, marketing strategies, and operation strategies.
Mr. Chairman, BEDC far surpassed its entr epreneurship advocacy, awareness and education target for 2015 when it held or participated in 91 sem inars or events, resulting in outreach to over 11,300 entrepreneurs and budding entrepreneurs. Of this t otal, 11 events involved young people—

Honourable Member. Are you almost
finished your sentence? It is close to lunch.

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Yes. I will finish the
paragraph, and then we can break.



Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: Thank you.

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Of this total, 11 events
involved young people and youth entrepreneurs, with
over 490 young people being impacted. This number
bodes well for Bermuda’s future entrepreneurs.

The C hairman: Mr. Premier?

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Chairman, I move that
we adjourn for lunch.

As soon as the Junior Minister is
ready. I just will remind Members, including our liste ners, that we are considering the Ministry of Home A ffairs and the Junior Minister speaks to that in the
House of Assembly. And, again, we are considering
Heads 93, 27 and 29, part of which was addressed
this morning by the Junior Minister.
Okay, the Junior Minister is prepared. You
may proceed, sir.

MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. Chai rman. It took me a little while to find where I left off just
before lunch, but I am ready to go.
So we are discussing now random markets
and vendors. The BEDC is charged with the establishment
of an outside Vendor Market in each of the EEZs.
Presently, t here are regular markets held at the Rubber Tree Market in Warwick, the Hidden Treasures Market in Somerset —

POINT OF ORDER

Okay. You may proceed.
Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: This is actually found on
page C -20, Grants and Contributions of the Approved
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for Fiscal Year
2016/17.
Presently, there are regular markets held at
the Rubber Tree Market in Warwick, the Hidden Treasures Market in Somerset, and the Old Towne
Market in St. George’s.
The BEDC assisted in the organisation of all
three markets and provides ongoing assistance to these markets. The newest market BEDC prov ided
assistance with was with the Uptown Market which
opened on Court Street in the North East Hamilton
EEZ in May 2015. There is a small amount of funds
allotted in [the] budget to assist these markets in
2016/17. These vendor markets have proven to be
quite successful as part -time business ventures for
the 200- plus entrepreneurs registered with the BEDC.
BEDC rolled out its second series of vendor
market seminars aimed at strengthening the skills of these micro- entrepreneurs. In April 2015, the threepart Vendor Markets Seminar Series was held in St.
George’s, North East Hamilton, and Somerset, and exposed vendors to all the information and advice they needed so that their business venture can be
successful and operate at the highest standards. The
workshops, titled Vending 101— How to Start -Up and
Tips & Techniques for 2015; Merchandising for Success; and The Business of Vending, provided attendees with the opportunities to sharpen their saws .
The Vendor Markets Seminar Series was
hailed a success with over 150 people in attendance
over the series. Those who attended all three sem inars were awarded with a Certificate of Professional
Development.
Mr. Chairman, the BEDC sees growth opportunities for micro- enterprise hence its attention to this
876 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly industry and its commitment to rolling out new Ven ding legislation in 2015. September 1, 2015 was a si gnificant day for BEDC when the Pedlars Act 1894 was
repealed, the new Vending Act 2015 came into effect,
and the Corporation took over management of the Island’s pedlars and vendors from the Magistrates
Court.
This transfer of the oversight of the industry
from the Magistrates Court to the BEDC was a natural
evolution in serving this business sector.
In August and September 2015, BEDC held a
series of three public inform ation sessions on the
Vending Act 2015 in Somerset, St. George’s, and
Hamilton. Close to 200 people attended to hear about
the new legislation and gain information on the changes and opportunities with vending. To date, the
BEDC has issued 29 vending licences. We anticipate
in 2016/17 we will issue over 150 vending licences.
September 1, 2015 was also a significant day
for BEDC in that it partnered with HM Customs to offer a letter of credit product to existing and new small businesses, including those in t he EEZs and vendors.
The BEDC allocated $200,000 in funds annually to be used to facilitate lines of credit in amounts up to a
maximum of $10,000 to assist start -up and existing
small businesses and vendors in importing goods for
retail sale in Bermuda.
The BEDC offers a 100 per cent guarantee
letter of credit to assist qualified applicants in securing HM Customs line of credit to defer payment of duty.
The product was developed in response to an ident ified gap in the lending market. Customs will extend a
line of credit when it is 100 per cent secured by an
irrevocable letter of credit issued by a Bermuda financial institution.
For as long as the line of credit remains active, Customs will be prepared to extend a line of
credit up to the value secured by t he letter. HM Customs is willing to accept a guarantee letter from BEDC to secure the line of credit. This programme became
operable on September 1, 2015. To date, two letters
of credit have been issued.
Customs Duty Deferment: Mr. Chairman, the
Customs duty deferment allows business and property owners located in the EEZs to take advantage of a
deferral of customs duty for capital projects and en-deavours. The Customs duty deferment can be applied to all imported goods, materials, merchandise,
and construct ion development if a project meets the
intent of the approved scheme.
The EEZA has approved Customs duty d eferment on total goods valued at $1,053,618 resulting
in deferred duty totalling approximately $258,000. This
has greatly assisted in the development of 13 EEZ
businesses and property owners.
EEZ Payroll Tax Concession: In order to encourage and attract businesses to start -up in an EEZ
a reduction in the Payroll Tax rate was implemented
wherein a rate of 5.5 per cent is offered to new bus i-nesses up to a maximum of nine tax periods. Seventeen businesses have started up or relocated to the EEZs in order to take advantage of the concession.
Small Business Construction Incubator
(SBCI) —Hands Up Empowered (HUE): Mr. Chairman,
the Small Business Construction Incubator was designed specifically for the small construction company
owners. This initiative was aimed to strengthen the
leadership and business acumen of Bermuda’s small
construction- related business owners and facilitate a
greater involvement of small businesses in growth
sectors of the construction industry. Ninety persons participated in the programme.
In 2015, BEDC assisted 10 SBCI graduates in
being successful in winning tenders and contracts. BEDC also facilitated 49 SBCI graduates and contractors on its Business Register in completing Expressions of Interest documents that were then forwarded
to BC McAlpine for work related to the AC35.
BEDC continues to partner with Butterfield
Bank in offering a 100 per cent Mobilisation Loan
Guarantee product f or SBCI graduates to assist them
with start -up financing to commence construction pr ojects. The Mobilisation Loan is 100 per cent guara nteed by BEDC.
Mr. Chairman, the BEDC is responsible for
the establishment and maintenance of a Business
Register for small and medium -sized businesses. This
register contains the company and owners’ names,
contact details, and other relevant information pertai ning to the business. Utilising internal as well as data
collected from the Department of Statistics, this ele ctronic register is continually populated.
As mentioned earlier, in 2015 BEDC held r ecords on its Business Register for some 5,748 small
businesses and 83 medium -sized businesses.
Some of the key benefits of the Register are:
• Provide a unique Business ID to bus inesses;
• Capture data on existing and new businesses;
• Facilitate businesses being eligible for bank
deposit insurance for coverage of up to
$25,000; and
• Assist businesses in accessing Government
and private sector opportunities.
Economic Empowerment Zones (EEZ): Mr.
Chairman, there are currently three EEZs in Bermuda. The North East Hamilton Economic Empowerment Zone is a 59 acre area (approximately 25 square
blocks) in the northeast quadrant of the City of Hami lton consisting of over 300 households and o ver 200
businesses. The St. George’s Economic Empower-ment Zone is approximately 334 acres covering over
100 businesses. The Somerset Economic Empower-ment Zone is approximately 305 acres consisting of
over 100 businesses.
An Economic Development Officer is phys ically located in each EEZ and provides dedicated a dvice and support for each of the zones. Part of this


Bermuda House of Assembly focused support involves routine weekly walkabouts in
the EEZs to remain abreast of issues affecting each
EEZ business.
For 2015, the EEZs recorded 16 new bus iness openings resulting in 45 new jobs created.
Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW): Mr.
Chairman, in the reporting year the BEDC celebrated
GEW in November 2015 by joining with over 160
countries around the world. Global Entrepreneurship
Week is the world’s largest celebration of the innov ators and job creators, who launch start -ups that bring
ideas to life, drive economic growth, and expand human welfare.
With the goal to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity , Global
Entrepreneurship Week encourages youth and entr epreneurs to think big and turn their ideas into reality. BEDC has an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding)
with the Global Entrepreneurship Week Inc. to host
the activities in Bermuda until 2016.
Global Entrepreneurship Week 2015 was off icially held from November 16
th through 22nd. GEW
Bermuda 2015 launched on November 2nd and activ ities were held throughout the month of November. The Bermuda Host Committee is made up of BEDC,
Youth Entrepreneurship Initi ative of Bermuda (regi stered charity number 616), and the Department of E -
Commerce. Formed in 2008, the Bermuda Host Committee has grown to include new and seasoned
entrepreneurs and representatives from the public and
private sector, all acting with the c ommon goal of i nspiring the new generation of entrepreneurs and creative thinkers.
In 2015, BEDC was able to partner and gain
sponsorship for Global Entrepreneurship Week from local businesses which allowed the celebration of entrepreneurship to take place throughout November
rather than just the one week. BEDC, along with the
Host Committee facilitated an astounding 40 activities
and events that were held leading up to and during the month of November.
Key highlights for 2015 were:
• Launch Event;
• City Hall Public Proclamation;
• Business to Business Networking Event;
• Tech Awards Reception;
• Rocket Pitch Challenge;
• US Consulate Women’s Entrepreneurship
Day Lunch;
• Entrepreneurship Education Awards;
• Pecha Kucha Night; and
• Startup Weekend.

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2015 encouraged hundreds of entrepreneurs to get inspired and therefore create businesses and grow jobs. The
BEDC is optimistic that based on the overwhelming
success of 2015/16, funding in 2016/17, combined with local sponsorship, will allow 2016’s events to continue to grow.
Mr. Chairman, I will skip that part. I will now
speak to the legislative agenda.
Mr. Chairman, the following are BEDC pr ojects anticipating legislative changes in 2016/17:
A Local Land Use Plan for North East Hami lton: The Corp oration is currently partnering with the
Department of Planning to finalise this Local Plan and
anticipate its roll -out in concert with the new City of
Hamilton Plan.
Loss Guarantees Collection: While it is never
the goal of BEDC to have the loans it guar antees
called, Mr. Chairman, the reality is that due to the
slowly reviving economic climate, some loans will be
called and the BEDC will have to pay out on some
guarantees.
As mentioned earlier, BEDC’s due diligence,
supportive relationship with its clie nts, and partnerships with the local financial institutions has limited the
BEDC not having to pay out on any called guarantees
in 2015, although there have been clients on BEDC’s Watch List throughout 2015. BEDC anticipates it will
have to pay out on two called loan guarantees if r estructuring plans cannot be agreed to with the banks.
It is BEDC’s commitment to recoup funds from
clients by establishing payment plans with these cl ients. BEDC has set a goal of collecting at least 1 per
cent of the guaranteed losses paid out over the years
within the upcoming fiscal year.
Mr. Chairman, BEDC sets annual operational
goals to guide its day -to-day work. The following outlines the operational goals for Fiscal Year 2016/17:
1. Achieve KPI targets 90 per cent of the tim e;
2. Achieve consultation and support targets for
BEDC’s Guarantee Clients 95 per cent of the
time;
3. Achieve consultation and support targets for BEDC’s Watch List Clients 100 per cent of the
time;
4. Reduce the number of businesses on BEDC’s
Watch List by 3 per cent compared to
2015/16;
5. Increase the number of BEDC’s clients gai ning bank or other financing by 5 per cent
compared to 2015/16;
6. Increase awareness of business and other opportunities for SBCI graduates to access by
5 per cent over 2015/16;
7. Facilitate t he increase of total new business
formation in the Economic Empowerment Zones by 5 per cent over 2015/16;
8. Partner with the private sector to provide
business advice, support, and training to the
medium -sized business sector;
9. Implement at least one additional entrepr eneurship curriculum into BEDC and coordi-nate the training of BEDC officers to deliver;
878 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly 10. Successfully host and increase participation in
Global Entrepreneurship Week initiative and
activities by 3 per cent over 2015/16;
11. Grow youth entrepreneurship participation in
entrepreneurship programmes by 5 per cent
over 2015/16;
12. Partner with private sector stakeholders to offer six seminars (three in the EEZs and three
centrally);
13. Present BEDC Audited Statements to the Legislature for Financial Years 2010 to 2014;
14. Create a revenue generation services plan for
the BEDC Business Register;
15. Partner with the Office of Procurement to assist in supporting Government’s goal of 20 per
cent spending with small businesses; and
16. Recover 1 per cent of losses on aged loan
guarantee payouts.

Mr. Chairman, the BEDC is poised to raise the
entrepreneurial bar in 2016/17 and is optimistic about the future for entrepreneurs in Bermuda. As such, pr iority Strategic Objectives to focus on for 2016/17 from BEDC’s three -year Strategic Plan are as follows:
• Strengthen and grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Bermuda through introduction of i nnovative and modern global policies and pr ogrammes;
• Increase the number of businesses and r elated business data on the BEDC Business Register;
• Create a sustainable revenue generation services plan for BEDC;
• Increase the skills and competencies of
BEDC’s staff by integrating international e ntrepreneurship support certification standards
into the organisation;
• Develop alternate financing options for
BEDC’s business clients and entrepreneurs;
• Further leverage BEDC’s loan guarantee c apacity to facilitate an increase in business f inancing; and
• Facilitate further opportunities for local small and medium -sized businesses to take advantage of 35
th America’s Cup business prospects.

Mr. Chairman, we have been gratified to see
the level of enthusiasm and the entrepreneurial spirit demonstrated by existing business owners and newly
introduced business owners in Bermuda. The BEDC
officers will continue to provide tailored and bespoke services to its customers to ensure local business
success. This will consist of on -site business and
counselling support for the loan guaranteed clients,
hands -on support for clients in the three EEZs, as well
as services to newly established or struggling m edium -sized businesses. Mr. Chairman, during 2015/16, the Bermuda
Economic Development Corporation has achieved
laudable success and remains focused on its dedic ation to the local business community in Bermuda. I
wish to pause here to thank the Executive Director
and her team for their continued dedication to the
BEDC’s aims. Many entrepreneurs who come through
the doors receive valuable assistance, guidance, and
support during consultations which makes the difference in starting and successfully running a business in Bermuda.
Through the loan guarantee programme, cl ients have been given the opportunity to participate in
Bermuda’s commercial marketplace.
It is therefore vital that the BEDC continues to
provide the necessary support in order to foster ec onomic stability and growth in Bermuda’s local commercial sector.
Mr. Chairman, I will now like to move on to
Head 27, Department of Immigration.

HEAD 27 —DEPARTMENT OF IMMIGRATION

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: The Department of I mmigration, Head 27, which is found on pages B -303 to
B-308 and page C -14 in the Budget Book.

The Department of Immigration has the mi ssion to administer the Bermuda Immigration and Pr otection Act 1956, including but not limited to the control of entry, res idence, employment, land acquisition
by non- Bermudians, and the granting of Bermudian
status.
The Mission Statement: The Department of
Immigration is committed to serve travellers and to
conserve and protect Bermuda for the benefit of its
people —residents and visitors.
In pursuit of our mission, we will work as a
team and exercise sound judgment in the perfor mance of our duties to ensure that we respond to the
needs of our 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. We will act sympathetically, courteously, and impartially to accomplish our mandate.
The budget amount for the year under debate,
the General Summary, is found on page B -303.
Mr. Chairman, the budget for 2016/17 for I mmigration is $4,633,000; up from the previous year’s
budget of $4,475,000. This difference of $158,000 is a
4 per cent increase from the 2015/16 budget year.
This increase is primarily due to the approval
by Cabinet to recruit six additional temporary posts
which include one Senior Processing Administrator,
one Processing Administrator and one Temporary
Processing Administrator for the Personal Services
Section; along with three Senior Immigration Inspec-tors for the Compliance Section.


Bermuda House of Assembly The changes in expenditure are explained below:
Corporate Services costs are $722,000, down
from $725,000 from the previous year, a difference of
$3,000, which represents a 0.0 per cent change from
the previous budget year 2015/16.
Mr. Chairman, the Corporate Services Section
is responsible for administering Part V (Regulation of
engagement in gainful occupation) of the Bermuda
Immigration and Protection Act 1956, and for proces sing work permits and permissions to reside while seeking employment or attending school or college.
To this end, this section is responsible for processing
the wide range of work permit applications (including
related landing permits).
Comprising a team of 10 full -time staff, the
Corporate Services Manager, Industry Relationship Officers, and Customer Service Representatives liaise
directly with employers and work in conjunction with
the Board of Immigration to make recommendations
for each application. Currently, one Customer Service
Representative post is vacant (due to natural attrition) and recruitment is in train. It is expected that the post
will be filled by March 31
st, 2016.
Standard Work Permits can be found on page
B-306 of the Budget Book:
In 2015, the Corporate Services section processed 5,427 standar d one - to five -year work permit
applications in an average turnaround time of four weeks. This compares to 5,007 in the previous year.
The next category is:
Temporary, Periodic and Landing Permits and
applications for Job Title/Category Changes, found on
page B -306 of the Budget Book:
There were 4,798 temporary (which are now
called short -term permits) and periodic work permits
processed in 2015 (compared to 3,686 in 2014). The increase over 2014 is due to the change in the work permit policies where short -term permits have been
required in advance of a standard work permit. You will recall, employers are now required to first advertise positions for short -term permits.
The number of landing permits processed i ncreased to 711 in 2015 compared to 550 in 2014.
There were 720 applications for work permit
changes, including job title changes in 2014. In 2015,
the number of applications increased to 836. This i ncrease is due to business structure changes. The next
category:
Permissions to reside, found on page B -306
of the Budget Book:
There were 321 applications made for permissions to reside in 2015 up from 273 in 2014.
Major Achievements in Policies and Legisl ation:
Mr. Chairman, at last year’s Budget Debate, I
mentioned that work permit cards would be introduced at March 1, 2015 when the new Work Permit Policies
came into force. However, due to technical chal-lenges, issuance of work permit cards came into effect
at April 1, 2015. While this was a mammoth acco mplishment, regrettably entry/re- entry cards for s pouses
and dependants of work permit holders saw a further
delay with the expectation that these dependant cards will be available within the next six weeks.
Corporate Services Revenues, found on page
B-304 of the Budget Book are expected to be
$10,171,000 [and] distributed as follows:
• Full-time and part -time work permits —
$6,660,000;
• Temporary and periodic work permits —
$2,453,000;
• Permission to reside in Bermuda and work or
attend school or college —$550,000;
• General services related to employment such
as late work permit application fees, job title,
or category changes —$388,000; and
• Civil penalties —$120,000.

Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to the next
section within the Department of Immigration, which is the Personal Services Section, which is cost centr e
37020, found on page B -303 of the Budget Book.
Personal Services costs are $1,134,000 compared with $1,016,000 in the last fiscal year resulting in a difference of $118,000.
This represents a 12 per cent increase from
the 2015/16 year. This increase is primarily due to the
approval by Cabinet to recruit three additional temporary posts, namely, one Senior Processing Admini strator and two Processing Administrators. The total
salary value of these posts is $176,000. The primary
remit of the prospective pos tholders of these three
positions will be to assist with the high volume of ap-plications for Bermudian status; including general enquiries, and for naturalisation.
The following posts are currently vacant and
were approved by Cabinet conclusion to recruit for:
• A Client Services Officer, Status & Naturalis ation and Long- term Residents (vacant due to
natural attrition); and
• A Validations & Entry Clearance Officer (which was a retirement; not attached to the
Voluntary Early Retirement Incentive Plan).

Of both the new temporary posts and the current vacant posts in Personal Services, the job de-scriptions are presently being updated to meet the
requirements of the Department of Human Resources.
It is anticipated that once the updated job descriptions
are approved, the recruitment process will ensue.
Mr. Chairman, this division, which currently
comprises 12 staff, liaises directly with the individual
customer. The Customer Service Representatives in
the reception area are available to answer all indivi dual enquiri es.
The Personal Services Manager and Client
Services Officers are responsible for the following ar880 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly eas: travel documents; the acquisition of Bermudian
status; naturalisation as a British Overseas Territories
citizen; permanent resident’s applications; issuance of
related certificates; licences to purchase land; permi ssions to reside; permissions to seek employment;
permissions to attend school; letters for spouses of
Bermudians; landing permits; and airline ticket valid ations.
Land, which is found on page B-306 of the
Budget Book:
In 2015 there were 98 applications for land
licences for houses. This number increased from 75 in 2014.
There were 103 applications by land licence
holders requesting permission to rent out their houses
to visitors. This compares to 169 in 2014.
There were 86 permissions to reside on an
annual basis (compared to 81 in 2014) and 11 appl ications for residential certificates (compared to 10 in
2014).
The next category is Bermudian Status, also
found on page B -306 of the Budget Book.
There were 208 status enquiries in 2015, up
from 179 in 2014. There were 700 applications for Bermudian status for 2015 (compared to 812 in 2014).
This total can be further broken down as follows:
• Section 19 (Qualifying Bermudian Connection)—there were 7 applications;
• Section 19A (Spouses of Bermudians) —127
applications;
• Section 20 (Deemed Children) —68 applic ations; and
• Section 20B (Other Cases) —498 applications.
There were 708 applications for naturalisation
in 2015 compared to 838 in 2014.
Mr. Chairman, I can confirm also that there
were 100 applications for Permanent Resident Certif icates from long- term residents and dependants of
long-term residents (compared to 101 in 2014). F inally, 820 persons have applied to have their names added to the Register of Bermudians, up from 719
persons in 2014.
In 2015, there were 488 spousal letters [compared to] 405 spousal letters in 2014. In 2015, there were 39 copies of documents and certified documents compared to 43 in 2014.
The next category is Travel, found on page B -
306 of the Budget Book.
The Personal Services section issued 4,655
passports for adults (compared to 4,387 passports issued in 2014) and 1,096 passports for children (compared to 958 passports for children in 2014). The
increase in the number of passports applied for by
adults in particular, was due to an increase in the
number of persons who were naturalised during the
year; such persons became eligible for a British Overseas Territories Citizen (Bermuda) passport (BOTC
Bermuda passport). Note, it may be readily observed, by the earlier reporting, that naturalisations were down
in 2015.
While this is the case, the impact on passport
issuance remains significant because generally persons who already possess a BOTC Bermuda passport did not require a new passport; more passports were
issued to newly naturalised persons. A total of 430
persons took advantage of the express passport
processing procedure, down from the year before of
435 in 2014.
Now I will speak to Major Achievements —
Policies and Legislation.
Mr. Chairman, in chronological order, the following policy and/or legislative changes relating to the
Personal Services section occurred during the year
under review.
In June 2015 the Bermuda Immigration and
Protection Amendment Act 2015 was enacted.
The purpose of the amendment was to liberalise restrictions that had put a damper on the property market; the expectation was that the change would
encourage hotel development leading to further growth in the economy and real job opportunities for
Bermudians. Some of the more notable changes i ncluded:
• Lowering the minimum Annual Rental Value (ARV) from $177,000 to $153,000 for house
purchases for non- Bermudians and non- PRC
holders;
• Allowing non- Bermudians and PRC holders to
purchase condos with a minimum ARV of
$32,400 or higher;
• Allowing PRC holders to purchase homes or
condos of any ARV, removing the minimum
ARV threshold of $63,000 that previously applied to PRC holders;
• Allowing PRC holders to purchase a max imum of two properties (excluding develop-ment s where there has been Government assistance) and a licence to obtain or hold an i nterest in land is required;
• Allowing PRC holders to rent out any property they own without requiring the Minister’s permission;
• Allowing the Minister to extend the time for e state representatives to deal with probate matters under exceptional circumstances, a 3year initial deferral period with an extension of three years is permitted;
• Removing parish restrictions on acreage held
by non- Bermudians, but the cap of 2,500
acres across Bermuda for property owned by
restricted persons and PRCs remains;
• Liberalising the availability of condos to r estricted persons by removing the Bermuda
Immigration and Protection (Designation of
Eligible Condominium Units, Tourist Accom-modation and Hotel Residences) Regulations
2011.


Bermuda House of Assembly In June 2015 changes were made to the
passport application process. New application forms
and new guidelines were introduced so that standardisation could be achieved across all British Over-seas Territories.
Also, in June 2015 the Provision of Admini strative Services by KPMG to assist with the proces sing of Bermudian status applications under section
20B(2)(b) of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection
Act 1956. Five secondees were initially enlisted for the
period June 16, 2015 to August 28, 2015. The engagement of the secondees was later extended to November 30, 2015.
The secondees’ primary responsibilities covered:
• Reviewing application files for completeness;
• Contacting applicants or their legal advisors to obtain out standing information to complete the
application; and
• Assisting with any associated tasks required
to prepare complete applications (i.e., nat uralisation, police reports, advertising, et cetera) for review by technical staff and for a d ecision by the Minis ter.

In August 2015, Landholding Amendments,
which are directly tied to the above- captioned
changes under the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2015 . . . before the Minister of
Home Affairs can issue a land licence to a non-Bermudian to ow n property, the applicant must pay a
landholding charge.
This is calculated as a percentage of the
value of the land ranging from 4 per cent to 8 per cent.
On September 30, 2015, the values were set to aut omatically increase between 6 per cent and 12.5 per
cent. However, the amendments at August 2015 sought to defer the increases by a further 18 months
so that they would come into effect at March 31, 2017.
Specifically, the impact would be as follows:
• For permanent residents —4 per cent will rise
to 6 per c ent;
• For other non- Bermudians;
o When purchasing a residential unit —
8 per cent to rise to 12.5 per cent; and
o When purchasing a condo— 6 per
cent to rise to 8 per cent.

In December of 2015 the Residential Certif icate Policy was revised. The removal of the sc hedule
of properties in the Bermuda Immigration and Protec-tion Act 1956 that could be purchased by non -
Bermudians gave rise to the need to change the
Residential Certificate Policy.
This policy is aligned with section 32 of the
Act and indicates that wher e a person is granted permission to reside in Bermuda and where that permi ssion is unlimited in duration that the Minister respons i-ble for Immigration may grant that person a residential certificate.
Upon application and subsequent approval by
the Minister, the residential certificate entitles a person to reside in Bermuda without the right to work. The amendments to the Act now clearly require that
non-Bermudians can purchase condos over the
$32,400 ARV, but that they must have a residential
certificate.
Salient points relating to the revised policy r equire that for eligibility that a person:
• be at least eighteen years of age;
• not have been convicted, whether in Bermuda or elsewhere, of an offence which, in the Mi nister’s opinion, shows moral turpitude on the
applicant’s part;
• not have been convicted in Bermuda or els ewhere, of an indictable offence in Bermuda or
have been convicted of an offence outside
Bermuda which if committed in Bermuda,
would have been an indictable offence;
• they must be of good char acter and conduct;
• they must possess adequate health insurance coverage;
• they must be free of tuberculosis (TB) if they
have ever resided in a high risk TB jurisdiction
for a period of three months or more (which is
based on the World Health Organization’s
Yearly Report on TB); and
• they should have substantial means and have a continuous source of annual income without
the need to engage in gainful occupation pursuant to section 57 of the Act.

In January 2016, there was a reduction of
minimum ARV thresholds for designated condo units
from $32,400 to $25,800, and for residential units from
$153,000 to $126,000.
Mr. Chairman, Personal Services Revenues,
found on page B -304 of the Budget Book are est imated to be $10,378,000 distributed as follows:
• from entry c learance—$77,000;
• from passport issuance—$716,000;
• from landholding and rent charges —
$9,000,000;
• for permissions to reside— $22,000;
• for Bermudian status -related services —
$195,000;
• for naturalisation and registration of British Dependent Territories citizens —$48,000;
• for other services such as applications for
permanent resident certificates, spousal letters, and credit card size cards for travel purposes to replace the permission letters and certificates —$320,000.

Mr. Chairman, the third core division of t he
Department of Immigration is the Compliance Section.
882 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Compliance, under cost centre 37030, is found on
page B -303 in the Budget Book.
Compliance costs are $1,472,000 up by
21 per cent from $1,264,000 from the previous year, a
difference of $208,000.
The increase from the 2015/16 budget to the
2016/17 budget is primarily due to the approval by Cabinet to recruit three additional temporary posts;
namely, Senior Immigration Inspectors (Conclusion
52(15)7 –Cabinet Memo Number 387/15). The total
salary value of these posts is $219,000.
The additional complement of Senior Immigr ation Inspectors will allow the Compliance Section to
more effectively make cold- calls to job sites throughout Bermuda to undertake assessments on work permit holders and illegal workers. I am going to repeat
that. The additional complement of Senior Immigration Inspectors will allow the Compliance Section to more
effectively make cold- calls to job sites throughout
Bermuda to undertake assessments on work permit
holders and illegal workers . These new inspectors will
also have remit for investigating complaints and cases
for civil penalties.
Mr. Chairman, presently, the Compliance Section is overseen by the Compliance Manager who, together with two Principal Compliance Officers and
10 Inspec tors, is responsible for the inspection and
investigation of potential breaches of Immigration law,
regulations and policy.
They conduct compliance audits; enforce
work permit conditions/restrictions; and maintain co ntrol over Bermuda’s border and were res ponsible for
processing Bermuda entry visa applications. Staff
members in the division are assigned to both Immigr ation headquarters and the L. F. Wade International
Airport. There were 12 foreign nationals asked to
leave Bermuda in 2015 compared to three in 2014.
There were 129 visitors’ extensions granted in 2015
[compared to] 104 in 2014.
The number of investigations decreased from
984 in 2014 to 868 in 2015. Notwithstanding this decrease, of the 868 investigations, cases for civil pena lties, pursuant to the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment (No. 2) Act 2013, have spiralled out
of control (the current count is approximately 136).
Fourteen persons were added to the Bermuda stop list (compared to 28 in 2014). And there were 10 deportations in 201 5 compared to seven in 2014.
Mr. Chairman, in previous budget submi ssions, we have not included a revenue figure for the
Compliance Section. However, for the ensuing year,
Compliance Revenues found on page B -304, part of
the Entry Clearance, object code 8275, are estimated
to be $30,000 for airport clearance.
Major Achievements —Polices and Legisl ation: There have been no major policy or legislative
changes that have directly impacted the Compliance
Section. Mr. Chairman, I now advance to present the
support section of the Department of Immigration—the
Finance and Administration. This can be found on page B -303 of the [Budget] Book.
Mr. Chairman, Finance and Administration
costs are $1,305,000, down from $1,470,000; a differ-ence of $165,000 from the previous year which repr esents an 11 per cent decrease from the estimate for
2015/16.
Mr. Chairman, the Finance and Administration
section is overseen by the Finance and Administration
Manager who, together with the Administrative Assi stant, Processing Clerk/Cashier, and the Records
Management Clerk, is responsible for the depar tment’s accounts, budget, financial records/reporting,
annual budget preparation, administrative support
services, and personnel administration functions. There is a total of nine staff in th is section; including
the Chief Immigration Officer and the Assistant Chief
Immigration Officer.
Mr. Chairman, this section logged in 36,367
documents in 2015 (as compared to 32,595 in 2014).
Major Achievements —Policies and Legisl ation: Like the Complianc e Section, there have been no
major policy or legislative changes that have directly
impacted the Finance and Administration Section.
Mr. Chairman, in fiscal 2014/15, the Policy
and Planning Section was placed under the Finance and Administration Section. This is the reason for the
zero notations for 2015 and the current year.
Mr. Chairman, again this year, the Depar tment of Immigration has worked extremely hard by fulfilling its mission. To this end, I would like to thank
the Immigration team under the leadership of Dr.
Danette Ming, Chief Immigration Officer; and Mr. St even Lambert, Assistant Chief Immigration Officer, t ogether with Mr. Philip Perinchief; the Immigration
Board headed by Mr. Glen Smith, JP MP; and the
Immigration Appeal Tribunal previously headed by Mr.
Timothy Marshall for the remarkable and outstanding
achievements made in 2015/16.
I would also like to take this opportunity to
thank Mr. Mike Morrison and Ms. Lori Rockhead and the secondees from KPMG who assisted with the administrative pr ocess for the Bermudian status applic ations under section 20B(2)(b).
Finally, the Minister would also like to thank
Mrs. Marita Grimes, Mrs. Michelle White, Mr. Ron -
Michel Davis 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 Immigration. They have all been
cooperative and innovative in their respective disc iplines and the roles they have played in immigration
matters.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I will now like to move to Head 29, the Regi stry General Department.



Bermuda House of Assembly HEAD 29 —REGISTRY GENERAL DEPARTMENT

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: The Registry General
Department —Head 29, can be found on pages B -309
through B -312, and [on] page C -14 of the Budget
Book.
Mr. Chairman, the Registry General is the
Government department responsible for maintaining
civil registrations and providing public access to such
records. Under the general direction and control of the
Minister of Home Affairs, the Registrar Gener al exercises his statutory functions and is assisted by such public officers as may from time to time be authorised
by the Legislature.
Mr. Chairman, the mandate of the Registry
General is:
1. to provide and maintain a reliable system for
the storage of publ ic records;
2. to provide access services to those records
and provide an efficient registry service which
supports the registration of every birth, death,
adoption, and marriage in Bermuda;
3. the performance of civil marriages;
4. facilitating the registration of land and other
property transactions;
5. the registration of professionals and organis ations;
6. the granting of intellectual property rights such as trade and service marks, patents and designs;
7. advising on copyright and related rights; as
well as,
8. assuming al l administrative responsibilities
with respect to the registration of country code top-level domain names for Bermuda (.bm).

The department is able to achieve this mandate with existing resources.
Mr. Chairman, the department is responsible
for discharging duties conferred under a total of 35 Acts and Regulations which govern the operations of
the Registry General.
I will now address Core Services and Activ ities, found on page B -309 of the Budget Book.
Mr. Chairman, the Registry General, consists
of the following four sections with a complement of 19
staff in total:
1. Under [cost centre] 39000— Administration,
there are seven staff;
2. Under [cost centre] 39010 —Intellectual Pro perty Registration, there are six staff;
3. Under [cost centre] 39020 —Property, Professional and Organisation Registration, two
staff; and
4. Under [cost centre] 39030 —Births, Marriages
and Deaths, there are four staff.

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.
The function of the Property, Professional and
Organisation Registrations Section is to register documents relating to land, deeds, and mortgages as
well as profes sional registrations which include architects, charitable organisations, friendly societies, marriage officers, pension trust funds, professional eng ineers, professional surveyors, psychological practiti oners, and trade unions.
The function of the Intellec tual Property Registrations Section is to provide a timely and efficient
service for the granting of Intellectual Property rights, such as trade and service marks, patents and d esigns, and advising on copyright and related rights; as well as assuming all t he administrative responsibilities
with regard to .bm (country code top- level) domain
name registration.
The function of Administration is to ensure
that the proper resources are made available to facil itate the efficient and timely processing of the regis tration process for all vital and general events occurring in Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, in relation to births, the majority
of babies are born at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in Paget. However, there is a trend on the Island in which more parents are opting to have home
births with the assistance of a midwife and in some cases a doula.
These persons are often flown in from overseas having first received approval from both Depar tments of Immigration and Health. The trend has also been recognised by som e of the local insurance companies resulting in the provision of coverage for these midwifery services.
Mr. Chairman, there were five babies born
outside of the hospital in the homes of the parents in 2015 which is one less the number of babies born at home in 2014.
Mr. Chairman, the Registry General is notified
of the births of children born at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital by the Medical Records Depar tment on a weekly basis. On the occasion when a child
is born at a location other than the hospita l, notific ation is made by the person or persons who attended
the birth. The department issues a free birth certificate
with respect to each newborn child.
The vital events provide a useful resource in
that certificates issued by the department are often
used for multi -purposes. An important application is
the use of a vital registration certificate to validate i nformation when processing passports.
It is interesting to note that numerous persons
have subsequently found that the name that they have
been usi ng for years is not actually the legal name
that they were registered with at the time of birth. It is essential that when parents submit the newborn regi stration forms, they ensure that all of the information is
884 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly correct and the birth registration form is fully co mpleted.
Mr. Chairman, statistical data gathered
through the birth registration process, and the identif ication of certain trends is a useful resource for such
agencies as the Department of Health, public and pr ivate schools, to insurance companies , as examples.
The Department of Statistics also incorporates
this data into their population figures and the production of numerous reports. It should be noted that in
2015 there were 583 births with 317 being born to parents who were married and 266 bein g born to si ngle parents. This is an increase of 9 from the 574
newborns born in 2014.
Mr. Chairman, the Registrar General also r eceives notices of deaths occurring on the Island and
within Bermuda’s territorial waters from local funeral
directors. In cases where inquests have been held
into the causes of deaths, the notices of deaths are
sent to the Registrar General by the Coroner’s Office.
Data gathered through the death registration
process are useful resources for various entities, such
as Social Insur ance and the Office of the Tax Co mmissioner who is responsible for administering death
tax pertaining to land. Issued death certificates are
also useful for life insurance and banking purposes.
The Parliamentary Registrar’s Office also keeps their register current through the use of the death records.
In 2015, 473 deaths occurred in Bermuda.
The death figure of 254 for males was higher than the
death figure for females which was 219. The Coroner
investigated 73 deaths in 2015 of which 5 related to
visitors to the Island.
Mr. Chairman, local Marriage Officers are r esponsible for the majority of marriages that occur on
the Island. Marriage Officer Licences are granted to
clergy, priests, ministers, and persons in equivalent
positions, by the Minister responsible for the Registry
General. It should be noted that marriages in Bermuda can only be performed by registered Marriage
Officers who meet the requirements. Marriages cannot be performed by Justices of the Peace, as in
many other jurisdictions.
Civil marriag es are performed in the Marriage
Room within the department. When necessary, wi tnesses are provided by the department.
Mr. Chairman, all persons intending to be wed
in Bermuda must submit a Notice of Intended Marriage Form to the department, which is then posted
within the department for public viewing until the l icence is collected as well as published in the local
newspaper on two separate occasions. This aids in the identification of persons who are marrying for convenience and fraud by interested third parties and the
Department of Immigration Inspectorate. It is important to note that in addition to the marriage certificates issued at the time of marriage by the church, it is necessary to order official Marriage Certificates from the
Registry General. These documents are certified and can be
used for legal applications such as changes of name and the issue of BOTC (Bermuda) and British pas sports.
Mr. Chairman, there were a total of 509 marriages performed locally in 2015. This figure repr esents an increase of 32 marriages over 2014. Out of
this figure, 391 were religious marriages taking place
in churches, gardens and hotels. The remaining 118
civil marriages were conducted in the Registry Ge neral building or office.
Bermuda continues to be a popular venue for
marriage by overseas couples for they historically
have comprised more than 50 per cent of the marriages performed on the Island. The data collected
from marriage registrations is useful forecast inform ation for the Ministry of Tourism, churches, hotels, ma rriage coordinators, newspaper media, and Depar tment of Statistics, et cetera.
Mr. Chairman, information in respect of mar itime marriages, which are marriages that occur on the
high seas aboard Bermuda registered ships, is pr ovided by the masters o f these ships. A total of 515
maritime marriages were conducted in 2015. This
trend continues with the number of maritime marriages exceeding that of local marriages. There are
currently 27 cruise ships performing marriages under
Bermuda’s Maritime Marriage Act 1999.
The Registry General, Mr. Chairman, also
registers mortgages, deeds, voluntary conveyances
and land transfers. The law firms and/or the banks submit the original mortgage documents, voluntary conveyance or land transfer notices and a memorandum to the office for registration. The date of deposit
of these legal documents establishes priority in r espect of liability and other legal issues.
The registration of the mortgage or chattel
mortgage publicly establishes the lien the bank or a
person may have on a particular piece of property. There have been a few instances where the bank has
repossessed a car that the original owner had sold to
another person. If the original owner did not repay the
mortgage on the car, the bank has every right to take
possession of the car even if it is owned by another
person.
This year, Mr. Chairman, there was a slight
decrease in the number of mortgages and an increase
in the number of chattel mortgages registered. In
2015, 564 mortgages and 444 chattel mortgages were
recorded, and by comparison there were 797 mor tgages and 363 chattel mortgages recorded in 2014.
For 2013, these numbers were 584 mortgages and
355 chattel mortgages, respectively.
Any person who becomes entitled to any land
must give written notice to the Registrar General. The
transfer notices are registered and filed by parish and
by the year of the actual transfer of the land. Persons are not able to search the land transfer notices with
only the address of the property. The indices are kept


Bermuda House of Assembly by parish, year, owner and previous owner. Searches
are more successful if the client has the name of a
past or current owner. There were 471 land transfers
in 2015, an increase of 174 over the 297 transfers in 2014.
Mr. Chairman, the department registers pr ofessionals and organisations to protect the various
interests of members of the public and other interested parties. For example a member of the public
can conduct a search in the Registry General to ensure that someone they wish to hire to do architectural
work i s registered as a bona fide, qualified, registered
architect.
As part of the registration process for architects, professional surveyors, professional engineers, and psychological practitioners, the Registry General
liaises closely with the governing bodi es of the professional organisations that approve the applications for
registration in accordance with legal and ethical r equirements.
Mr. Chairman, organisations wishing to become registered charities or wishing to re- register as a
charity must submit the appropriate application to the Registry General for consideration by the Charity
Commissioners who meet bimonthly. These applic ations should include either a copy of their constitution,
if they are first -time applicants, or financial statements
signed by the treasurer and one other officer if they
are seeking re- registration.
Under the Charities Act 2014, Charities Regulations 2014, and the Charities (Anti -Money Laundering, Anti -Terrorism Financing and Reporting) Regul ations 2014, charities are now requi red to complete an
annual report [form] on the activities of the charity
over the previous period.
This report form also includes a section on
how the charity has complied with the requirements set out in the Charities (Anti -Money Laundering, Anti -
Terrori sm Financing and Reporting) Regulations
2014. It should be noted that this report, along with signed financials, must be provided also by those
charities that have indefinite status on an annual b asis.
Charities are now required to pay an annual
fee based on the income of the charity. For charities
with income under $35,000, the fee is $100. For char ities with income over $35,000 and under $450,000, the fee is $250. For charities with income over
$450,000, the fee is $400. The fee is payable when
the financial statements and annual report are submi tted to the office of the Registrar General.
As of December 31, 2015, there were 331
charitable organisations on the Register; 13 less than
in 2014. Sixty -seven of the currently registered char itable organisations have short -term registrations (i.e.,
duration of less than one year), with the remaining
264 having permanent registration status.
Mr. Chairman, any change in the officers of a
charity should be reported to the Charity Commi s-sioners within one month of the change. Signed fina ncial statements and the annual report should be r eceived within six months after the financial year end.
Receiving this information provides protection to the
public since the financial statements of any charity are available for the public to view. Much effort is made by
the department to ensure that registered charities are
in compliance with the legislated requirements.
Mr. Chairman, the Registry General is also
responsible for the registration of Pension Trust
Funds, in respect of non- Bermudians. This registration
provides an avenue for non- Bermudian employees to
receive retirement benefits.
It is voluntary registration for such entities as
overseas companies which are not permit companies,
partnerships, or other unincorporated busi ness ent ities established outside of Bermuda, if in each case,
the trustees are resident in Bermuda. The role of the
Registry General is to ensure that these funds are
compliant with the provisions of the Pension Trust
Funds Act 1966.
Mr. Chairman, the registration of Trade U nions allows for local trade organisations to operate as unions within a legal framework. Before registration,
the unions must first qualify and meet the criteria for
such with reference to the Trade Union Act 1965 and
the Trade Union A mendment Act 2002.
There are currently eight trade unions regi stered. Two of the larger unions include the Bermuda Industrial Union and the Bermuda Public Services U nion. The responsibility of the Registry General is to
ensure that the registered unions ar e in compliance
with the Act. Trade unions are required to submit a
general audited statement of the receipts, funds, effects and expenditure, as well as membership information each year. In addition, any change of officers,
alteration of rules and new rul es must be submitted to
the department.
It should be noted that an excessive amount
of time and resources is spent in efforts to bring deli nquent trade unions into compliance.
Mr. Chairman, the Registry General has a
Search Room which affords the public the opportunity
to access the various registers under the department’s
remit. These include not only births, deaths and marriage registers, but also those pertaining to property registrations and professional registrations.
Popular searches include those by banking
institutions to verify whether or not there is a lien on property as well as chattels such as boats, cars and
bikes; and to record whether or not a loan has been
satisfied. There are numerous persons who also con-duct genealogy searches. In fact, t he department has
overseas customers who visit the department to con-duct family searches. Historical researchers such as the Bermuda National Trust often utilise the Search
Room.
Mr. Chairman, the Intellectual Property (IP)
Section of the Registry General manages the registr a886 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly tion of Bermuda country code top- level domain name
[.bm]. A domain name allows people to identify we bsites by name rather than by number, and a .bm web
address directs users to a Bermuda home page via
the Internet.
In April 2015, a new fee of $60 was intr oduced for the registration and annual renewal of a .bm
domain name. Previously, these domain names were
registered without charge, and the cost of providing
the service was absorbed by the Registry General.
Bermuda was one of the few countries that did not charge a registration fee; whereas majority of other
jurisdictions charged fees for registering their country
code top- level domain name.
Additionally, the IP Section maintains the pr otection of intellectual property rights to the highest i nternational standard, so that Bermuda remains a place
where creativity and talent can thrive. The aim of the
IP Section is to ensure that the intellectual property
system in Bermuda contributes not just to the local but
global economy, encourages inv estment in innovation,
and fosters an entrepreneurial spirit locally.
The IP Section promotes creativity and
awareness of intellectual property rights of the indivi dual, and a respect for the rights of others by admini stering the laws relating to trade/ser vice marks (Trade
Mark Act 1974; Trade Marks and Service Marks Regu lations 1993); copyrights (Copyrights Act 2004);
and designs and patents (Patents and Designs Act 1930; Patents and Designs Rules 1903).
The IP Section provides high quality and crit ical tr ademark, patent and design registration services
to the public which is mandated by legislation in order to acquire protection. All intellectual property rights
granted are recorded in registers which are mai ntained by the Registrar General and are open to the
public for inspection. The maintenance of these regi sters is legislated by the various Acts.
Mr. Chairman, the Registry General has established measures to facilitate desired output levels for customer service. These include the following:
• To maintain the registering of births to within
10 days of receipt of the Notice of Particulars
of Birth in the office from the parents. This
measure was achieved with respect to
100 per cent of the notices received in the office in 2015.
• For the processing of deaths - To maintain the
registering of deaths to within 10 days of r eceipt of the Notice of Death forms within 10
days of receipt, from the undertakers or cor oner’s office. This measure was achieved with
respect to 90 per cent of the notices received
in 2015.
• For the processing of marriages, the measure
to register the Notice of Particulars of Marriage forms within 10 days of receipt from the
Marriage Officers was achieved with respect
to 90 per cent of the notices in 2015. • For the processing of deeds and other legal documents the measure to maintain the time
registering and indexing of mortgages, deeds
and other legal documents to one month, from the receipt of documents in the office, was
achieved with respect to 95 per cent of the
documents for 2015.
• For the processing of Land Transfer Notices
the measure to register the notices within 10
days of receipt, was achieved with respect to
100 per cent of the notices in 2015.
• To maintain the registering of trademarks,
patents and designs, to ensure that all appl ications are processed within four to six
months of the date of receipt, was achieved
with respect to 100 per cent of the applic ations in 2015.
• To ensure that 100 per cent of all correspondence with respect to applications, post regi strations and the issue of c ertificates for all
patents, trademarks and designs are processed and actioned within one month of the
date of receipt, was achieved with respect to
100 per cent of the correspondence received
in 2015.
• To promote e- commerce by managing the
registration of the Bermuda country code toplevel domain name [.bm]. The Section e nsured that all applications for registration or modification requiring completion within two
days of receipt of application and request letter, was achieved with respect to 100 per cent
of applications in 2015.

I will now address Major Projections and In itiatives.
Mr. Chairman, the Vital and General Section
will focus in this coming year on bringing amendments to the Marriage Act 1944 to expand the locations at
which marriage ceremonies performed by the Regi strar General may be conducted.
In 2015, 23 per cent of the marriages conducted in Bermuda were civil ceremonies performed at the Registrar’s office. Many couples prefer to have
civil marriage ceremonies rather than religious mar-riage c eremonies for various reasons, and therefore
Bermuda might be viewed as a more attractive wed-ding destination for tourists if there were more options
for venues at which civil ceremonies could be performed.
To this end, the Registry General plans to expand the venues for civil marriage ceremonies beyond
the Registrar’s office to include any other property
owned by the Government of Bermuda, subject to
permission being granted to have access to the property under the approval of the Registrar.
This would all ow civil ceremonies to be performed in historical buildings owned by Government as well as national parks. A higher fee would be i mBermuda House of Assembly posed for civil ceremonies conducted outside the Registrar’s office which would potentially raise Gover nment revenue.
Also, it is the department’s intention to continue work in the legal and compliance area within the
upcoming fiscal period, by implementing an audit
schedule for monitoring the annual submissions r equired by the organisations governed by the Trade
Union Act 1965, the Pension Trust Act 1966, and the
Charities Act 2014.
The implementation of an audit schedule will
ensure that a compliance report, demonstrating that registered organisations are fulfilling their mandatory
reporting requirements, is produced annually outlining
the finds for each major piece of legislation. This pr oactive regulatory approach will assure compliance and advance action to address noncompliance.
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
amending the Patents and Designs Act 1930. This Act
is an old piece of legisl ation modelled significantly after the UK Patents and Designs Act 1907, a consol idation act, which itself has been repealed by two
separate legislations, the UK Registered Designs Act 1949 and the Patents Act 2004. This means that the
current Bermuda case law is outdated and does not
reflect modern practice and procedure internationally.
For example, a major issue with the Bermuda Patents
and Designs Act 1930 is that it does not have the
relevant criteria for what constitutes a patent or what is able to be patented, for example, an invention must
be new (novel), have an inventive step that is not obvious to someone with knowledge in the subject, and
must be capable of industrial application (being made
or used in some kind of industry).
The main objective of the IP Section is to e nsure that the Bermuda patent and design legislations
are brought in line with international treaties and best
practices of a global standard for patent and design
protection, for residents and businesses both locally and internation ally.
Amending the patent legislations will afford
the IP Section the opportunity to bring Bermuda’s
Patents and Designs Act and Rules in compliance
with international treaties, such as the Patent Coo peration Treaty [PCT] for patents and the Hague Agreement for industrial designs, that have potential
revenue benefits for the Registry General. Both the
PCT and Hague Agreement provides for the international filing and registrations via a single application
which is administered by WIPO [World Intellectual
Property Organisation]. If Bermuda patent and design
legislation is aligned with the requirements of the PCT
or Hague Agreement, the potential benefit would be an increase of application filings and revenue to the
Registry General.
Further, the IP Section would like to fully exploit the potential of the .bm domain name by develo ping a niche market for domain name registration.
Other jurisdictions that have been delegated a country
code top- level domain (ccTLD), such as Puerto Rico
(.pr), Tuvalu (.tv) and Antig ua and Barbuda (.ag), have
been successful at making their top level domain both marketable and profitable.
The two letter combination of .bm could be
marketed as the acronym for “Bermuda Market” as this is what Bermuda is affectionately referred to by
the insurance industry. The .bm should be marketed
as the domain name of choice for the insurance and
international businesses sector in Bermuda.
A successful marketing drive will serve not
only to ensure that Government’s plan of business development will b e fulfilled, but more importantly to
promote .bm as a national resource that can contri bute to Government revenue. I am pleased to advise
that already on our Register there are over 9,000 .bm
domain names.
Mr. Chairman, another initiative on the IP Section’s agenda is introducing a 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 a party to the Berne Convention for the
Protection of Literary and Artistic Work 1888 protection of a copyright work is automatic in Bermuda once
the work is created which means protection is not subject to registration. Majority of the countries around the world are a member or party to the Berne Conve ntion, but a number of countries are providing for the 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 necessary forms; and though registration is not required for copyright protection to attach to a work, the Act does
require registration before a copyright infringement
action by the creator of the work can proceed. Even if
registration is denied, however, an infringement action
can continue if the creator of the work joins the Cop yright Office as a defendant, requiring the Court to determine the “copyrightability” of the work before addressing the issue of infringement.
Over the years the Registry General has had
a significant number of calls and visits from members
of the general public wanting to register their copyright
work and be issued a Certificate of Registration. After advising that copyright protection is automatic in Bermuda once the work is created, many still express
concerns that their copyright work being infringed and
888 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly not have a Certificate of Registration to prove that
they are the true author/creator of the work.
The introduction of a voluntary registration
system for copyright works would not only bring comfort to a creator of a copyright work, it could also be a potential revenue source for Government.
Mr. Chairman, the current account estimates
for Head 29, Registry General, can be found on page B-309.
The Registry General has been allocated a t otal of $1,750,000. This represents a net decrease of $90,000, or 5 per cent from the amount allocated for
the Financial Year 2015/16, which was $1,840,000.
This decrease consists of a 14 per cent, or
$118,000 increase in the Administration Section; a 10 per cent, or $52,000 increase for the Intellectual
Property Registration Section; a 5 per cent, or a
$6,000 inc rease in the Property, Professional and O rganization Registration Section; and 8 per cent, or
$30,000 decrease in the Birth, Marriages and Deaths Section.
Mr. Chairman, the variance represents a decrease of $118,000, or 14 per cent from the 2015/16
budget year. The decrease is as a result of 13 per
cent decrease in salaries of $102,000 as funding was
removed from budget for a vacant post as a cost -
saving measure. There is a further saving of $15,945,
or 2.1 per cent which comes from reductions in sof tware m aintenance, office supplies, travel expenses,
and no funding to hire temporary staff if someone is
out for extended periods of time.
I will now address cost centre 39010, Intellectual Property, found on page B -309 of the Budget
Book. Mr. Chairman, the incr ease of $52,000 is pr ovided for by:
1. a $61,000 increase in software maintenance to cover the annual maintenance fee for the
new registration system for .bm domain
names;
2. a reduction of $7,500 to funds allocated for
salaries;
3. office supplies were reduced by $1,000; and
4. books and periodicals were reduced by
$1,000.
Mr. Chairman, I will now speak to cost centre
39020, Property, Professional and Organisational
Registration found on page B -309 of the Budget Book.
Mr. Chairman, the variance represents an
increase of $6,000, or 5 per cent more than the
2015/16 budget year. The additional $6,000 was allotted for the Charity Commissioners board meetings. And I must say that the original estimate for 2015/16
was $110,000 and the estimate for 2016/17 is
$116,000, whi ch gives a $6,000 increase, and this
represents a 5 per cent change.
I will now speak to cost centre 39000 [sic] ,
Births, Marriages and Death Registrations found on
page B -309 of the Budget Book. The Chairman: [Cost centre] 39030.

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Okay, [cost ce ntre] 39030, it is a typo. Thank you.
The original estimate for 2015/16 was
$367,000. And the estimate for 2016/17 is $337,000,
which represents a $30,000 decrease, or 8 per cent
decrease.
The decrease of $30,000 is provided for by:
• a reduction is salaries of $2,825;
• a reduction of $20,000 to funds allocated for
advert placement in the newspaper;
• printing was reduced by $4,000; and
• the $2,862 allocated for wages to hire temporary staff was removed.

Mr. Chairman, $17,000, as found on page C -
14 of the Budget Book, has been allocated under
Capital Acquisitions for the upgrading of the country
code top- level domain name (.bm) registration sy stem. The current system is old and fragile with limited
search capability. An upgrade will introduce a more
robust and user -friendly domain name registration
system. Mr. Chairman, the contract for the domain registration system has been signed and the depar tment is in the final phase of acquiring the new system.
The projected period for the installatio n of the system
and to go live is April 2016.
Revenue: Mr. Chairman, on the revenue side,
on page B -311, the Registry General expects to realise $1,910,000 in revenue during 2016/17. This
amount is distributed as follows:
• From the registration and renewal of trademarks, patents and designs and domain name
registration fees —$1,009,000. This is a d ecrease of $577,000 over the 2015/16 amount
of $1,586,000. This is represented by a
$390,000, or 72 per cent decrease in domain
name registration as opposed to the $540,000
initially anticipated for the 2015/16 fiscal year.
• From property registration, professional organisations, land transfer registration and
charity registration fees —$230,000. It is anticipated that there will be a decrease in rev enue of $19,000 for annual charity fees and
$3,000 for public search fees.
• From birth, death and marriage fees —
$671,000. This is an increase of $19,000 over
the 2015/16 amount of $652,000. It is antic ipated that with an increase in marriage cer emonies conducted, marriage lic ences and certificates issued for the upcoming fiscal year,
that this increase will be realised.

Mr. Chairman, the budget estimate of
$1,750,000 allocated to the Registry General, will a llow the Registry to provide the core services mandated by the law. T he allocation of $704,000 to the
Administration, cost centre 39000, as found on page


Bermuda House of Assembly B-309, will ensure that the proper resources are made
available to facilitate the efficient and timely registr ation of all intellectual property, vital and general events
occurring in Bermuda during this fiscal period.
The $593,000 allocated to the Intellectual
Property cost centre will allow that section to register or renew the registration of domain names, trademarks, patents and designs in the upcoming budget
year.
The department will continue to meet its output measures as it registers documents relating to
land and other property transactions with the
$116,000 allocated to the Property, Professional and
Organisation cost centre. The $337,000 allocated to
the Birth, Death and Marriage cost centre will ensure
that all of these vital events occurring in Bermuda will
be registered.
Mr. Chairman, as with all the departments
within the Ministry of Home Affairs, I would like to express my gratitude to the team of the Registry General
Department, led by Mr. Aubrey Pennyman as they
continue to take a proactive approach to ensure Ber-muda remains current with our global partners.
Mr. Chairman, that now concludes my presentation for the Ministry of Home Affairs, Heads 93, 27 and 29.
Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I appreciate the thorough presentation given
by the Government on the Ministry of Home Affairs as
this is a Ministry that plays a . . . as has even with the
three Heads that have been debated today, plays a
crucial role in t he day -to-day functioning of the cou ntry: from the standpoint of labour; from the standpoint
of immigration; from the standpoint of births, deaths,
marriages, families; from the standpoint of commerce. With the Internet world it is quite apparent that that
particular part of the Ministry has exploded in impor-tance just in, perhaps, a very short period of time.
So this is a Ministry that one might argue is a
small budget compared to some of the other more
weighty, larger ministries, and [with] its budget of
$18,704,000 it actually has a broad impact on the day -
to-day family, commercial, and regular life of the country.
And it was extremely, I think, poignant that the
Junior Minister, the Honourable Member who sits on the other side who presented the Minister’s budget
who sits in constituency 7, that he opened with a
line—and if you will allow me to read, Mr. Chairman, —
of his brief, he opened with a line, We find ourselves in challenging times with immigration and labour . And
I believe that that is a very tru e statement because
this particular Ministry does have a crucial impact on
both of those areas.
And one might basically say, Well, it is all
about immigration, but it is not. There are other areas
that this Ministry has responsibility for which are cr ucial to the running of the country. But I am sure there
will be plenty to say over the next few hours or so that we have available.
Mr. Chairman, can you just let me know how
much time we have at the moment for this debate?

Just under two hours. I will
thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Just to sort of recap, because the Junior Mi nister did start some time ago, so, perhaps, the listening audience has forgotten some of the earlier com-mentary of the Junior Minister on the expenditure of
this particular Ministry of Home Affairs, page B -298,
with . . . I am sorry, page B -297, and the expenditure
is $18,704,000 (which is about 2 per cent of the Government Budget) has a projected revenue of around
$24,208,000 (which is around 2 per cent of revenue.
There is a capital expenditure of $3,906,000 (which is
about 1 per cent of the capital expenditure) and has
an employee complement of around 138 persons
(which is about 3 per cent of Government employees).
So that is the picture that we have of this particular . . . of its overall impact to the overall Gover nment Budget.
From the standpoint of the three departments
that I will seek to address and present a perspective on—the Ministry Headquarters budget was
$4,562,000, a decrease of around $389,000; Immigr ation’s expenditure budget [was] $4,633,000, with a
$158,000 increase of around 4 per cent; and the Registry General which is $1,750,000, with a decrease of
around $90,000, or 5 per cent.
As it rela tes to looking at the programme centres that were looked at by the Junior Minister, I have
some observations and questions that I hope will be
able to be answered during this budget [debate], Mr. Chairman.
Going first to page B -299, Programme Centre
[line item] 9301, [cost centre] 10300 Administration,
expenditure on that particular administration decreases around $345,000 and that is 6 per cent. I
think the Minister did mention what was responsible
for that decrease, but perhaps he can mention it again
when he has the opportunity. I would be interested as
to what was responsible for that particular decrease.
Looking at Consumer Affairs, [cost centre]
103010, and the expenditure with that particular area,
there was no discussion about . . . because that particular department deals with, certainly, an important
890 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly role of consumer protection, monitoring the marketplace for products and, where necessary, managing
the situation so that if there are any product defects or
product recalls required they would move f orward with
orchestrating them and relying on the work done in
other jurisdictions, Mr. Chairman, such as the United
States, Canada, Europe and globally as to monitoring
the situation, so that products that do come to Bermuda (because we are a consumer soc iety, we are
not a manufacturer of anything significant) so we must . . . our citizenry are exposed to many things that
come from all over the world.
And it is appropriate to have a department
that will monitor the global environment for anything that happened because, as was stated by the Junior Minister, [with] some products we have there is a lot of
transfer where you might have a component that is
built in India, China, Bangladesh, Singapore, and they
are all assembled in one place. Those places have
different standards of compliance with manufacturing.
And so you could find that one component is of a
much higher quality than the other. And that is a diff icult environment to manage. Certainly, the average consumer, Mr. Chairman, cannot be expected to nav igate that particular environment in the global product
environment in which we operate. Perhaps years ago,
you know, there was a time when everything came off the boat from England or perhaps just across the
pond there, but that is no longer the world we live in.
So that particular department plays a crucial
role, Mr. Chairman, in ensuring that there is appropr iate supervision of products that do come to our Island, whether it be food products, whether it be manufac-tured products, or perhaps even working with the
Health Department when it comes to drugs and medications —all that is what goes on. You know, though
we may buy a bottle of aspirin from a well -known
American company, that particular aspirin is probably
made in India or some other jurisdiction where drugs
are made. And, again, we need people to assist us
with monitoring that environment.
But I would be interested to know what expenditure that department expends on that particular
activity and of the actual research and actual effort at
monitoring. It is obviously an enormous task and
probably takes up a considerable amount of time and energy and money. So I would be interested to know,
from the standpoint of Consumer Affairs, what they
are spending on that particular activity. I did not hear
the J unior Minister mention that specific information,
but it would helpful I think if it could be revealed.
Moving on further to page B -299, Mr. Chai rman, under Subjective Analysis of Current Account
Estimates, looking at Salaries, there was a decrease
of around $78,000 —this is Head 93, the Ministry
Headquarters. I would be curious to know and I do not
know, again, the Honourable Junior Minister started
some time ago and I do not remember hearing these
figures, but as to what that $78,000 represented for the Ministry. Did they have a reduction in staff? Did
they have some sort of change in the complement of
their staff for whatever reason, whether it was mandatory retirement, firing or whatever, as to that $78,000
reduction?
It is noted also on the next line i tem, Mr.
Chairman, that Training for the Ministry was reduced
by $3,000. I would be interested to know what this
means in reference to training. Now, did this mean
just a particular training programme that was allocated
last year, Mr. Chairman, was discont inued, or does it
mean that they just decided to cut the budget in that
area? I am always concerned about training, Mr.
Chairman, because I think it is crucial that our people
who work in Government are up to date in all their
areas of responsibility. Good employers make sure
that people are experiencing consistent training. So
we see the $3,000 [decrease], around 21 per cent, in
training, so we would like to know why that was. It is
very important.
We all feel, and I am sure you [do too], Mr.
Chairman, be ing that training is something that is
close to your heart, [that we need to] ensure that our
citizenry always have opportunities to train and enhance their skills, you would perhaps like to know that
as well.
Again, in the past we have had concerns
about the training budget within the overall Ministry of
Home Affairs because, as the Minister has been articulating, for many years he has had responsibility
and he has made a lot of changes. These changes
affect the work that people do and their performance. And there has been a somewhat inconsistent increase
of training —money put to training —it has changed
from year to year. So I am very concerned that there is a commitment to training with the change that the
Minister has been articulating over the past few years,
and that staff are generally benefitting.
Let us not forget that the Minister has spoken
much about the laws that he and his Government have changed to make the role of their Ministry and
their department more robust, in his view, more effective, an d to be bringing about the results that he and
his Government —the Honourable Minister —feels are
going to bring the results that all interested persons desire, just as the heightening of the civil penalties
within the immigration framework and other changes
that the Minister has made and announced with the
overall departments under the Ministry. So we would
like to know how the changes in training are impacted.
Under Professional Services, under the same
page B -299, Mr. Chairman, less $146,000, less 7 per
cent. We must say that that appears to be the largest
ticket item, certainly, under the Ministry Headquarters,
[compared to] the previous year, when you look at the
figure of the previous year it was nearly $2 million. So
though there has been a reduction, w e would like to
know what actually are the Professional Services and
from whom the Ministry has been receiving them.


Bermuda House of Assembly Now, we did hear the Junior Minister mention about
legal advice. We are assuming that if that is under
Professional Fees it was outside legal advice. Other
consultancy fees, but the Junior Minister was not very specific on what those consultancies were. And things
related to the Immigration Appeals Tribunal. Now, we
understand that the Appeals Tribunal should have a
sense and a sort of independent flexibility to get its
own legal advice, so we accept that that would be a
necessity for its operation, as it must get legal advice
on its own to guide it in its decisions, and there should
not be conflicting legal advice because, clearly, the
Minist er may find themselves and the Immigration
Department at odds with a decision of the actual Tr ibunal. And the Ministry would be taking its legal advice, we presume, through the Attorney General’s
Chambers.
So it is understandable, but we would like to
have a little more detail as to these Professional Services, which are listed certainly, as I will state again,
the original amount was listed at $1,969,000 though
reduced to $1,823,000. We would like to have a more precise breakdown on those services and who is providing them.
The Junior Minister went into great detail
about the work that is being done with the Bermuda
Economic Development Corporation, which we see
the Grants and Contributions on page C -20, which is
listed, although I am still technically on [ page] B -29,
but the reference to Grants and Contributions is with
that and also the Parish Councils. And it seems as if
the monies —that is $1,220,000— is essentially divided
between the Bermuda Economic Development Corpo-ration and the Parish Councils. I did not hear the Junior Minister say much about the Parish Councils. The
Honourable Member did give considerable amount of
treatment to the Bermuda Economic Development
Corporation, and that is understandable. But the Parish Councils themselves play a crucial role. Every parish has one, there are a number of persons who participate. And we see here that there is an amount of, I
believe, $70,000— if I look and refer to [page] C -20—
is going to the Parish Councils.
Perhaps we could have a little bit more co mmentar y as to what that $70,000, where it goes to,
what it does, how it facilitates the Parish Councils’
operation of all the respective councils. I would like to
sort of have a little more detail on that. And although
perhaps we do not hear that much about the Parish
Councils, you see occasional advertisement of activ ities that they do. I do recall one having a meeting at
the Christ Church in Devonshire where the PATI
Commissioner gave a presentation to the public. But
are there other activities that other Pari sh Councils
have done that this $70,000 is responsible for? We
would like to know what this money goes towards for
the Parish Councils, if they are not just meeting on a
regular basis, because they do not collect any taxes
themselves, they rely on the Government for this grant. So what does this grant go to? And we are assuming that the Government knows why and where
that money is going.
We do note, as it relates to the Bermuda Ec onomic Development Corporation, which receives a considerable grant of $1,150, 000, that it does appear
as if that particular body is certainly value for money
and is playing a crucial role in the effort to give a r estart to our economy and give persons, individuals,
and others the opportunity to fulfil, perhaps, a dream
for themselv es to start a new business, or for those
who, perhaps, have found themselves [unemployed]
an opportunity to take a chance. And the efforts and
work of the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation are to fulfil those aspirations of our citizens. And
that is a good thing.
And we did hear quite a bit from the Honourable Junior Minister on what that particular business is delivering because it is run as a private type of corporation or a quango, whatever you want to call it. And
we heard from the Junior Minist er that business pla nning sessions, seminars, some of which were par tnered with a number of local companies, StreetWise MBA, the vending market seminar of [with] 150 attendees, I think that was maybe one of the sessions, I do
not want to misrepresent what the Junior Minister said
as to the vending. Because we must remember, Mr.
Chairman, that the Vending Act . . . the Pedlars Act, I
should call it, and I do believe it may be called the Vending Act now, was passed sometime last year.
And certainly on this si de of the House, if you
remember, Mr. Speaker, we did raise concerns about the transition this Act would bring. We also note that it was then that the administration of what was the Pedlar’s Act was moved to the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation as a result of this legislation. And
we were concerned that some of the stipulations
might be a little heavy, if I can use that word, or burdensome, perhaps that is a more appropriate word, on some of the people who are regular vendors. And that
people who, f rankly, were using the opportunity to be
a pedlar, if I can still use that word or perhaps I should
more appropriately use “vendor,” may find themselves more challenged to meet the requirements.
Now, whether those concerns have panned
out . . . because that Act, I believe, did not come into
effect until kind of after the summer, I think September
1
st, I do believe. It did not come into effect. So I would
be interested to know, although the Junior Minister
talked very nicely and very informatively about cer tain
seminars that were held, what I am interested in, and I
believe those on this side are interested in, is knowing
around these activities, particularly with the vending
changes, that one—and I only see here that for
2015 —and I am presuming that this ac counts for once
the new Act came into effect, that 29 licences were issued. That is the number I heard from the Junior Minister. Now, I am assuming that accounts for September up until when this Budget was produced. I
892 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly would not think that that number comes from the
whole year going back, it counts from when the new
Act was established. And I would like to know if at that
time there was knowledge by the Ministry or . . . I am
sorry, by the Bermuda Economic Development Corpo-ration, as to the amount of vendors that were out
there.
I do not recall whether there was a system of
registration for pedlars (as they would have been
called), and if there was an effort to make sure that all
of those persons were at least known and could be assisted in whatever way to tr ansition properly, b ecause I, certainly, as many of us know who are in this
Legislature (and I am speaking for both Houses perhaps), people come to us (myself and I am sure you, Mr. Chairman, as a Pembroke parliamentarian) and
want their pedlar’s licence t o be signed. It is a simple
piece of paper; it was not too fancy. And I think that was helpful.
I do not know the system that the BEDC is using now, if they have changed that or not. Maybe that
was prescribed in the legislation, some changes. But I
do beli eve it was a pretty simple system that allowed
for those persons who were [vending], who are not
necessarily people who have master’s degrees or who
are rocket scientists, but they are regular Bermudians
who are just trying to simply make a few dollars. A nd
the way the old system was, at least that component
of it, it was easy for them to come and do what they
had to do and go about their business. There was not
any laborious paperwork. You would come, you just
sign your JP on it and you send them on their way and
they were happy.
I would hope that there has been an effort to
make contact with those persons in an assertive way,
not just have a seminar, because some of these persons may not be comfortable with that sort of interaction.
Mr. Chairman, I think you might perhaps appreciate that considering you and I represent districts
that have a certain constituency of persons who are
not . . . and I am not trying to be prejudicial here, but
they live simple straightforward lives and they are just trying to m ake a dollar. They are trying to take care of
their families, and they are doing what they need to do to do that. And so we should not put in place regimes that make things difficult for them, particularly if they
have not been successful with getting opportunities to
work in other sectors of the economy. If they can get
out there and work on their own behalf make what
monies they are looking to pursue, supply their fam ilies with the needed resources, build a sense of self -
worth, and feel that they have empowered themselves
and their families, that is all we should be trying to
make sure of.
I do appreciate that there is a benefit to kno wing who all these people are and that a registration process under the vending regime is appropriate, irr espective of what people may think about that. B e-cause that means that if you know who people are the
Government can do more to assist them rather than
just being a big brother monitor -type set -up. And we
would hope that this information, as they gather it, as I see . . . and I am happy to be corrected by the Go vernment and the Junior Minister on the 29 [licences]
number.
I did hear the Junior Minister mention a much
more ambitious number for 2016. But I cannot r emember what that was. It was in the hundreds or so, I
do bel ieve. But that there is an effort to make it easy
for these people who are participating in this sort of
activity, comfortable for them to know that the trans ition to the Vending Act is not meant to be burde nsome for them, but it will actually allow the Go vernment to even more so help them be efficient at what
they do.
If the Government knows what the needs of
vendors are, they can make sure . . . maybe they
need to have places where they can set up, like you
find in other jurisdictions. There are places wh ere
vendors can . . . not just places like the Rubber Tree,
perhaps, more can be set up. In fact, this vendor r egime can perhaps be complementary to what we are
trying to do with our tourism product in identifying
homes where persons can [locate] to provid e an authentic experience for our visitors and we can even
advise some of these vendors, Listen, there is huge
tourism traffic at place A, we have a vendor stand
down there, you are on our list, you can go there for
the summer months and do your thing. And they do
not have to look too far to where they might be trying
to peddle their trade, if I can say it.
So I am saying that I do hope that this regime
is being used as a complement and not as a burden (if
I go back to my original point), and I would hope t hat
the Junior Minister can give some assurances, not only to myself, but also to the many people out there
who are participating in this particular activity.
I did note other interesting activities of the
Bermuda Economic Development Corporation with
the letter of credit [LOC] programme, which appears
to be endeavouring to fill a role that is necessary for
small businesspersons who need that assistance especially if they are bringing in goods from overseas or have to work with other providers for their pr oducts,
that this LOC programme, particularly as Customs is
involved, can help them to do what they need to do.
So it is appreciated that these programmes
and the micro- credit programme, which I do believe,
although it was not a big feature in this budget, but
has been working for quite some time giving persons
with small businesses an opportunity to get started
without, perhaps, having the burden of trying to neg otiate with a traditional bank. And we all know, whether
you go for a business loan or for your own consumer
loan or a mortgage, or to support your child’s educ ation, engaging with banks these days is not an easy exercise.


Bermuda House of Assembly And for somebody who is really on the point of
trying to survive, because some of those activities are
just about you trying to acquire something that, hopefully what you already have, but some people need
these opportunities to just survive. They are not even
trying to do anything else. So the micro- credit scheme
certainly has a great history in some less developed
countries. Whatever the effort is here, we do hope that
it is helping those persons to do what they have to do.
So I will move on. I have asked for a few
things, Mr. Chairman, from the Junior Minister around
these areas, but I will move on now from page C -20
about the B ermuda Economic Development Corpor ation and the Parish Councils to page B -300 Head 93,
Revenue Summary.
And there is an item. Just one moment here,
Mr. Chairman, just making sure I am where I need to
be. Yes, I will go to page B -300 and under Revenue
Sourc es, 8288, Work Permit Exemption Fee. And I
see within the Revenue area that the original estimate
was $400,000, and the revised estimate was
$920,000, and the revised estimate for this year for the Ministry is $600,000.
I would be interested to know how many a pplications for exemptions these figures represent. What have they reflected between last year and this
year?

[Mrs. Suzann Roberts -Holshouser, Chairman]

Particularly, last year, what was
the number for last year, Madam Chairman? As I did
not see in the Budget Book the actual number of work
permit exemptions that would have been applied for. Obviously, there is a fee for that and I would be interested to know how many there were. I do not recall
seeing that in the Budget Book. I wi ll stand corrected
and the Junior Minister can put it out to me, but I
would like to know how many exemptions were applied for. And these figures, obviously, this is a rev enue generator for the Ministry, but I would like to know
how many applications there were.
I will move now to page B -301, Madam
Chairman, Performance Measures. And looking at the
measure indicator for the number of Throne Speech
initiatives completed each fiscal year, we see that
there were four. I do not remember the Junior Minister
saying what those actually were. Now, certainly if one
follows what the Ministry has been doing lately they
seem to have brought about movement on some
Throne Speech initiatives that were announced in
previous years. But specifically which Throne Speech
initiatives have been completed? And they forecast a
total outcome of five, so exactly which five is the Mi nistry planning to execute for this calendar year? I
would certainly like to have more clarity on that. Since
there were four last year and now they have five, what
exactly are the five? Joint Overseas Investigations, further down
under Business Unit, page B -301, 10300, under A dministration, Joint Overseas Investigations. I am very
much interested in finding out what was the expenditure on these joint inves tigations and who were they
with? Which agencies overseas —Interpol, FBI,
NCIS —I do not know, whoever? Metropolitan Police in
London, Scotland Yard, you know, whoever. If you could let us know who these agencies were and, since
there are six and there are projected to be the same
amount for this year, exactly who were they with? I think that would be interesting to know so that we can
just have a picture of what is actually happening with
these activities. They are obviously important to the
Ministry doing w hat it does and so we would like to
know what it is all about.
Commercial Development and TV, Radio and
Cinema. What exactly was the cost of this to the Mi nistry? The performance measures does not say how
much money was spent on these things, so you know,
commercial development, TV, radio—that is obviously promotion of some sort that the Ministry was doing.
We have seen some of their recent promotions, but I
will not comment on that. I am just asking what the—

[Inaudible interjection]

I am sure that someone else on
my team will have something to say about those
things. I am trying to be, I am trying to stick to the
numbers and not get too flowery at this point, but I am
sure some of my very able colleagues will get into
some of the meat of the matter around the promotion that the Ministry has gone about of late.
So if I can hear some on that and, of course,
there were public relations presentations and, perhaps, that is also part of the same thing.
Training Programmes. I have mentione d that
earlier. There is always a concern when we see a r eduction in training, as it is revised. The original for ecast was 10, 20 programmes, down to three, and now down to two. Now, there may be a perfectly sensible
explanation for that, Madam Chairman, m aybe certain
programmes that they were running came to a conclusion and they were very valuable programmes, but
they came to an end and they were not continued be-cause the people were finished. But I am always concerned when training takes a dip. We apprec iate the
Government’s fiscal challenges on this side and certain things have to be reduced, but keeping your staff
at its highest performance and educational level, we
believe contributes to efficiencies, contributes to better performance, contributes to good results for the Government, for those whom the Government serve, and
to the credibility of the Government itself when you have good people.
Madam Chairman, I will now move on to I mmigration, Head 27, page B -303. I did hear the Junior
Minister, and thi s was very helpful, perhaps it already
894 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly answers my question as to the Compliance Section,
and going straight to Compliance on page B -303,
[cost centre] 37030, with an original budget of
$1,264,000 with an estimate of increase of $208,000,
or 16 per cent, th at that particular area or operations
division of Immigration is receiving six new personnel.
And that being three, a Supervisory Principal Officer
and, I believe, the Junior Minister said, two other Pri ncipal Officers and also three new Immigration Inspectors.
So, part of that money is going towards that
and we are pleased with that because I must say that, certainly, when I was previously Home Affairs Shadow
and even with my colleague who sits back here to my
left, the Honourable Member who sits in consti tuency 17, we were always very concerned and critical
of what the Government delved in that area of compl iance. We did not feel that their . . . in light of the r obust nature upon which the Minister sought to pr omote the measures of greater enforcement and great
accountability, that that was never . . . it did not appear to be, up to this point, complemented by manpower.
I certainly in 2012 or 2013/14 Budget of which
I would have been the person, as the Shadow, there was no significant change in the complem ent of manpower to match the legislative efforts that the Minister
was putting down. And it did not seem to be the case
for the two consecutive years thereafter —second,
third, or fourth year —but there appears to be now that
the Ministry has been able to, I guess, maybe, twist
the arm of the Finance Minister to give them some
money to get some key people on board.
I still do not think this is enough. I think there
should be more because I can tell you that with my
Honourable Members on this side we get a lot of
complaints, a lot of complaints of what Bermudians seem to be going through with their treatment within
the work environment in Bermuda right now. Persons
who come to us and tell us, I’ve let Immigration know
what’s going on around here, but they don’t seem to
see it when it’s happening. Or when they come, it’s
not going on, or there doesn’t seem to be an effort by
Immigration to stop the things that we’re seeing, whether it be abuse of other workers or nonBermudian workers who may be being persuaded t o
do work outside of their contracted area, thus taking
jobs from Bermudians, or just overall. I am hearing
things about employers just being derogatory and how
they treat Bermudians and how they verbally refer to
Bermudians. This is some of what people ar e subjected to now. I am not suggesting that the Compl iance Officer can see and monitor all of these things,
but the environment since the recession has become
more predatory on the well -being and self -esteem of
many Bermudians in the workplace.
Perhaps th is is a symptom of when you have
a strained economic environment, some employers
just feel that they can get [away with] more things be-cause people are desperate. So they get away with
more of the abuse that they might not get away with
when people have options or people can just tell the
employer, I’ve had enough. I’m not staying around
here and putting up with your nonsense anymore, I’m
gone . That is not happening. As we all know now,
people are having to hold onto the job even if they
hate it, even if th ey are going through abuse, even if
they are not getting the appropriate benefits upon
which their job is worth. So they subject themselves to
a lot. And in some cases where they feel they have been pushed to the edge, the natural place they
should be going is Immigration and in some cases
they do. But the response that we get is that they do
not have any faith in the enforcement, they do not
have any faith that Immigration is going to do anything
about it.
That may have had to do with the dramatic i ncrease in these incidences that the Immigration D epartment was challenged to meet all of them. That can
be accepted. But it has taken Immigration some time
to respond to the situation. And this has always gone on in the work environment in Bermuda. It is just a
question of the degree. So I am not even blaming the
Government for it happening, but it is the response to
it that gives confidence to people in the workplace that
the Government can take some responsibility, Madam
Chairman. And if people do not feel they can go to
those who are responsible for the protection component of the Immigration and Protection Act 1956, they
have nowhere to go and they wallow in hopelessness
because they are experiencing what they feel is an injustice.
Some of the stories I have heard and I will just
relate at least some details of one or two where pe ople even feel that businesses are using them as a way
to get non- Bermudians in here. They will employ a
Bermudian for a period of time, you know, to just e ntertain the process. Then t hey will find a reason to get
rid of the Bermudian, because they just don’t fit . What
does that mean? What does that mean? I am not sure
what that means; somebody can explain it to me.
What does that mean?
This is the area of Immigration—the Compl iance Section —which should be the ones who are
creating an environment where an employer will think
[twice] about finding themselves in a situation where
they are using Bermudians to exploit or to get opportunities that they want to give somebody else. And a
Bermu dian who goes through that should feel comfortable with going to the department, having a conversation with an Investigative Officer to tell them
what they see is going on, which allows the Immigr ation Department to build up the data and resources on
that particular employer and to ultimately take some
action. It may not happen with the one report, but maybe if two or three reports come along, Madam Chairman, that gives the Immigration Office the power
to act and act swiftly. Right?


Bermuda House of Assembly So we understand these things do not necessarily happen in the immediate, but if people do not
feel that they can come to the department and report
these things, then it is almost like nothing has ha ppened and then all we hear is that well, they spoke to
the Officer and they did not feel that anything was going to be done. And that is the sort of thing that we
hear.
So I say that to say thank you to the depar tment for adding a complement of other officers who
can, perhaps, help with this process and will be out
there in the fiel d. And I do hope that this is not just
going to be focusing on smaller, less robust bus inesses in the country that they will be chasing around
trying to figure out what they are doing. But there are
some large companies in this country that are doing
the s ame thing, some very wealthy, well -resourced
companies that are committing these sorts of infractions.
As I said, I am aware that the Minister has
given the Chief Immigration Officer powers through
legislation to act in a way without, perhaps, getting caught up in the bureaucracy of it, to act where there
is clear evidence of infraction. And we do hope . . .
and it appears as if that is being deployed. But
whether it is getting to the heart of the matter, I am not
so sure because the reports that myself and my co lleagues are getting, there still are people going
through a lot out there as Bermudians and being demeaned and being abused as Bermudians in the
workplace.
Now, let me make it clear, No abuse in the
workplace to any Bermudian or contract worker or
anybody is acceptable in this country. Anyone who
[commits] that level of infraction, I do not care who it is
or who they are doing it to, the full extent of the law
should be brought down on them, with no exceptions.
And we should be naming and shaming som e of these
people who have repeated infractions because they should not be able to get work permits. It should be known that they are not an employer of choice in this
country because they abuse Bermudians and non -
Bermudians.
That is the environment we should have here
because in some other countries there are situations
where even the largest corporations could find themselves, potentially, in situations where they could have
the Government on them, and they get scared. They
get real scared because there are ways that the Go vernment can inflict serious reputational damage to them if it is revealed that they are not a good employer, whether it be in racial matters, whether it be in
gender matters, whether it be in providing appropriate
benefits to people, yo u know.
That is how it should be here, but it is not. And
I am not blaming the current Government; this is an
environment that has existed in Bermuda for a long
time. If I can just reflect, I remember reading about the
early 1960s, a few years just after the Act was even passed, there was a House Committee called the
Plowman Committee that was convened to look at
problems of Bermudians and Bermudian employment
in the workforce over non- Bermudians. And that was
just a few years after the 1956 Act was passed and
that Act has been in place since then. So this is not an easy target to hit, even back then when some of the
challenges we are experiencing now with labour, we
were not experiencing, although there were some
other problems, clearly.
But Immigration is not easy. It is a challenging
area. And managing and balancing the issues in the workforce and dealing with them is not easy for any
government. It certainly is not easy when you are in a
strained economic environment like we are experiencing now. So I am not asking the Government to be the
cure- all, but I do hope that they deploy the resources
that they have committed, they keep to the promise they said that they were going to be tougher, because
of the environment that is going on. And that is important.
So, it is good that these new officers have
been employed and will be deployed. But I think that they may need to look at more and that they just do
not look at the construction companies and the little
small businesses for these infractions, that they al so
keep an eye on some of the big international companies and other well -resourced companies in this country because I hear reports on them as well from staff there that it is not all rosy just because they have nice
compensation packages, or at least bett er than maybe
some others in the country. We will be watching, that
is all I can say on that for the time being.
Now, to move on further to page B -304 in I mmigration, Head 27; 8275, Entry Clearance. I did hear the Junior Minister say that . . . I am trying to reme mber what he said about this as a revenue item,
whether this was attached with the Ministry or som ething about how this has become a revenue item.
Anyway I am sure the Junior Minister will clarify for
me. It is on page B -304— oh, this is now a Compl iance
Revenue item, I believe the Junior Minister may have
said. Entry Clearance Fee and whatever that fee is and there is an amount of $77,000, down from
$85,000, $8,000, 9 per cent, something about how
this is now a Compliance Revenue item. And perhaps
the Minister can clear that up later, on page B -304.
I am interested also in finding out if there is
still the existence of the Immigration Hotline. I did not hear the Junior Minister talk about that or anything
about it. I would like to know because that is another
tool that can be used by the average person out there,
and I certainly used to refer people to it to tell them to,
if they have a concern, that I would take it and see
what I could do about it, but the department says that it takes what they rec eive on that line seriously, so call
the number.
I have not had to refer anybody recently to the
number, but I did not hear anything from the Junior
896 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Minister about it as to how many calls it receives, what
actions were taken, you know, this is important to
know. I think it is [important for] the people to know
that action is being taken because some of the people
out there who, for whatever reason, based on the ex-perience that I have explained earlier, there is a sense
of fear. And this is a mechanism that at least, just like
Crime Stoppers has their number, that they can at
least [explain] what they are experiencing and the
Immigration Department can take a look.
I did not hear anything about that number and
I would like to know, and we on this side would l ike to
know, how many calls were received, how many calls
perhaps did they action and how many calls did they
find were genuine cases? Because I think it is impor-tant through this debate that we send a message to
the public that for whatever reason there are some
things that the department is doing to help. And if
somebody has phoned that line and maybe has not
heard anything from, you know, has not seen any
change in their work environment, that is how they
lose faith, particularly if they feel that, Well, I phoned
the Immigration Hotline as Joe Blow told me and I
didn’t see anything happen, so I’m not going to do that
again. I’m not going to worry about Immigration anymore. They’re not helping me out . So I think that tools
like that are helpful, just as they are with crime, they do play a role with helping people to off -load and believe that they are getting help. And they should be getting help if they call that line. Obviously, it is done
anonymously, but if persons call the line and maybe a
week later they see an Immigration Officer turn up at
their place of business, or even it may be happening to a family member, then okay. You know, there is a
sense of satisfaction that something is being done. So
if the Junior Minister can give some information on
that that would be great.
Madam Chairman, moving now to page B -306
under [cost centre] 37010, Corporate Services, it is
stated that, under the number of work permits processed, that it is projected to be 5,163. I do not know,
did the Junior Minister say how m uch that represented
in revenue? Perhaps it is here, maybe I have missed it
in here, but how much revenue is represented by that
number. And it would be interesting to know why such
a high number was forecast for 2015, 5,427, and what did that represent in projected revenue? The revised
cast number, it seems that for the same year it ended
up being only 4,694. So that was a shortfall of like 700
applications. And let us presume that your revenue
projections are attached to the number that you pu blished, but you get a less number, that clearly affects
the revenue. So if the Junior Minister can explain such
a difference in number and how that affected the
revenue projections.
There is an item here which is listed as a new
measure, on the same page B -306, Letter of Permi ssion. I am not quite sure what that is, Madam Chai rman. Letter of Permission — The Chairman: Is that still under the [cost centre]
37010?

And I would be interested to
know what those letters are usually for. Permission for
what? And there are quite a number here projected,
certainly, that were done in 2015, and 935 for the target outcome. What is exactly are these letters of permission for? What sort of activity?
And I am going to go down to the next line of
the number of the civil penalties. Now, this is a measure that came out of the Immigration legislative changes that the Minister made to bump up the overall enforcement resources and activity of the Depar tment of Immigration. Now, the Junior Minister mentioned $120,000. I would like if the Junior Minister
could . . . because I did not hear and you may have
done this, Junior Minister, so I apologise if I cannot
remember what that number represented, but the
$125,000, is that the amount of fines that have been
accumulated since this measure has been deployed?
And I see that there is a projection of 20 . . . well, it
was revised for the last year and it is 22 for this year.
If you could say the type, the nature of the actual infractions, what types they were? I think the public would like to know what is going on. And I am not
criticising the Junior Minister for not giving that detail, but I am aski ng that perhaps if they could give some
. . . I am not telling you to give away any sensitive
case information, but what types of actions brought
about these civil penalties? What types of actions? Is
it just misleading information on a work permit applic ation? Is it somebody who was working outside of their
permit contract? Is it somebody who was staying over here illegally and then was working? You know, what
are the types of things that are bringing about these
civil penalties? And also, what types of co mpanies
seem to be the biggest culprits of these civil pena lties? What types of companies? I think that inform ation would be helpful for the Junior Minister to share.
Going down the page, Madam Chairman, how
much more . . . what time is it now?
The Chairm an: It is 4:57 right now.

Okay. All right.
Going further down the page, Madam Chai rman—actually no, I would like to mention something else because this is an issue of concern that was
brought to my attention and I do not want to go out
now without actually talking about it. And it goes back
to the issue of the letters of permission. I do not know what the new policy is, but as I remember, and I will
declare my interest, I did once work for the Immigr aBermuda House of Assembly tion Department in a previous life many years ago
when I was less grey, and I was an officer and I was
involved in many aspects of the department’s activ ities because of what I was employed to do. But I do
recall the policy in reference to persons who wanted
to be released, if they were here on a work permit and
they were, for whatever circumstances, they needed
to get another job during the three- year period upon
which the permit existed and they had to get a letter of
permission. I am going to assume— yes, a letter of
release, from the employer. Even if they made the request to Immigration, it was usually that they had to
get a release from the employer, which then they
could then get their permission from Immigration to
seek and then, ultimately, get employed.
I have had people come to me who are co ncerned, and I am going to mention one particular inst itution of which concern has been expressed to me in
a particular industry, and that is in the medical industry. I have been made aware by a number of persons
that there is a concern that the Immigration Depar tment is being too flexible with allowing nurses and
other medical staff to be released from the hospital,
then to find a job quite easily with a local doctor’s office or another medical practice of sorts. And that
there are persons who ar e concerned about this because if these are persons who are employed by the BHB to come here and provide nursing services within our public hospital, they are finding other juicy opportunities elsewhere and then leaving the hospital and
going to work for a private practice.
Thus the investment that the public hospital
and all that $150- or-something million, $220 million,
that the Bermuda Government and taxpayers have
invested in trying to show that we have the appropr iate complement of medical staff. And we know that
nurses, in particular, are in demand globally so we are competing on a global market when it comes to these
sort of staff. They are coming here, getting released
quite easily by Immigration, and finding their way to some cushy practice down in P aget. And there are a
lot of doctors who are in Paget, so I am not implying
any particular doctor or any particular practice, all over
Point Finger Road, The Lane—I am not talking about any particular doctor.
But this is the environment that is being
broug ht to my attention by Bermudian members of the
medical community who feel that Bermudian nurses are not getting those opportunities because when they
go and try to get an opportunity, they are stopped at
the door. I am just sharing what they are bringing t o
me. I am not . . . you know, and they are bringing this
information to me. I am sharing it here because they
are saying that they have an issue with why the Imm igration Department is releasing these nurses, non -
Bermudian nurses, from the BHB who have com e
here to work in our system and should, at least, be
required to fulfil their full contract time with the hospital
to all of our benefit. And Bermudian nurses who are experienced and want the same opportunities cannot
get them in the same marketplace. The y are co ncerned about that. And, frankly, I do have a problem if
the Immigration Department is being quite flexible with
releasing these non- Bermudian nurses.
I have a problem with that. I do, because ha ving been a former Health Minister I appreciate the i nvestment that our public health system makes in bringing people here to work for us. It is an expensive
venture, trying to get good people here who can give all of our residents good care. And if people are then dipping off and finding a cushy opportunity with a pr ivate practice and leaving what they have really been
brought here for, I can understand why some of our
Bermudian nurses who have worked hard, who want
the same opportunities within their profession as ev erybody else gets, have a problem with th at. So I am
putting it out there so that the Immigration Department can look into or perhaps they need to maybe change
up a bit on this and, you know, this practice that has
got some of our local Bermudian nurses not too happy, they can address, because I respect anybody
who is working in that profession.
Because for us to be a jurisdiction that can
provide quality medical care, that is a part of the attraction that keeps us in business in other areas of
business. If we had a shabby hospital, international business would not be looking at us. So, the fact that
we have maintained a comparable level of care and
quality care for all these decades that that area of
business has grown in Bermuda means that we are
doing something right. It is not perfect. Of cours e
there are problems, but comparable to, you know, we
are not a Johns Hopkins or a Partners or a Brigham
and Women’s —we are not —we are a community
hospital for a 22 square mile Island. We are not servicing 100,000 or a million people; we are serving
65,000, so we only need to be able to manage that.
But we should do it as best we can and we should . . .
yes, despite being that small, competing globally is
the reality for us.
But when we get them here, we should not be
so easy to let them go. Because the fact that we got
that one nurse from India, or Australia, or Jamaica, or
Trinidad where a whole lot of qualities, medical or
nurses and doctors, from like the West Indies, from Africa, from India . . . a lot of those are the people who
are servicing, that is where the medical talent globally
is coming from. All right? And we are trying to get
them here to help us. We should not give up that talent easily for the private sector.
I just do not believe it. I think we should be a
little bit more stringent and know that you are going to
serve your three years, or whatever it is, you have
been contracted for. And then if an option comes up at the end, then maybe we will let you go. But you are
here to service the Bermuda public. If you are only
servicing doctor “A” who is on Point Finger Road, you
are only servicing about maybe 100, or maybe 150,
898 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly maybe a couple hundred people. When you are here,
you are servicing thousands and you are part of the
national interest, you are part of what keeps Bermuda
in the business of being a quality jurisdiction of choice.
So, we should be a little more stringent and
some people may think that is wrong, that we should have a higher threshold for those that we contract into
public services for [their] life- giving expertise or [their]
live-preserving expertise. No, I think we should have a
higher standard for them because it is about the lives
of all of us. That is what I will say on that. But I hope the Immigration Department looks at that and does
something about it.
I have already asked the question about the
civil penalties.
I am interested. Again, I am not sure if the
Junior Minister said anything about this, the permi ssions to acquire land, which is on the same page just above Status, on page B -306. What is the revenue
specificall y earned from these types of applications?
And what is the average sort of fee for these types of
applications? Is it different, you know, is there a particular scale? Is it in reference to . . . obviously, there
are people who acquire the properties in pl aces like
Tucker’s Town. But there are also people who acquire (because there is a permission now to acquire) co ndominiums that are all over the Island. Are there di fferent scales of fee for that? Because that is also a very important part of our Immigrati on framework, is
the protection and preservation of our land assets and
how we allow the purchase of them.
As we see what the numbers are, which are of
some concern, but I am not going to get too detailed
about that, but there certainly is the appearance t hat
near half of our, sort of residential land base, is now
owned by non- Bermudians, a considerable amount of
it. And I would argue that that, perhaps, is a higher percentage than you find in a number of countries.
Now we are 22 square miles, so what we do going
forward around the issues of acquiring land, I think, are going to have to be more stringent. I myself am for
us going to a much more disciplined and restrictive
policy.
Some people may think this is a little bit crazy
and economically might not ma ke sense, but places
like Singapore do not allow freehold to be owned by foreigners. They do not allow it. Not only that, Singapore’s government has made sure that around 80 per
cent of their citizens (Singapore’s citizens) have
houses. It is up in the 80 percentile. They make sure
that their people are housed. At the same time, they are doing a lot better than us with attracting business and attracting capital in, and they have a very restri ctive land policy.
Now, that is something that we should think
about because Singapore, though a bigger jurisdi ction, Madam Chairman, has to manage its land r esources as carefully as anybody else because it is like a city state, so how they manage their land and r e-sources is no different from the issues that we face.
But they are very restrictive and more restrictive than
we are. And as we go forward, if we are serious . . .
and I put that question there. If we are serious about
ensuring that future generations have an opportunity in this country to pursue land opportuni ties, despite
what this Government may believe, that should be at
the top of the priority list. And having more restrictive
policies within the Immigration framework around acquiring land does not need to be an economic problem for us. Because when you see other countries are
doing very well not selling their land off to persons, to
billionaires, and to others. They have other ways in
which people can acquire and hold land, but it does
not mean selling it off, and we should look at that.
I know in the past there have been some challenges made to the efforts by the Government to try and listen, people had a problem with that, trying to
restrict, because it was not clear, from the resources
that we had, who was holding what. And in our view
on this side we sti ll have not completely sorted that
out.
I do not think that even though we have things
like the Land Title Registry, which I believe is in the
works, started under the Progressive Labour Party
and continued. And I am not in any way being critical
of the current Government for not implementing because that is a very delicate tool, and once it is act ivated it is going to transform how landholding is perceived in the country. So, you had to take your time.
So even if it took a few more years to get it a little bit
more right, that is fine. You know, we started that pr oject from the very beginning and it took time to sort of
get it in a place where even testing it on the Gover nment land bank, so that we would have a system, be-cause as we have seen in other juris dictions, these
sort of land title registries transform how land is held, how land is used as an asset. It transforms the whole
relationship that people have with land. And hopefully it stops some of the infringements that we have
sought to [curtail] on th is side.
So, I speak a little bit about this issue of acquiring land because it is a serious issue. And how we manage doing that. I respect the right of those who
have private property to make money from it. I have no problem with that. And I think that all Bermudians,
whether you are a big landholder or a small landholder, your aspirations around land in Bermuda
should be fulfilled. There is a long tradition of property
and how property is handled in Bermuda going back
to the very beginning. And many fami lies have developed themselves and prospered and been able to acquire quality lives through land, and that should continue. I am not talking about anything that restrains
that opportunity. I am talking about how we protect
beyond, you know, when I am in the grave and
chippo’s has come and got my body and put it in the
ground. I am talking about beyond that.


Bermuda House of Assembly You know, what are we going to have avai lable for our citizens after that, so that they will be able
to come back to Bermuda if they are away, or if they
are here and they are looking to develop themselves and they can acquire something to build and have
their piece of the rock? We have got to ensure that
that is the case and not feel that we have to sell off
those assets just to get ourselves out of a hole b ecause I do not believe that that is the case. And other
jurisdictions can show us the way if we choose.
Moving down the page, Madam Chairman,
Status Applications, 19. There is a list of the amount
of status applications which have been acquired, and
naturalisation [applications]. I am interested in kno wing, do all of these numbers represent applications
that have been completed? Are any parts of these
numbers pending applications? If the Junior Minister can answer, what is actually the fee structure f or
these applications?
I remember years ago they were quite high.
But I am interested in knowing if you are making ap-plication under section 19 or section 20, certainly back in the day when we had section 21 to do with discr etionary grants (that was quite a pricey application), but
what is now the fee that is deployed for these current situations?
And certainly what is the fee right now for the
[section] 20B(2)(b) application? If the Minister can let me know that, and also, specifically, how much rev enue has been acquired from the [section] 20B(2)(b)
applications which are a very recent avenue for ac-quiring Bermuda status. And we heard some report
about that about what is going on. Fine. I am interested in knowing.
This is the Budget Debate. I am not goin g to
get into . . . perhaps some of my other colleagues will,
about the rationale behind that. I am interested in knowing what has been the revenue impact of [section
20]B(2)(b) to this point. And also—

[Inaudible interjection]

Okay. I will not be much longer.
On page B -307, Business Unit/Professional
Services, there is a number of 510 for status register
entries. How many of these for the year 2015/16, how
many of these are specifically associated with births
and wi th grants? I would be interested to know from
the Junior Minister how many of these . . . because
certainly when children are born, presumably, here or abroad, who are Bermudian, their parents register
them. How many of those have come in? And also the
grants, how many have actually come on the registry
for grants? I would be interested to know what that
number is.
Under the average processing time, grant of
Bermuda status on the same page, Commonwealth
Citizen. How many were actually received? And what
were the fees for these particular applications? Now,
maybe that has already been said, but that is fine. I would like the Junior Minister to just reacquaint us with that.
Under the average processing time for grants
of Bermuda status, how many . . . now as I said,
maybe the Junior Minister already reported this, I do
not recall, or it is somewhere in the budget here, I do
not remember seeing the numbers, average proces sing time for grants of Bermuda status for Commonwealth Citizens and non- Commonwealth Citi zens, I
have the same questions. How many applications
were received? And what were the fees for these ap-plications?
Under page B -28, Business Unit/Professional
Services, the average processing time for the grant of
a permanent residency certificate, how much revenue
was earned in the last fiscal year from these applic ations? I would like to know that as well.
Under the number of investigations, we had a
revised number for 2015, Madam Chairman, of 587
down from the original of 868. Who or what were the
subjects of these investigations? Were they individuals or companies? I would like to know if we can have
some . . . and even if it is just a percentage breakdown, how many were companies and how many
were individuals? You do not have to give me any
hard num ber. I am not asking for any details of what
those investigations were, but what percentage of
those investigations for the year were people over
companies? I would like to know that.
Under the number of deportations, we have a
revised number of three dow n from the original for ecast, Madam Chairman. What was the cost of each of those deportations? I mean, I know that there is a cost attached to them because it means airline tickets, potentially hotels, transfers, all types of stuff. How much
is the departm ent spending now on these deport ations? That is not . . . the Junior Minister did not reflect
on that, perhaps I could have some information on
that.
Now, I am also . . . and I am going to really
end here, Madam Chairman, because I want other people to ha ve an opportunity to get into the debate. I
am not ignoring the . . . I may have a few questions
about the Intellectual Property Registry, but I am go-ing to really begin to wind up my questions and my efforts on the Labour/Home Affairs.
On page A -10 what accounts for a large capital outlay under the Ministry of Home Affairs is at the beginning of the Budget Book. I was surprised to find
900 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Capital . . . and maybe I just have not looked before,
but I was surprised to find this information at the beginning of the Budget Book. Maybe I just missed it
over the years, but I usually do not miss these things.
Yes, Summary of Department Capital Expenditure, page A -10. I thought all these capital things
were at the back before. It seems like they have
changed a bit of i t. I do not know, maybe the Finance
Minister can tell us about that later. But there was u nder the Immigration Department an outlay of some
$396,000 for this year and that has been increasing steadily since 2014. Perhaps it can be explained what
that is ac tually for. Why is all this money being spent
as a capital outlay. Because it is not on . . . you are
not, you know, it is like capital. So it has got to be on
something physical —computer systems, renovations,
you know, repairs. I do not know. I would be i nterested to know why this figure has steadily increased.
Because $396,000 is a lot of money, so I would like to
know [about] that particular figure.
Now, going to a few questions about the Registry General, I am particularly interested in finding out
as to what is happening with some aspects of intellectual property. I did hear the Junior Minister mention
that there were around 9,000 registered domains with
our Intellectual Property Department, Madam Chai rman. But as it relates to revenue, and I know that it
was only last year that the fee has been [enacted], so I am not suggesting any . . . but I am curious as to
what percentage of those domains, because we have
9,000, what percentage of those domain registers are
actually paying a fee now?
The figure that I recognise in the Budget Book
does not seem to correspond. It does not look like all 9,000 are paying at the moment, but what effort is being made to make them pay? Because 9,000 is quite
a bit. Maybe it is not that much from a global standpoint, but as we heard from the Junior Minister,
Madam Chairman, other jurisdictions have been very
successful with marketing their domains, islands that
are not too much bigger than us. You know, Antigua,
is not much bigger than Bermuda from the standpoint
of populat ion, and they are being successful in this
area.
So there was a mention by the Junior Minister
of an intent on a couple of things around this intellec-tual property matter, because I do recall my honourable friend from constituency 17 getting up last year
and saying how this $60 fee was prohibitive and noncompetitive from the Honourable Member’s exper ience. And at $60 for a domain, when there are other places in the world where a domain can be received, Madam Chairman, for a much lower price, this $60,
coming from a standpoint of being free, seemed to be
prohibitive if we were looking to internationalise our
domain name business under intellectual property.
I would be interested to know (as I have
asked), of the 9,000— if that is a correct number —
what percentage are paying? Also the Junior Minister mentioned a marketing plan to internationalise the .bm. Has money in this Budget been committed to that? And if so, what is that
figure? I am assuming, if the Government has mentioned it, it is something they are going to do. And they must have, if they put it in this Budget Statement, then
they must be planning to do it over the next calendar
year. If not, then the Junior Minister can just tell us.
But having mentioned it and mentioning that there is
an intent to internationalise and market the .bm as an
international domain, or in the international domain
world, what is the Government . . . you know, what
has been the commitment? As I said before, the percentage of those domains on the register, how many
have actu ally paid?
And also the other thing is that there was a
mention by the Junior Minister of the Bermuda Pat-ents and Designs Act being seriously out of date at
the moment and it is not modernised for the current
intellectual property and environment. Bearing that in
mind, because again, if they have mentioned that, one
has to assume that it is their intent to modernise it, is this going to be a project that the current Government
is going to pursue now in this calendar year? Is it going to be done within the A ttorney General’s Chambers or is it going to be contracted out to specialist
consultants who have a specialised background in
intellectual property?
In a previous life when I worked in the legal
profession, I actually did trademarking and other
things on a modern level. I am not suggesting I am
some expert, but I did some of that work for a firm that
I worked for. So it is an interest of mine and there certainly is business [for this] because some of the things
I was doing were not actually for Bermudians, it was
for international people who were contracting our firm
to register their patent or register their trademarks. So there is a business there and I know that there are
some other law firms in the country that do make quite a bit of money doing this wor k.
So the modernisation process is certainly a
good intention. I just wanted to know what specifically the Government’s intention is from a fiscal standpoint
for this calendar year around that.
With that said, Madam Chairman, I will conclude my presentation and open the floor up to an yone else who wishes to take a stab.
Thank you very much, Madam Chairman.

It jus t seems very inefficient that
even today we still have a requirement for a Gover nment department to actually approve of domain name
registrations. That is an inhibitor on business deve lopment. And I know there have been at least two occasions in the past 12 months where having been
faced with delays through this Ministry, I just went and
registered a .com domain name for a Bermudian- type
entity.
So, I think if the Government is serious about
generating revenue, having efficiency in streamlining, then there would be some very serious consideration
given to that aspect.
Now, my more substantive questions, which
may come as a surprise to you, Madam Chairman,
relate to the Department of Immigration. I note,
Madam Chairman, if you look at page B -303 . . . I
want to just focus on the relevant heads there, but
particularly as they relate to compliance.
I note with satisfaction that the Government
has increased the allocation of funds for Compliance.
This was an issue last year, so I am happy to see a dditional funds are being allocated. I would like to know
what the allocation is for. Is it for the expedition of the
checks on status applications? Or is it for the checking
on the conditions of employment that so many employees face in the domestic arena that, to date, have
not been thoroughly investigated? I have said in this same spot before there is a
serious issue of abuse of domestic workers in Ber-muda. The substantive Minister said at one point that
there were inadequate resources to properly invest igate and asses s.
So I see there is additional funding for it. I am
hoping that these funds will check into that.
It just so happens in the past six weeks I
have talked to two individuals who have worked as domestics in Bermuda. One is now back in the UK.
She worked in Tucker’s Town, and she was saying
that her employer would routinely forget to pay her.
She was lulled to come to Bermuda because it was
Bermuda. She worked for celebrities as a nanny, but
she found Bermuda very compelling. But her employer would forget to pay her.
I met a young individual who worked as a domestic and she said the same thing. She is still in Bermuda but she is still trying to get her previous employer to pay her. And the problem is that these people who work as domestics have no voice.
So, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the D epartment of Immigration have to more seriously ad-dress these issues. The money has been allocated, I
hope, for Compliance, so I am hoping that that will be
properly addressed because that is an issue of ser ious contention, but the Government seems not to
have devoted much attention to it to date.
If you look Madam Chairman, on page B -305,
you will see that the number of people who have been
imposed a civil penalty was 22. If you look at the
amount of revenue that was raised from civil pena lties, it was about $80,000. So are we saying that on
average the penalty for violating the immigration policy is $4,000?
I hope the Junior Minister is paying attention
so he can answer these questions later. But it seems to me that we have people who are breaking the law,
not compliant, and the penalty seems to be relatively
low so it can be dismissed as a cost of doing bus iness, because $4,000 on average is insufficient.
I am also struck that we continue to have pr imarily civil pen alties in place for clear breaches of law
and I would think, and I would hope that at some
point, the Government would consider actual criminal
penalties for wilful violators of these immigration pol icies.
Last week when we spoke about another matter invol ving immigration, I asserted that fronting has
been a significant issue in Bermuda and that it is r elated to those people who have applied for Bermuda status and that in any proper investigation I want to know if anyone had been identified as having been
involved in fronting. The Junior Minister dismissed it
as a fantasy, a figment of one’s imagination. I expect
the Attorney General finds this a matter of humour as
well. But the fact, Madam Chairman, is that there was
a lawyer who worked in the Department of Immigr a902 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly tion who had compiled a file on those who were i nvolved in fronting. And we know —

And so I want to know where that
file is. Has it disappeared? If it has disappeared,
would the Junior Minister be happy in having assi stance in locating i t? Because I can contact the person
who actually put the file together. I want to know if there is any correlation between that and the Bermuda
status applications. This is a matter of compliance.
It is astonishing. It is a statistical improbability
that of the 360 applications for status, which have
been received and approved, roughly, there has not been one refusal. On every other issue of Bermuda
status application, other than from the PRC, you see
one, two or three refusals because there are issues
with those applications. I find it amazing that there is
not one. And so I want to know who was doing the
compliance testing? Was it the accounting firm? Or
was it staff? I know we have very capable staff at the
Ministry of Home Affairs and the Department of Immigration. I just want answers to those questions.
Also, Madam Chairman, we looked at the i ssue of Communication, if you look at page B -304,
Communications, there is an allocation there. Communications is very important. How one delivers a
message is critically important. And we need to know
that we are getting good value for the amount of
money that is being spent on communication. And last
week I saw a campaign undertaken by this Ministry
that boggles the mind. And there is a difference between communication, between that and propaganda,
Madam Chairman. And I saw an attempt by the Go vernment —

It is about the efficacy of funding
if we are getting really value for the money we are
spending. Because the issue of Bermuda status and PRCs is a very sensitive one it is important for Government to convey information accurately and reliably.
And so when you have information that falls far from that standard, I question whether we are properly
spending public funds. Because the campaign that we
saw had a face to it that is inconsistent with the actual
pool of people who will be beneficiaries of Gover nment’s intended legislation.

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: How so?

How so?
And the Junior Minister asked with a straight
face, so let us explain how so.
If you look at the demographic makeup of the
beneficiaries of this, for example, if you look at it in terms of the racial makeup or gender makeup, it is
73 per cent white, it is slightly more male than female.
But if you look at the communications campaign you saw mostly women of colour and no white males. So it is a distortion of the information, it borders on propaganda, and so I question whether we are spending
public funds appropriately.
[Inaudible interjections]

Foreign nationals on stop list.
Well, I do not think there can be anybody else other
than a foreign national on our stop list, unless we are
putting Bermudians on the stop list as well. So you might want to rethink that wording.
But I noticed that the performance measure
has here . . . I mean, how do you forecast people who
are going to be on a stop list, first of all? But secondly,
my real question is: How many people are on the stop
list in total? That is what I want to know.
I know there is a mechanism for people to be
taken off the stop list because I actually know som eone who was put on the stop list for five years be-cause she w as involved in a work permit violation. But
I wanted to know how many people are actually on the stop list. And I would like to know if the Junior Minister can get some clarification on the criteria by which


Bermuda House of Assembly people get placed on it other than purely a breaking of
the actual work permit rules.
With that, Madam Chairman, I will take my
seat and hopefully we can have some answers to
questions.
Thank you.

Thank you.
Are there any other Members that would like
to ask any questions under the Heads that we have
before us?
There are no other Members.
So Minister, if you would please proceed.

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Madam
Chairman.
Well, we have had quite a lot of questions
posed and I have been taking copious notes. So I will
start from the top and try and work my way through —

—the Heads finish at 5:56.

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Okay, so I have about
20 minutes or so.
Okay. Referring to page B -299, MP Roban
asked about reduction in Salaries to $78,000, which is
a 6 per cent reduction, and what was driving that r eduction in salaries. The answer is that there is a post
in the Ministry Headquarters that is not being filled. So
instead of filling a post that is vacant, it is just not be-ing filled. So that is resulting in the $78,000 reduction.
A question was also asked on the same page
B-299, that Training dollars were reduced by $3,000
and what was driving that reduction. Well, the trai ning
that is being used now, because we are under auster-ity measures, is to use in- house training and also use
more creative methods of training. So in the past
when there was a bit more money floating around, you
perhaps could have brought in an outside t rainer,
someone of that nature. It is being done in- house. So
that accounts for the $3,000 reduction.
Also, on page B -299, it mentions that Professional Services are reduced and I believe the question
was asked, what professional services and who was
providing them? And the answer is that it is a breakdown among various law firms locally —Conyers, Dill &
Pearman; Mello, Jones & Martin— whatever. And the
professional services fees are legal fees for matters relating to planning and also immigration matters.
Another question was asked on page C -20
about the Parish Councils and the $70,000 in grants.
And the $70,000 is basically an allocated stipend for
their meetings. The funds are also used for scholarships from time to time. However, in order for the Parish Council to allocate scholarship monies, their actual account of the Parish Council has to be in compliance
and up to date. Unfortunately, you still have some
Parish Councils that are not compliant and the scholarship monies that are available cannot be tak en out
by the Parish Council because they are not in compl iance, which is an unfortunate thing. So the message
would be, get your accounts in order so that you can
provide scholarships to young people in your parish.
Now, a question was asked about vending
licences, switching gears to the Bermuda Economic
Development Corporation. Twenty -nine vending l icences were issued from January 2015 to January
2016. Most of the existing pedlar’s certificates will expire this year —in the middle of this year —or towards
the end of 2016. At the end of 2016 all licences going
forward will be issued on January 1, 2017. The list
from the Magistrates Court, which is where pedlars
had to register before, is valid up until August 2015.
So there is about a list of 200 who will be issued vending licences over this year or as the pedlar’s certif icates expire.
I think there was another question about the
$1 million capitalisation of the BEDC. I cannot r emember the exact question, but I have a note here
that says that the BEDC is lev eraging its $1 million
capitalisation to provide access to other financing
products, hence the micro- loans and letter of credit for
new products.
There was a question pertaining to page B -
301 about joint overseas investigations and who were
they with and, I guess, who was investigating who,
and what agencies were involved. The investigations
involved the Office of Consumer Affairs and mostly dealt with financial scams, counterfeit drugs and
things of that nature. And the overseas investigative
body was the New York District Attorney and Customs.
Next we are going to deal with, I guess, staf fing in Immigration, page B -303. And there was some
questioning about the reasoning for the increased staffing under the Compliance Section. And then the
other Honourabl e Member spoke about [how] he
wrote to Immigration about violations and basically the
whole discussion was about bad employers abusing
people here on work permits —

[Inaudible interjection]

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Yes, exactly, exactly.
What I would say is this . . . and as the Ho nourable Member mentioned, this is nothing new.
[Inaudible interjection]
Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Yes, exactly. We agree
on that.
[Inaudible interjection]

904 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: No, no, no, no, not at
all. Thi s a problem [that] has been an ongoing one.
You know, before I was elected to this House I heard
the same stories that you are hearing.

[Inaudible interjection]

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Well, that is going to
happen too. Funds have been allocated for that. So
part of the increased staffing is to go after the bad a pples, the employers that are perhaps not adhering to
work permit policy, allowing employees to work outside of their remit and whatnot. So we are very cognizant of the situation and it is being addressed.
What I will say is that the Compliance Section
in Immigration does a sterling job.

Thank you, Member.

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: I cannot address that.
I just cannot address that. You would have to take that
up with the substantive Minister. And I am sure he can
point you in the right direction.
But you know, what I would say to the general
public (this has been an ongoing si tuation) is, if you
know something, say something. And I am not going
to point fingers, but it was ascertained that Members
over on that side have heard from people who say
they are being mistreated on the job, or the employer
is abusing them in some shape , form or fashion, taking advantage of their situation. So it is important that
when those situations arise there is still the Immigr ation Hotline. It is still active. Persons can call the I mmigration Hotline. All complaints are tracked and i nvestigated. N ow, I have talked to some people who,
because Bermuda is such a small community, have a
certain amount of hesitance in reporting an employer.
[Inaudible interjection]

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Yes, and I acknowledge
it, because people talk.
So you can make a complaint and maybe it
will get back to your employer and then you will be
blacklisted. Okay? What I would say is that it takes
courage sometimes to remedy a wrong. And I am not
saying that the Immigration Department is not doing
their job, becaus e they are. And we as a Government
are doing far more than the previous government in
terms of the—

I think the Honourable Member
is misleading the House. Because I did not ascribe
blame to the Government on these, I raised these as
points of concern from the public and I actually com-plimented their additional staffing for compliance so
that they can more aggressively pursue these efforts.
So for the Junior Minister to take the tone that he is
going is misleading. It was not to blame. I was saying that this the situation that is presented and I wished
for them to pursue it aggressively.

Thank you, Member.
Shadow Minister?
Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you. Thank you,
Madam Chairman.

[Inaudible interjection]

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: No, it is not about, it is
not about blame. But we have beefed up, we as a
Government have beefed up the punitive measures
against employers who were—

[Inaudible interjection]
Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Okay. So it is not blame.
I am just stating a fact.
So my point is, if you know somet hing, say
something. The Immigration Department is very pr ofessional, they have a mandate to carry out, and they
want to hear about abuses. And they will be invest igated. So what I do not want to do is to have a very
professional, competent Immigration Department of
civil servants who have been working very hard —


Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: I just want to mention there is just a
minute left.

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Okay.
—to do what they need to do.
Also, I think something that is important to
mention is that the Department of Workforce Deve lopment really is the first port of call when there is an
immigration complaint such as this. The initial complaint should be made to the Department of Workforce
Development. They will investigate it and they will
make a report and send it to Immigration.

[Inaudible interjection]

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Well, I am informing you
and the Opposition and the members of the public
now, report abuses to Workforce Development —that
is what they are there for.

[Inaudible interjec tion]

Mr. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Now, on page B -306
there was a question about civil penalties and what that involved.

Thank you.
We now move to the next Ministry and that
Ministry is Legal Affairs. That has a time allotment of
three hours. I call on the Minister in charge to proceed.
Minister?

MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: I am obliged, Madam Chai rman.
Under the Ministry of Legal Affairs I propose
to move all of the Heads together. Those are Head
87—Ministry of Legal Affairs Headquarters; Head 3—
Judicial Department; Head 4 —Attorney General’s
Chambers ; Head 74—Department of Court Services;
and Head 75 —Department of Public Prosecution.

Thank you.
Please proceed.

HEAD 87 —MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS HEA DQUARTERS
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, the Mini stry of Legal Affairs, under my direction as the Minister
of Legal Affairs and the Attorney General, is charged
with responsibility for upholding the Constitution and
Legal System of Bermuda.
The Ministry’s Mission is simply “To provide
and promote fair administration of and access to justice.”
The departments that come under the umbrella of the Ministry are Legal Affairs Headquarters,
the Judiciary, the Attorney General’s Chambers, the
Department of Court Services, and the Department of
Public Prosecutions.
The Ministry of Legal Affairs, as with many
other government ministries, was tasked with reducing its expenditures by approximately 4.6 per cent from its
2015/16 budgetary allocation. To that end, a critical
analysis of Ministry expenditure was undertaken to
accord with a budget ceilin g while preserving the eff icient delivery of services.
Madam Chairman, the Current Account E xpenditure Estimates for Head 87, the Ministry of Legal Affairs Headquarters, begins on page B -67 of the E stimates of Revenue and Expenditure Book (the
Budget Book) . A total of $6,113,000 has been all ocated to Ministry Headquarters. This represents an
increase of $994,000, or 19 per cent from the 2015/16
original estimates. The increase is mainly due to add itional funding needed for external legal counsel in the Lega l Aid Office. In addition, increased funding was
needed for the Justice Protection Programme.
Madam Chairman, of the funds allocated to
Ministry Headquarters, $1,441,000, or 26 per cent of
the budgeted amount represents the allocation for Salaries. This includes salaries for Ministry Headquar-ters, the Legal Aid Office, and the Office of the N ational Anti -Money Laundering Committee and is detailed as follows:
• Ministry Headquarters —$552,000;
906 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly • Legal Aid Office—$451,000;
• Office of National Anti -Money Laundering
Committee—$438,000.

Madam Chairman, $2,696,000, or 44 per cent
of Ministry Headquarters’ budget is allocated to Pr ofessional Services, largely consisting of the budget allocation for external legal counsel retained by the
Legal Aid Office of $2,138,000.
Also included in the Professional Services allocation is a budget of $451,000 for the Justice Pr otection Programme. This programme continues to
produce excellent dividends for the Bermuda Go vernment and the country as a whole by aiding in the
successful prosecution and conviction of criminals.
Madam Chairman, the Ministry of Legal A ffairs Headquarters is divided functionally into five pr ogrammes:
• Administration— 97000;
• Financial Intelligence Agency (which receives
a grant) —97010;
• Legal Aid—97030;
• National Ant i-Money Laundering Committee
(NAMLC) —97040; and
• Justice Protection—97070.

97000— Administration

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: This programme provides for
the administrative costs —I am on page 5 now, top of
page 5, for the Shadow spokesman. This programme
provides for the administrative costs associated with
Ministry Headquarters to which $680,000 has been
allocated. This represents a decrease of $13,000, or
2 per cent from the 2015/16 estimates. Factored into
this decrease is the withdrawal of prorated funds used
in the past to support the training of a pupil in prepar ation for call to the Bar. This pupil is now working in the Department of Public Prosecutions.
Included in the Administration cost centre are
salaries and related costs for Ministry Headquarters. Admi nistrative support for the Minister and Permanent
Secretary is provided by one Executive Assistant and
one Administrative Assistant. Policy formulation for
Ministry legislative initiatives and project management
is provided by a Policy Analyst and an Assis tant. Fi scal and financial control is provided by a Ministry
Comptroller.

97030—Legal Aid Office

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, the Legal
Aid Office’s purpose is to ensure that legal advice and representation is readily available to those who need it
most, and who because of limited financial means can
least afford it.
The Legal Aid Office Vision Statement is: “To
provide quality legal representation for Bermuda’s
residents.” The Legal Aid Office Mission Statement is:
“To provide the residents of B ermuda with an accessible, confidential, safe and professional service in a
timely and efficient manner.”
Madam Chairman, the Legal Aid scheme,
which is administered by the Legal Aid Committee under the authority of the Legal Aid Act 1980, is supported in 2016/17 by an allocation of $2,892,000,
which is a 42 per cent increase from the 2015/16 all ocation. The increase in the cash limit is mainly due to a $738,000 increase in funds allocated to legal ser-vices. Rental expense increased by $88,000 due to
office relocation and more security measures which
were needed. The remaining $27,000 increase is due
to a rise in other fixed and variable administrative expenses for the Legal Aid Office.
Of the 2016/17 budget allocated to legal aid,
$451,000, or 16 per cent, represents salaries for administrative and management staff; $2,138,000, or
74 per cent, is cost allocated for legal services. The
remaining $303,000, or 10 per cent, represents administrative expenses other than salaries for the Legal
Aid Office. It is ou r plan to curtail expenses for legal
services through legislative amendment, and addi-tional in -house counsel, initially on contract.
Madam Chairman, the Legal Aid Office has
focused primarily on increased operational and admi nistrative efficiency and the r eduction of expenditure
where possible given the limitations in budget and
small staff size coupled with a high demand for services.
Historically, the largest area of expenditure
within the Legal Aid budget has been legal fees.
Budgetary allocations over t he past five years have
been insufficient to meet the demand for legal ser-vices. The Legal Aid Office continues to control costs
through the following initiatives:
• First, the containment of legal fees through
requirement of brief fees for all criminal tria ls
in Magistrates Court and Supreme Court and for appeals to the Court of Appeal and Privy Council for serious offences such as murder and drug offences;
• Strict adherence to the Act with respect to el igibility criteria on the basis of type of matter and household income;
• Scanning and e- mailing all correspondence
sent out to counsel in private practice who are involved in the Legal Aid Scheme and clients
who have e- mail, thereby reducing time spent
by administrative staff faxing and preparing correspondence for mailing;
• Close monitoring of costs of current certif icates by preparing and submitting with each
tax bill a total of previous payments which
triggers correspondence to counsel reques ting an estimate of time required to conclude
the matter where payment s are high or the


Bermuda House of Assembly matter has continued over more than one fi scal period;
• Regular income review of certificate holders
with ongoing matters to ensure that their i ncome still falls within the statutory limit. Reassessment of certificate holders, which reveal s
that their income no longer falls within the
statutory limit, results in immediate discharge
of their legal aid certificates.

New Cost Savings Initiatives

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The Ministry will consider fu rther legislative amendments to enhance cost s avings
such as:
• Establishing brief fees for all legal aid matters
where possible, including domestic, matrim onial and civil matters;
• Increasing the Legal Aid Committee’s power of assignment of counsel for legal aid matters
to maximise use of in- house couns el.

Legal Services

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, as at 31
March 2015 the Legal Aid Office managed 60 domes-tic matters, 27 matrimonial matters, 74 civil matters,
and 247 criminal matters, a combined total of 408 matters; $12,900 was recovered in t he form of client
contributions and has been applied to the Consol idated Fund.
As at 31 December 2015, the Legal Aid Office
managed 17 domestic matters, 32 matrimonial mat-ters, 65 civil matters, and 209 criminal matters, for a combined total of 323 matters ; $6,300 has been r ecovered in the form of contributions and has been applied to the Consolidated Fund.

Output Measures

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, the Legal
Aid Office retains the ability to process applications for legal aid certificates with in 14 days. However, achie ving this objective is dependent on whether applicants
have submitted the required information in a timely
manner.
The average cost of each legal aid matter d ecreased from $8,063.99 in 2013/14 to $6,709.04 in 2014/15. This reducti on in average cost reflects the
effectiveness of the use of brief fees in criminal matters, particularly in respect of Supreme Court trials.
The Legal Aid Office continues to process applications for Temporary Certificates, which are com-monly known as emer gency certificates, within 48
hours once all relevant financial information is submi tted at the time of application.

Capital Expenditure
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, the capital
expenditure for Head 87 relating to the legal aid cost centre remai ned at nil for the 2016/17 Fiscal Year.

Staff

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The Legal Aid Office is currently operating with a reduced staffing complement. The staff establishment consists of five permanent
posts: one Senior Legal Aid Counsel, one Legal Aid
Counsel, one Office Manager (to be filled), one A ccounting Assistant, and one Administrative Assistant.
Recruitment for the post of Office Manager,
which is currently vacant, is advanced and should be completed in March 2016.

Training and Development

Hon. Tr evor G. Moniz: The Legal Aid Office includes
in its mandate the development of the administrative and professional staff. Therefore, much attention has been placed and will continue to be placed on training
given the small size of the Office and the need f or
cross training. Training opportunities not only enable
staff to improve their skill set but also increase opportunities for upward mobility within Government. This
office utilises fully the training opportunities provided by the department of human resources.
The diversity of legal work in the Legal Aid O ffice makes it an attractive option for pupils and law
students and therefore facilitates the Ministry’s thrust
to train and retain competent and qualified Bermudians. The Office had one pupil, Winfield Simpson, over
the period 4 March to 29 May 2015.

Other Initiatives

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, accomm odation. The Legal Aid Office achieved its objective of moving into larger, more secure accommodations
which meets its operational needs over this fiscal p eriod.
The new location is 120 Victoria Street, Hami lton, and they moved there on 27 February 2015.

Case Management System

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, the Legal
Aid Office is making use of technology to increase its
productivity and efficiency and as a cost -saving
measure. It met this objective by completing the pr ocurement and implementation of a case management, document management, and workflow application to
support the demand for legal aid services and to r educe reliance on the time-consuming manual processes that were previously in effect.
Installation and training for staff on the new
system concluded in March 2015.

908 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Office of the National Anti -Money Laundering
Committee

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, the purpose of the Office of the National Anti -Money Lau ndering Committee (NAMLC) is to ensure that Bermuda
has a strong, effective regime to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism and proliferation,
while collaborating with international entities to help
address these issues on a global scale. NAMLC’s
budget for the Fiscal Year 2016/17 is $590,000, an
increase of $3,000 from 2015/16.
This increase is wholly attributable to the i ncrease in the annual membership fee for the Gover nment’s membership in the Cari bbean Financial Action
Task Force (CFATF).
During the Financial Year 2015/16, a key f ocus for the Office of NAMLC has been working with
the NAMLC agencies and other relevant parties, to
ensure that Bermuda’s anti -money laundering fram ework achieves a high level of compliance with the i nternational standards. Those standards were revised
in 2012, and Bermuda’s evaluation against them is
now expected to commence in 2017. In particular, the
Office continued to work closely with the NAMLC Le gislative Working Gr oup and Parliamentary Counsel to
address the legislative gaps in the framework. The
Office also sought and received the views and comments of industry before finalising and tabling the Bill
to amend the Proceeds of Crime Act 1997 and other
anti-money laundering/anti -terrorist financing
(AML/ATF) legislation. The Bill was passed and assented to in late December 2015 and the majority of its provisions are now in effect. In addition, the Office
continued to work with Government House and UK
authorities, in rel ation to international sanctions, to
ensure that Bermuda is in compliance with its international obligations. The Chair and Office of NAMLC
also spearheaded an inter -ministry working group to
consider the legislative amendments required to give effect to t he requirements of both the UN Convention
against Corruption and the OECD Anti -Bribery Co nvention. Such amendments will facilitate the extension
of those Conventions to Bermuda. Bermuda is specif ically required to implement the requirements of the UN Conve ntion against Corruption, as part of its obl igations under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
2012 AML/ATF standards. The OECD Convention,
while not specified by FATF, provides detailed r equirements on the offence of bribery of a foreign pub-lic officia l, which, although covered in less detail, is
also a requirement of the UN Convention. The Go vernment has committed that it will implement the r equirements of both Conventions.
In order to identify the key areas in the regime
that require focused attention, the Office, along with a
team drawn from various NAMLC agencies, has also
worked on synthesizing the findings of an AML/ATF
National Risk Assessment exercise, which was con-ducted in 2013. This work will enable better planning
of the strategic approach to tackling those areas identified as being higher risk in Bermuda’s AML/ATF r egime. The Office has prepared a summary report of
the findings of the risk assessment, and is working to finalise a draft Strategic Plan of Action to be submitted
shortly, for the approval of Cabinet. The conclusions
arrived at from the risk assessment form the basis of
the strategies being put forward for implementation, to
strengthen Bermuda’s AML/ATF regime.
As part of Bermuda’s preparations for the next
review of its AML/ATF regime, during 2015/16 the O ffice and Chair of NAMLC, engaged in outreach to a
number of Government ministries and departments,
inclusive of all NAMLC agencies, to sensitise them to
the actions required to be taken as part of their preparations; as well as t o help identify and clarify inform ation sources and data that needs to be recorded and
maintained in order to support the submissions to be
made on Bermuda’s behalf during the evaluation exercise.
Madam Chairman, Bermuda has now embarked on its work to prepare for the next review of our AML/ATF regime which is expected to be carried
out by the CFATF in 1
st quarter 2018. This review will
include an in- depth assessment of the effectiveness of
our regime. The effectiveness assessment will involve
determining t he extent to which Bermuda’s legal and
institutional framework is successfully combating
money laundering and terrorist financing within its
borders, and cooperating with international counterparts in the global fight. The Office of NAMLC will play
an inte gral role in coordinating and providing relevant
assistance for Bermuda’s efforts to develop its fram ework in the required manner. It is hoped that this will ensure our success in this upcoming review, given its
importance in maintaining Bermuda’s position as a
well-regarded international financial centre.
Key initiatives that the Office of NAMLC team
will be working on in Financial Year 2016/17 to pr epare Bermuda for the CFATF's 2018 on- site visit, are
as follows:
1. Once approved by Cabinet, implementing the
Strategic Plan for Bermuda’s AML/ATF r egime based on the 2013 National Risk A ssessment.
2. Coordinating and conducting a national self -
assessment exercise to test for compliance
with the requirements of the international
standards. This exercise will give competent
and supervisory authorities, senior management within NAMLC agencies, and the Exec utive branch of Government, an understanding
of where Bermuda stands, and it will identify
the areas of concern, so as to allow effort to
be focused on addressing def iciencies ident ified in the AML/ATF regime. Another essential
output from the exercise will be the crafting of
the content for Bermuda’s written submissions


Bermuda House of Assembly on technical compliance and effectiveness
that will become due for submission to the
Assessment team between July and September of 2017.
3. Progressing and completing the final legisl ative amendments required to align the legisl ative framework with the requirements of the
2012 updated international standards on
AML/ATF. For instance, this will involve updates to Bermuda’s anti -corruption laws and
updates to the terrorist financing legislation, to
take account of FATF’s very recent changes
to that aspect of the standards, made in late
2015.
4. Assisting with the assessment of the national
risks for terrorist fi nancing, as required by the
FATF Standards, as this component was not
addressed during the 2013 National Risk A ssessment (NRA) exercise. This exercise will
utilise an updated specialist module of the
World Bank tool that was used during the
2013 National R isk Assessment.
5. Working with competent authorities to finalise the bringing into the scope of the AML/ATF
regime, of operators in certain sectors such as
real estate dealers, corporate service provi ders, as well as jewellers and dealers in high value goods ;

In this regard, not only will the Office work
closely with the relevant Government ministries and agencies, but it will also continue to liaise with the pr ivate sector to assist them in understanding and effec-tively implementing the requirements imposed on
them.

97070—Justice Protection Programme

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, the Justice
Protection Programme has been allocated a budget of $451,000 for Fiscal Year 2016/17, representing an
increase of $151,000, or 50 per cent. This programme
is operated pursuant to the Justice Protection Act
2010 and provides protection for witnesses who su pport the prosecution process and meet the legislative
requirements for entry into the programme. The success of this legislative initiative is apparent from the
increase in successful prosecutions; particularly those
that are gang- related and involve violent offenders. It
is in relation to these categories of offences that wi tness intimidation is most apparent.

Grants

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, the Budget
allocation for grants for Fiscal Year 2016/17 is found at page C -16 of the Estimates of Revenue and E xpenditure. For Fiscal Year 2016/17, grants will be pr ovided to the Financial Intelligence Agency and for the Government’s annual membership fee for the Cari bbean Financial Action Task Force.
A. Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA): In continuance of the Government's efforts to co mbat money laundering and terrorist financing,
the FIA was established under the Financial
Intelligence Agency Act 2007. The FI A is the
independent agency authorised to receive,
gather, store, analysis and disseminate information relating to suspected proceeds of crime and potential financing of terrorism which is received in the form of a suspicious
activity report.
The FIA is em powered to disseminate such
information to the Bermuda Police Service
and Foreign Intelligence Authorities. The FIA
has been allocated $1,500,000 for fiscal 2016/17, an amount which has remained the
same from fiscal year 2015/16. In order for the
agency to meet its financial obligations during
the upcoming fiscal year, the same funding
was needed. The statutory mandate of the
FIA must meet international regulatory stan-dards for the financial sector with the necessary resources in place. The FIA, as required
by law, reports its quarterly expenditure and
provides an annual audited report to the Mi nister of Legal Affairs.
B. Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF): Also included in grants is the Government’s Annual Membership in the CFATF
which is allocated from the Office of National
Anti-Money Laundering Committee’s alloc ation. Starting in the year 2016, the contribution
will increase to $38,000, an increase of
$3,000 over the previous year. This increase
is attributable to the increased budgetary
needs of the CFATF Secretariat and the organisation’s mutual evaluation programme.

Capital Expenditure Estimates

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, the Budget
allocation for Capital Expenditure is found at page C -9
of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure. The
Ministry has been allocated a total of $277,000 for fiscal 2016/17. Just over 79 per cent of this allocation,
or $220,000, is intended to be used towards Video
Conferencing, the JEMS Framework, and Court Smart reporting. The remaining $57,000 will be used towards
the purchase of fully depreciated assets with no resi dual value for departments under the Ministry.
Madam Chairman, I am satisfied that the Mi nistry of Legal Affairs Budget allocations for 2016/17
will enable us to successfully fulfil our mandate with careful monitoring and the exercise of financial pr udence.
That concludes Head 87.

910 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly HEAD 3 —THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, the Judic iary is established by the Constitution as a separate
and independent branch of gover nment.
Its task is to adjudicate charges of criminal
conduct, resolve disputes between citizens, uphold
the rights and freedoms of the individual, and pr eserve the rule of law.
The Mission of the Judiciary is to carry out its
task fairly, justly and expedi tiously, and to abide by
the requirement of the judicial oath “to do right by all
manner of people, without fear or favour, affection or
ill-will.”
The Mission of the Administrative Section of
the Judiciary is to provide the services and support
necessary to enable the Judiciary to achieve its mi ssion.
The Judicial system of Bermuda consists of
the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, the Commercial Court, and Magistrates Court.
Ancillary activities involve the Probate and
Administration of Estates, granting of liquor and betting licences, bailiff services, and Criminal Injuries
Compensation.
The Honourable Chief Justice is the head of
the department which can employ, when fully staffed,
up to 70 officers, none of whom requires a work permit. The budget for t his department in the upcoming
year is approximately $8,161,000. Revenues are pr ojected at $8,288,000.

Highlights of 2015/16

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, this has
been another challenging yet rewarding year. With thanks to the judges, Crown Counsel of the Depar tment of Public Prosecutions, and the Defence attorneys, there continues to be no backlog with criminal
cases in the Supreme Court. The listing of cases has
been maintained at three months where possible, and
on some occasions during the ye ar within one month
of the arraignment session. This optimum level is dependent on the number of indictments filed, the number of multi -defendant trials, and the length of indivi dual trials. We will, however, seek to maintain this level
with the assistance of all who participate in this process.
We have dealt with a few multi -defendant tr ials without incident, but are increasingly faced with a
growing number and size. Our current facilities to hold
jury trials are unsuitable and inadequate, and hop efully a plan can be developed in the medium term for a
purpose- built solution.
We want to commend our staff, who have r emained flexible and committed to the delivery of services throughout the year.

Technology Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Videoconferencing, Madam
Chairm an, we continue to use video link to our arraignments sessions, which are held on the first of
each month. This means that defendants do not have
to be brought down from the Westgate Correctional Facility to attend but are present through a link to a
dedic ated room in Westgate where they can be seen
and heard by the judge, their attorneys, and the pu blic. This results in considerable costs savings, not only for Corrections but also for the additional security
needed to be provided for live appearances. Cur-rently, this does not apply to persons being arraigned
for the first time which requires legislative change.
Such links are commonplace in Commonwealth jurisdictions and with new technology continually improving we hope that we will be able to benefit
from other practical uses of such resources. This is
subject of course to adequate funding being made
available. Legislative change will be required in some
instances to expand and make better use of available
technology so that we can remain competitive and on
par with similar jurisdictions.
Website, Madam Chairman, we continue to
use our website to inform the public, attorneys, and
interested parties of the weekly list of cases which we
amend daily as necessary. We also list the schedule
for the sessions of the Court of Appeal and Magi strates Court. It also provides information on our activ ities together with links to other related sites. This en-ables the public, inclusive of local and overseas attorneys, and the media to read current judgments when
handed down, and practice directions. It provides guidance to the public on Jury Service, Judicial Codes
of Conduct, Small Claims procedures, a Youth Guide
to the Bermuda Court system, our Supreme Court
Newsletter, and Annual Report and links to other us eful websites , including Bermuda Laws and Law R eports, Legal Aid, and the Bar Association.
Our website address can be navigated via the
portal or
www.judiciary.gov.bm . This will be subject to
change following a redesign of the Government website on 1 April 2016. We continue to expand our web-site to meet changing needs.
Interactive Licensing application forms can
currently be found online for Liquor licences, Betting licences, as well as Record request forms and Child
and Family Support application forms.
We also continue to encourage our staff
where appropriate to take up or continue courses
which may lead to them qualifying in the future as
lawyers or such other recognised positions in this
community.

Commercial Court

Hon. Tr evor G. Moniz: The Commercial Court has
now completed its eighth year of operation and co ntinues to be well received by practitioners, both here and overseas. Since moving into new premises in the


Bermuda House of Assembly Government Administration Building on Parliament
Street we have added evidence presentation screens
to facilitate the trial process. We consider that this will
increase the profile of our Commercial Court both within Bermuda and overseas with an attendant overall benefit to the judicial process and increased and
visible support for our international business.

Magistrates Court

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Magistrates Courts in the
Dame Lois Browne- Evans Building (DLBEB) on Court
Street opened for business in April 2011. The Courts and Administrative offices are now spread across the
northern section of the second, third and fourth floors.
This facility as a whole provides a safe and secure
environment for the public, judicial officers, lawyers, and defendants. There is now a seamless transition of
prisoners from Correcti ons vehicles through the
ground floor sally port to the elevators and straight to the holding cells located to the rear of the court
rooms. Defendants are now held in these cells, which include lavatory facilities, until they are brought before
a magistrat e and then quickly returned to the Correction vehicles upon completion. We no longer run the
risk of defendants coming into direct contact with
members of the public or media thereby reducing the
potential for conflict.
We continue to monitor the level of security
threat and cooperate fully with police and Corrections
in respect of individual trials where appropriate.
Should there be an increase of multi -defendant and
factional cases, we will have to consider more perm anent measures of protection for our Su preme Courts.
Due to the number of violent high- risk ind ividuals being brought before our courts for gun and
weapon offences, coupled with the presence of
friends and family members, along with those of their
victims, it presents a potentially unsafe envir onment
for staff, judges, magistrates and the public at large.
We continue to review the needs for extra security
devices including cameras and additional metal detectors, and in view of recent crime, we have taken extra
measures where necessary and instal led temporary
metal detectors provided by a private security firm on
a case- by-case basis. We continue to monitor our
needs to protect our courts and the people and public
who use them.
In the Supreme Court, where we do not have
permanent security personnel in place, we continue to
work with the police and private security to ensure that
adequate measures are implemented.

Cost Centres

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The department’s estimates
are largely attributable to increased applications for
criminal injury cl aims together with an additional need
for added security to protect our courts and all using them. In addition our Court Smart and IT must be
maintained to support the needs of the justice system.

Supreme Court
13000—Criminal Injuries Compensation

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: This provides for payments to
victims of criminal acts as decided by the Board; $300,000 in awards were paid out which was the extent of our budget allocation for the year.

13010— Supreme Court

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: This provides for the salaries
and operational expenses for the Supreme Court Reg-istry. There are seven posts including part -time clea ning staff. Over the past year, 513 new civil matters
have been filed including 57 commercial cases. This
year’s figure includes 52 applications to be called to
the Bar.

13015—Courtrooms and Chambers

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: This provides for the salaries
and operational expenses for the Courtrooms and Chambers of the Supreme Court. There are 18 posts
including the Chief Justice, Puisne Judges, and the
Registrar’s post. In this cost centre, criminal trials are
managed and for the past year, there were 42 Indic tments filed. There were 165 divorces for the year, one
less than last year. Appeals from Magistrates Court
decreased from 45 last year to 39 this year.

13020—Court of Appeal

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: This cost centre provides the
salaries of the personnel in the Court of Appeal incl usive of the President, four Justices of Appeal, one
Administrative Officer, one Administrative Assistant, and one C ourt Associate. Reductions in this cost centre may have to be offset from savings in other sections in this department in order to maintain the level
of service. The Court of Appeal Justices only meet three times a year and have a busy workload. The
number of appeal cases filed in the past year was 42,
two more than last year.

13025—Court Technology Office

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: This provides for the salaries
of the IT Manager, IT Assistant, and Data Entry Clerk.
This cost centre includes funding for requi red transcription services as well as overtime and any external technology assistance. Reductions in this cost
centre may have to be offset from savings in other sections in this department in order to maintain the
level of service. Equipment must be kept up to date
and will have to be replaced. We must ensure that the Court Smart system works seamlessly.
912 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly The Magistrates Court
13040— Adjudication

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: This cost centre provides
funding for the Senior Magistrate, three Magistrates,
one tempor ary Magistrate, and acting appointments
where necessary. All five courts continue to exper ience heavy case loads and as such the court cale ndars remain full to the extent where court dates are
being issued up to three months in advance. Plea
Courts are oft en standing room only.

13050—Civil Records

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The Civil Section, admini stered by four clerks, provides case management and
court services for the resolution of civil claims under
$25,000 in Magistrates Court, landlord and tenant
matter s under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1974, and
the Rent Increases (Domestic Premises) Control Act
1978. Legislative amendments are required to i ncrease fees for the preparation of these files.
This year 2,711 new civil cases were filed, just
over 200 less t han last year (2,938). This is indicative
of the effects of the reduction in the staff in the Civil
Section due to a change in Government hiring pol icies. Debt agencies continue to seek to recover outstanding debts in recessionary times.
The Civil Court Ma gistrate and the Debt Co llection agencies are trying to work with debtors who
find themselves before the courts, many for the first
time, to answer for non- payment of bills due to unemployment or serious illness.

13060—Family and Child Support

Hon. Trevo r G. Moniz: The Family Support Office
serves the public and the Magistrates Court by provi ding customer services, record management, and f inancial control. This office also provides services to other Government agencies such as the Department
of Child and Family Services and Court Services. The
Family Court has seen an additional 124 new cases,
this year, which is 32 less cases than last year. We
continue to see an increase in Care Orders and d omestic violence matters. Enforcement (all case types
in default ) saw an increase of 18 per cent this year
compared to 2014. In August 2014, the post of E nforcement Officer was filled within the Magistrates Court. This position is mainly responsible for the enforcement of outstanding child maintenance arrears.
The appo inted Enforcement Officer has sought out
innovative ways to assist persons who have fallen
delinquent through a number of initiatives. It is antic ipated that we will continue to see an increase in the
amount of delinquent persons before the Family Court.
The total amount collected this year for Child
Support Payments is $4,898,084. This is a decrease of 2.5 per cent over the previous year and once again
can be tied to the recession and unemployment.

13070— Administration

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Administratio n provides overall control of the personnel, facilities, and financial r esources of Magistrates Court. There is six staff includ-ing the Manager, Office Manager, Secretary, Head
Cashier, and two Cashiers.
We continue to accommodate the needs of
the public b y opening the Cashier’s Office during
lunch hours. Over the past year there were 1,853 customers served during the two lunch hour periods. This
is an indication that this service is being heavily uti lised, thus should remain open during these periods.
The total amount collected by Magistrates
Court for all categories, including child support, is
$8,968,339. This represents a 6 per cent increase in
the collection of revenue over the previous year. I ncluded in this figure is the Pedlar’s Licence fees which
amounted to $11,610. This can be attributed to unemployed Bermudians seeking alternative ways to generate income.
As a result of new legislation, Magistrates
Court's last day for issuing pedlar’s licences was 31 August 2015. As at 1 September 2015 the Pedlar s Act
1894 was repealed and the new Vending Act 2015
came into effect. The Bermuda Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) is now responsible for
managing the Island’s vendors under the new Act.

13080—Criminal Records

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The Criminal R ecords Office
of the Magistrates Court provides case management
functions for criminal, traffic and parking records. The
demerit system was added for traffic penalties in N ovember 2008 and had a significant impact on the
workload. The warrant system is als o controlled and
maintained by this office. The police have been wor king hard to reduce outstanding warrants, and currently there are 9,899 active warrants —let me repeat that —
9,899 active warrants, an increase of 721 from the previous year. This represents $1,907,965.51 in outstanding fines. The Bailiff’s Office and Bermuda Police
Service are currently working together to reduce this
number.

13090—Bailiff’s Office

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: This office provides for the
service and execution of court papers inc lusive of
Civil, Family, Supreme Court, and Foreign Service.
There is one Secretary and five Bailiffs who travel
throughout the Island serving court processes. Due to
the early retirement, allowance of a bailiff this section was reduced to four bailiffs. D uring the past year, the
Bailiff’s [Office] was assigned 3,644 documents.


Bermuda House of Assembly Revenue

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, revenue
reported in this section is for the calendar year 2015.
• Traffic and Parking Fines —the major components of revenue are traffic and criminal fines.
The total amount recorded for traffic fines was $2,445,881, [there was] $209,300 for parking
fines, and $181,821 for criminal fines. This
amount tends to fluctuate in line with the vol-ume of offences prosecuted, the number of
successful convictions, and the levels of fines
imposed. There is significant collection diff iculties associated with recovering court fines,
such as locating offenders, often time repeat
offenders, which leads to outstanding warrants.
• Court Fees —the revenue received to date for
Civil Fees for 2015 is $207,748. Court fees
are being reviewed and updated to take into
account the amount of monies currently co llected for debt applications. It is anticipated
that appropriate increases will be instituted
through the necessary legislation.
• Liquor Licences —$349,405 in revenue has
been collected during 2015, prior to any year -
end adjustments. Given the current trend, it is
anticipated that there will be a reduction in the revenue stream as the recession continues.
• Stamp Duty on Deceased’s Estates —
$2,427,295.61 has been collected for the fi scal year 2015/16 prior to any year -end adjustments. This income is impacted by a drop
in real estate values. The revenue estimate
for 2016/17 is $4,710,000.
• Total Revenue for 2016/17 —the revenue estimates for 2016/17 are found on page B -74 of
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure. In
consideration of the current economic climate,
total revenues are budgeted to increase by approximately 16 per cent for the upcoming
fiscal year.

Capital Expenditure

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Capital Expenditure estimates
for 2016/17 are found on page C -9 of the Estimates of
Revenue and Expenditure.
The Judicial Department has been allocated
$130,000 for the purchase of a new Court Reporting System; $20,000 to finalis e the JEMS (Judicial E nforcement Management System) implementation; and $35,000 for the purchase of a vehicle for Magistrates
Court.
That is the end of that Head, Madam Chai rman.

HEAD 4 —ATTORNEY GENERAL’S CHAMBERS
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, the Current Account Estimates for the Attorney General’s
Chambers, Head 04, begin on page B -79 of the Est imates Book.
A total of $4,554,000 has been allocated for
Chambers. This represents an increase of $211,000,
or 5 per cent from 2015/2016.
Madam Chairman, the Attorney General
Chamber’s purpose is:
1. To provide quality legal services to the Government of Bermuda;
2. To advise all Government ministries, depar tments, and entities on the law applicable to
their operational requirements;
3. To draft legislation as required to implement
the Government’s policy, to maintain Bermuda’s Legislative Database, and to support law reform;
4. To draft contracts, international instruments
for mutual tax information exchange, conve yances and other documents required for public purpo ses, and to provide advice on Private
Bills; and
5. To conduct litigation in the Civil Courts of
Bermuda on behalf of the Government of
Bermuda.

Madam Chairman, the Attorney General’s
Chambers is functionally divided into the following six
programmes.

14010— Administration

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The Administration provides
administrative support to the Attorney General and
other counsel. This cost centre provides salaries for
an Office Manager, a Receptionist, Records Management Clerk, and an Administrative A ssistant (A ccounts), and also supports the purchasing of office
supplies that are common to all sections of the department.

14020— Advisory

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The Advisory Section is r esponsible for providing quality advice to all Gover nment department s and conducting litigation matters
brought by or against the Government. Additionally, it
is responsible for recovering debts owed to the Go vernment. This cost centre provides salaries for one
Solicitor General, one Deputy Solicitor General, two
Senior Cr own Counsel, six Crown Counsel, and three
Administrative Assistants. For the upcoming fiscal
year, a Deputy Solicitor General post has not been
funded due to the reallocation of funds.
The increase in this cost centre is primarily
due to funding for a vacant Administration post and a Legal Advisory Consultant to the Attorney General. So that head has an increase of $166,000, or 9 per cent.
914 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly 14030—Legislative Drafting

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The original estimate was
$1.675 million. The estimate for 2016/17 is $1.693
million. The increase is $18,000, or 1 per cent.
The Legislative Drafting Section advises r egarding proposals for legislation, drafts primary and
subordinate legislation for all Government depar tments, and provides advice and support to Ministers
in the House of Assembly and Senate, as their r espective legislation progresses. This section also pr ovides advice on legal and constitutional issues to Mi nisters and the Governor. The salaries provided for in
this cost centre will include the Chief Parliam entary
Counsel, Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel, five
Parliamentary Counsel, two Assistant Parliamentary
Counsel, a Legislative Database Manager, a Legisl ative Editor, a Legislative Administrator, and a Legisl ative Database Administrator. The increase i n this cost
centre is due to salary increments for two posts.

14040—Revised Laws of Bermuda

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The original estimate for
2015/16 was $126,000. [It is] the same this year; no change.
This cost centre supports the consolidation,
periodic revision and publication of the laws of Bermuda. It is responsible for providing members of both
Houses of the Legislature, businesses, lawyers, and
the general public with access to the Revised Statutes
and Regulations of Bermuda. The cost centre su pports the ongoing consolidation of primary and subordinate legislation.

14050—Debt Collection

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: That had an original estimate
for 2015/16 of $304,000. In 2016/17, there is a $4,000
increase, or about 1 per cent.
The Debt Enforcement Unit (DEU) within the
Attorney General’s Chambers was established by the Government to assist the Department of Social Insur-ance and the Office of the Tax Commissioner in the
recovery of unpaid Social Insurance contributions,
Payroll Tax, Land Tax, and other taxes owing to the Government. The cost centre provides salaries for
one Crown Counsel, one Junior Crown Counsel, and
an Administrator. The increase in this cost centre is
due mainly to salary adjustments for the post of Junior
Crown Counsel.

14060—Law Libr ary

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: This was $100,000 last year
and is for this year, so there is no change.
This programme provides for the cost of mai ntaining the Law Library in the Attorney General’s
Chambers which includes the purchase of books, pe-riodicals, and the provision of access to leading online
legal information sources such as Lexis/Nexis and
Westlaw.

Output Measures

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, during the
2015 calendar year 56 Acts were enacted and 109 Statutory Instruments made. In addition to the Annual
Budget Legislation, there were a number of amending
Acts to give effect to the Government’s legislative agenda including an overhaul of criminal procedure
and updates to the law of partnerships, insurance,
PATI, archives, trusts, proceeds of crime, et cetera.
Also of note were the following:
• The America’s Cup Act and associated subordinate legislation;
• The Vending Act;
• The Tobacco Control Act; and
• The Defence Amendment Act.
The Bermuda Laws website which contains all
of Bermuda’s laws and s ubordinate legislation is updated in real time from within Chambers, and we are
continuing to make improvements to the site.
Since the implementation of the Proceeds of
Crime Amendment (No.2) Act 2013, establishing the
Enforcement Authority, there has been an increase in
the number of requests for Mutual Legal Assistance.
Notwithstanding this increase, the number of days for
us to respond has remained constant.

Staff

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, there are
currently five vacant posts within the At torney Ge neral’s Chambers: one Deputy Solicitor General, three
Crown Counsel, and the Administrator.
To fulfil the mandate of the Attorney General’s
Chambers, it is anticipated that recruitment will soon commence for a Crown Counsel who will be assigned responsibility for, amongst other things, legal advice
and representation to the various ministries and de-partments within Government. The remaining two
Crown Counsel posts will be filled after we have s ecured additional office space.
There has been one staf f change during the
year in the Civil Advisory section, which was the pr omotion of a Crown Counsel to the post of Senior
Crown Counsel. As a result of the above- mentioned
appointment, the current staffing levels of the Civil
Advisory section are: the Solic itor General, one Deputy Solicitor General, two Senior Crown Counsel, four Crown Counsel, two Administrative Assistants, and a Paralegal.
There has been one staff change in the Debt
Enforcement Unit which was the appointment of a Junior Crown Counsel.


Bermuda House of Assembly There are no vacancies within the Drafting
Section of the Attorney General’s Chambers. There
are currently seven Parliamentary Counsel (including
the Chief and Deputy Chief) and two Assistant Par-liamentary Counsel in the Drafting Section of Chambers. In addit ion to these dedicated lawyers who are
responsible for drafting all Government Bills and
Statutory Instruments, we are fortunate to have an
excellent administrative team comprising of four persons, each of whom plays a vital part in the timely
production, publication, and consolidation of legisl ation.

INITIATIVES IN THE COMING YEAR

Advisory

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Madam Chairman, a principal
focus will continue to be on the development of Bermudians in Chambers, particularly using Senior
Counsel to assist Junior Counsel with advice and
guidance on advisory and litigation matters.
Improving the personal development of staff
will remain paramount by providing them the opport unity to attend training courses offered by the Depar tment of Human Resources.
The rec ruitment process for one Crown Cou nsel should commence shortly.
We will continue to:
• Review contracts with the various ministries
and departments to aid the same in making
better decisions in contract negotiations;
• Review the assignment of specific counsel to
provide advisory and litigation representation to ministries and departments;
• Seek to improve our case management sy stem to reduce our demand for paper r esources; and
• Provide more in- house presentations by
Counsel on a variety of legal topics.

Legislative Drafting Training

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Our principal focus will co ntinue to be on the development of Bermudians in le gislative drafting. Experienced drafters will continue to
mentor the Assistant Parliamentary Counsel so that in due course they will be able to draft independently.

Legislative Information Management System
(LIMS)

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: We continue to produce legi slation quickly and accurately using LIMS, which is customised to our Bermuda drafting style. This has kept
the number of errors and inconsistencies found in legislation during House and Senate debates to a minimum, thereby expediting the legislation process. We
are supported in our maintenance of LIMS through our Canadian vendor who provides timely professional
assistance whenever necessary and regularly updates
our software with the latest versions and technical
corrections.
We will continue to improve our database and
aim to post new laws within a week of enactment on the Bermuda Laws online website at
www.bermudalaws.bm . Consolidation, which is incorporation of amendments into existing laws, is more time-consuming since the amendments are checked
by the drafter as well as the Legislative Database
Manager, but the goal is to complete the process
within one month of the enactment of the amending
legislation.
The public are kept informed of laws which
have been assented to, but which are not yet in force
(highlighted in green font on the database to avoid confusion), laws which have been r epealed, and pr ovided with a quick reference point for Ministerial r esponsibilities. We have also completed a number of improvements to the search facilities and received
positive feedback from our regular users. We will continue to enhance the website dur ing the coming year.
Subject to resolving all outstanding technical
and security issues, with the assistance of the Information Technology Office, it is anticipated that we will
introduce legislation declaring the electronic version of legislation on the B ermuda Laws website to be the
official law of Bermuda.
And that is it for Head 4.

[Mr. Walton Brown, Chairman]

HEAD 74 —DEPARTMENT OF COURT SERVICES

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Chairman, the current
account estimates for Head 74, —the Department of
Court Services, begin on page B -82 of the Estimates
of Revenue and Expenditure Book.
A total of $4,266,000 has been allocated to
Head 74 within the Ministry of Legal Affairs. This all ocation is almost equivalent to last years’ budget, with
the only uplift being in salaries, $11,000, due salary
increments.
The Department of Court Services plays a
necessary role in this Ministry and the community by mitigating behaviour risks in offenders and substance
abusers. Risks to offend are minimised through comprehensive assessments, monitoring, and enforc ement of Court and Parole Board Orders (License) to
address behaviours and thinking in clients.
The manpower figures for the Department of
Court Services are on page B -83 of the Estimates
Book.
The department operates seven c ost centres
within three distinct programmes:
• Programme 7401 —The Case Management
Unit has a budget allocation of $1,299,000.
916 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly • Programme 7402—Administration has an expenditure estimate of $1,122,000.
• Programme 7403—The Assessment and
Treatment Unit, has an allotment of
$1,845,000.

Clients, or service users, in this department
present with varying degrees of risks and needs, and
many of them exhibit substance misuse as well as
mental health challenges. The officers utilise cognitive
and rehabilitative approac hes to address the indivi dual needs of the service users, whilst also protecting the community from further behavioural and safety
risks. This further promotes the Ministry’s command of
balancing the accurate administration of justice with
restorative regi mes.
Mr. Chairman, in giving a breakdown of the
department’s expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year, the department aims to sustain its daunting
mandate with existing resources and enriched par tnerships. Challenges foreseen within the community will be embraced with determination to enrich clients’
reintegration into the community.

7402 —Administration
84070—Court Services Administration

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The majority of the fiscal all ocation for this section is for salaries for senior management, t echnical, and administrative support personnel, totalling $687,000. There is a slight decrease
in salaries as a result of a retirement. The remaining
expenditure of $435,000 covers building security sof tware and electronics, office cleaning, counselling, and operational supplies.
Improvements in operational standards are
sustained to mitigate risks to the community. The
complex social issues in our community require ba lanced approaches to effect retributive, as well as r ehabilitative measures for clients.
This past fiscal year, the department further
operationalised its Management Information System
and operations’ manuals. Training was codified, par tnerships expanded and strengthened, additionally, the
usage of risk assessment tools was broadened to
maximis e positive performance outcomes. Some of
these are reflected in departmental Outcome Measures. Notwithstanding, this must be managed to mit igate operational efficiencies due to the hiring freeze,
coupled with various forms of leave for personnel to avoid b urn-out and compromising the efficacy of overall operations.

7401 —Case Management Unit

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The original estimate for
2015/16 was $1.286 million. The estimate for 2016/17
is $1.299 million, an increase of $13,000, or 1 per
cent. The Case Management Unit is comprised of
the Drug Treatment Court Programme, Probation and
Parole teams. The Unit’s staffing complement is 13
personnel, who are overseen by the Manager. The
combined Unit budget is $1,299,000, which is a 1 per
cent increase attribu table to salaries alone.
The Case Management Unit facilitates the r ehabilitation and community integration of offenders through comprehensive case management services,
enforcement, and networking aimed at reducing offending. At present, the Unit cumulatively supervises approximately 357 offenders in the community —that
is 357.
With an overarching principle of promoting
public safety, effective relationships with community
partners resulted in greater coordination, and i ncreased monitoring procedures. Whilst collaborating,
we must also create a balance to safeguard the integrity of departmental programmes and services, in addition to maximising officer safety. The Night Light
Programme (which is a curfew check programme), the
lnter-Agency Gang Task Force, as w ell as partnerships with other organisations provide advantageous
outcomes in enforcement and rehabilitative regimens.
During the fiscal year 2015/16, the following
accomplishments resulted:
• Contributions to interagency organisations
and groups’ successful outcomes;
• Implemented a unit for response to clients i nvolved in gang activity in the community;
• Continual data collection and dissemination
for Bermuda Drug Information Network (BerDIN);
• Modification of operational policies and pr ocedures for accountabil ity.

84010— Probation Services

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Chairman, the Probation
Team has an allocated budget of $491,000 which is
broken down as follows:
• To cover employee salaries —$471,000;
• The remaining funds of $20,000 is for as-sessments and screening s to assess cogn itive, intellectual and social functioning specia lised outsourced therapeutic services and
general operational supplies and training.

In the approaching fiscal year, the team will
increase urinalysis screenings of all clients and e nhance s upervision outcomes with all available r esources. The number of persons placed on probation
as at December 31, 2015 was 257 offenders. The
caseload was spread amongst all departmental teams
due to the heightened numbers.

84020— Parole Services



Bermuda House of Assembly Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Chairman, the original
estimate for 2015/16 was $371,000. The 2016/17 estimate is $381,000; an increase of $10,000, or 3 per
cent.
The Parole Team delivers the supervision of
persons granted early conditional release from the
correctional facilities by the Parole Board. Primarily
the Team’s fiscal resources are aimed at offender r ehabilitation, monitoring and enforcement of Release
Orders through structured interventions and monitoring. There were 80 parolees in December, 2015.
The allocated budget of $381,000 is broken
down as follows:
• For four employees, $379,000 covers sal aries;
• The minuscule remaining funds of $2,000
covers basic operational supplies.

The Team continues to work collectively to
enhance the safety of the community through en-forcement and accountability regimes.
For this year, the team will administer more
stringent practices in enforcing conditions of the O rders, especially with gang members, such as usage of
EMDs (Electronic Monitoring Devices). Improved cl ient outcomes are also expected with increased visits
outside of the office to observe clients in their own environments.

84080—Drug Treatment Court Programme

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The Drug Treatment Court
Programme Team continues to work effectively to promote client gr owth and habilitation/rehabilitation.
This programme has retained a re- offence rate below
6 per cent since inception in 2001. Urinalysis screenings remain a constant feature in monitoring substance misuse, coupled with stringent team approaches to enforcem ent, treatment, and monitoring.
The budget allocation for the programme is
$427,000 and salaries constitute the majority of this allotment —$379,000. Other funds totalling approx imately $48,000 have been allocated to cover assessment materials for monitoring offender substance
use, as well as specialised interventions and ther apeutic services for this client group.
Following the successful completion by four
participants in the programme throughout the year, as
of December 31, 2015 there were 17 remaining participants in the programme, with an additional two
persons observing for potential admission. Activities
are primarily targeted towards the rehabilitation for
these offenders whose substance abuse and previous trauma issues contribute significantly to the ir offending. The re- institution of the mandatory Phase 5 of the
programme has been effective in enhancing controls and preventing relapse.
Successful delivery of the Drug Treatment
Court Programme in the upcoming fiscal year will i n-clude sustained network ing to develop non- traditional
treatment regimens towards client success as well as training in and implementation of effective usage of
rewards and sanctions.

7403 —Assessment and Treatment Unit

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The Assessment and Treatment Unit of the Department of Court Services pr ovides comprehensive assessments, report and treatment regimes that identify risks that clients pose to the community. The 18 personnel, under the direction of
the Unit Manager, work vigorously to address the
criminogenic needs of the offenders to protect the
community from further harm. In addition, substance
misusers engaged in services are referred to denoted
treatment programmes to assist in reducing relapse rates and fruitful treatment.
The Unit consists of four separ ate teams under three cost centres. Throughout the past year, they undertook training utilising a universal risk asses sment tool, with officers who had been trained to train
and interpret this tool. In addition, various other trai ning occurred for the offi cers.

84030— Aftercare and Community Integration Se rvice

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The programme includes
Community Service Orders (CSO) and the Mental
Health Treatment Court Programme (MHTCP). The
Community Service regime has been refined to better
service i ndividuals sentenced to perform community
service hours. Partnerships have been driven with
community stakeholders to expand placements and
afford more rehabilitative measures and skills -
building. Individuals with mental health diagnoses are
assisted and offered appropriate treatment services in
a therapeutic jurisprudence environment. The MHTCP continues to demonstrate success within the confines
of the current legislation, with revisions at an advanced stage, to be tabled in this Parliamentary session. The Team comprises one Coordinator, and two Probation Officers/Case Managers. The MHTCP has
also utilised CSO to enhance the vocational training
and skills of clients. Of note are participation with: the Department of Parks, Sunshine League, WindReach,
as we ll as contributions to the White Hill Project which
originated with input from this department.
In maximising outcomes and resources, a
partnership between the Departments of Court Services and Corrections has afforded a tenured Correc-tions officer to be s econded to the Department of
Court Services and demonstrated that there are some parallel skills sets that can be utilised to enhance ser-vice delivery in both departments.
The salary estimate is $284,000 for the
budget year 2016/17. The total budget also has an allowance for specialised mental health and voc a918 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly tional assessments to enhance employability levels,
fuel for the vehicle, maintenance of programme
equipment, as well as telephone equipment to offer
greater protection to officers in the field.
Key act ivities for the upcoming year include
expanded partnerships between governmental and private entities to explore much- needed residential
options for male clients. This cannot be understated.
The personnel have demonstrated commi tment and creativity to assi st these clients to develop
to their potential from a team centred approach. There
were more than 35 clients in various phases of the
programme this past year.

84040—Community Based Programmes Team

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The Community Based Pr ogrammes Team consists of a Coordin ator/Psychologist, with three specialist Senior Probation Officers.
This team provides therapeutic interventions,
specialised services, and group work to reduce the
risk of recidivism. Accredited programmes that have
been maintained are for sex and violent offenders.
The team utilises data in support of future endea vours. This past year, the team ran at least 12 different groups, such as Anger Management, Violence Reduc-tion, Life Skills, and a Marijuana Group, to name just a
few.
Objectives are accomplished with a financial
expenditure of $476,000. Clinical expenses, oper ational and training disbursements amount to $38,000.
The majority of the funds cover salaries totalling $438,000.
The team refined strategies to meet the needs
of clients in 2015/16 inclusive of a fully revised Oper ations Manual to enhance standards and consistency. The number of referrals increased almost 50 per cent
in the past year. A major challenge was that 43 per
cent of the clients are unemployed.
This year, the team will:
• Streamline the time between referrals and in itial programme reports;
• Implement an additional therapeutic group to
address identified client needs; and
• Expand qualified facilitators in sex offender modalities.

84060— Assessment Team
Hon. Trevo r G. Moniz: Mr. Chairman, the Asses sment and Treatment Team, consisting of the Report Writing and the Bermuda Assessment and Referral
Centre teams composes timely and comprehensive
reports, SIRs [Social Inquiry Report] and Pre- Release
[Report], which assis t the Court and the Parole Board
to make informed decisions in the disposition of
cases. All reports were reformatted to provide a more
succinct synopsis. The specialised risk and addiction asses sments provide a framework for fruitful re- integration
into t he community, whilst recommendations identify
interventions to minimise recidivism and to address
offending behaviours. The team met an objective to ensure compliance to standards through file audits,
and enhanced supervision regimes that are recorded.
There were 233 Social Inquiry Reports completed and
65 Pre- Release Reports completed by the Report
Writing Team this past year.
The BARC [Bermuda Assessment and Referral Centre] assessments denote the essential level of
treatment required for substance abuser s, and refer
individuals to designated treatment agencies. This
team withstood many changes this past fiscal year,
with the resignation of two personnel and the appointment of one new case manager. Due to the cur-rent hiring freeze, one post remains unfilled. The
Team was able to engage a temporary Clinical Supervisor for several months during this transitional phase.
This person, a qualified and skilled Bermudian male,
was able to support and endure operations utilising his critical skills in working with individuals with highrisk profiles and dual diagnosis.
Salaries for the 11 personnel aggregate to
$1,006,000. The residual $44,000 allows for asses sment materials, operational repairs and supplies, cell
phones, local training, and journals, and represents a
decrease of $4,000.
The budget year 2016/17 initiatives are:
• To acquire and utilise an additional asses sment tool to enhance treatment for substance
abusers; and
• To incorporate the new assessment tool into
all reports to drive the case management plans.

Mr. Chairman, in these austere times, the D epartment of Court Services remains committed to applying all resources, methodologies, and skills to mit igate relapse risks in offenders and substance abusers. The personnel have demonstrated unwavering
commitme nt and motivation in trying to make bricks
out of straw to enhance the protection of the comm unity. With the decrease in personnel, meeting multiple
pressing deadlines, the complexities of client profiles,
and an ever -demanding work environment, the r emain ing personnel continue to withstand the surge of
challenges and must be recognised for their relentless efforts in an often unfriendly environment.
The department will continue to work collab oratively to maximise outcomes in efforts to make Ber-muda safer t hrough their mandate. They will reexamine re- offence rates during community -based
supervision. The usage of all mechanisms available, such as Electronic Monitoring Devices, will assist in
monitoring and challenging clients’ behaviours, ac-tions and associations. Additional training must be
delivered to maintain and improve standards for conBermuda House of Assembly sistent assessments and effective interventions (especially accredited programmes), to mitigate risks in
clients and validate the protection of the community.
Mr. Chairman, this ends my presentation on
Head 74, the Department of Court Services, which highlights the operational use of expenditures. I take a
brief moment to thank all personnel in this department
who tirelessly give services to the community in this
often unacknowledged profession.

HEAD 75 —DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC PROSEC UTIONS

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Chairman, the mission of
the Department of Public Prosecutions is to uphold
and honour the duties of the criminal justice system of
Bermuda. To that end, we will be guided by principles
of fairness and equity, maintaining the honourable
tradition of the legal profession. We will be ever mindful of the obligations to serve the public interest and
criminal justice agencies with care, consistency and
integrity. As guardians of the law, we will prosecute in a manner that is fearless, impartial, transparent, and
diligent.
The following are the objectives for the D epartment of Public Prosecutions:
• To promote the effective, fair, impartial, and
efficient prosecution of cri minal offences.
• To promote high standards and principles in
the administration of criminal justice including
procedures to guard against or address mi scarriages of justice in support of the rule of
law.
• To promote and enhance those standards and
principles which are generally recognised i nternationally as necessary for the proper and independent prosecution of offences.
• To promote professional interests of prosec utors and to enhance the recognition of their
crucial role in achieving criminal justice.
• To pro mote good relations between individual
prosecutors and policing agencies; to facilitate
the exchange and dissemination among them
of information, expertise and experience; and, to that end, to encourage the use of inform ation technology.
• To enhance the presentation by the prosec ution of cases before the courts.
• To maintain a team of highly competent administrative professionals to carefully handle
the day -to-day responsibilities of the depar tment with great detail, and confidentiality which is a critical an d essential element in
helping prosecutors fulfil their mandate.

Mr. Chairman, 2015/16 has been another demanding year for the Department of Public Prosec utions. The department’s staff continued to experience a steady increase in workload due to the increase of serious and complex trials including those which are
gang- related crimes involving guns and financial
crimes. Increasingly we are experiencing trials with
multiple defendants thus requiring several defence
counsels. Further, serious trials involve i ncreasingly
complex forensic evidence and sometimes now r equire the use of protected witnesses which can
lengthen trials. The department’s Crown Counsel continues to experience back -to-back prosecutions of
cases. Despite these substantial challenges they h ave
had considerable success in the prosecution of most of these serious/complex crimes.

Current Account Expenditure

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The Current Account Expenditure Estimates for Head 75, the Department of Public Prosecutions, begins on page B -86 of the Estimates
of Revenue and Expenditure Book.
A total of $3,156,000 has been allocated to
the Department of Public Prosecutions which includes its Witness Care Unit. This represents an increase of
$59,000, or 2 per cent, from the 2015/16 Estimates.

Public Prosecutions

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Chairman, $3,002,000
has been allocated to the Department of Public Prosecutions [DPP]. This represents an increase of
$59,000, or 2 per cent.

Witness Care Unit

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Chairman, the Witness
Care Unit is the same as last year, $154,000.
The aim of the Witness Care Unit is to provide
a single point of contact for victims and witnesses pertaining to information about the progress of their r espective cases and to minimise the stress of attending
court and to increase the number of witnesses who
give evidence as well as improve the quality of the
evidence they give. Victims and Witnesses are essential to successful prosecutions.
The Witness Care Unit consists of two Wi tness Care Officers and it is m anaged by the Deputy
Director (Administration) of the Department of Public Prosecutions.
The Witness Care Unit’s responsibilities are
to:
• Keep witnesses informed and positively e ngaged throughout the process;
• To encourage and provide support and u pdated information to victims and witnesses r egarding the progress of criminal trials;
• To provide someone to talk to in confidence about their status as a witness;
• To conduct pre- trial visits of all courts in Bermuda ensuring the victim/witness is familiar
920 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly with the courtroom procedures prior to the
trial;
• To provide the witness with information about
the outcome of the case including any appeals;
• To advise the witness of court dates;
• To provide a safe and comfortable place to
meet and wait prior to giving evidence; and
• When appropriate, refer the witness/victim to
other professional external agencies.

Following the outcome of a guilty plea or co nviction, the Witness Care Unit assists victims and wi tnesses with completing a victim impact statement.
This statement giv es the opportunity to express feelings, concerns, and trauma as a result of crime.
Mr. Chairman, the following are four excerpts
from testimonies that were received from wi tnesses/victims over the past financial year. They refer
to the exemplary work done by Witness Care Officers,

“I am thankful for the Witness
Care Unit. From the first time Ms. Park contacted me she was always caring and reassuring. She kept me
updated on every stage of the case. Just knowing she
was there helped me through the pain and fear that I
was experiencing. I did not know this Unit existed before my assault but I cannot thank Ms. Park enough
for being t here for me.”
“Ms. Marcus, My wife and I wish to thank you
for your support, direction and compassion in seeing us through what has been a very difficult and tra umatic experience for us. Your professionalism and
guidance helped us immensely and we appreciate
your assistance. It is nice to know that victims have
this support to help alleviate the stress that comes
with such experience.”
I will just read those two.
This past financial year the Witness Care Unit
assisted 1,000 civilian witnesses bringing the total
number of victims/witnesses that the Witness Care
Unit provided assistance and care t o over 5,000 since
its inception in 2008.
The Unit consistently receives positive feedback from members of the public who were either vi ctims and/or witnesses involved in a criminal trial.

Performance Measures

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Chairman, during t he fiscal year 2015/16, the Department of Public Prosec utions handled approximately 1,000 criminal cases in the Magistrates Court. There were 7,000 traffic cases
completed during the financial year. In the Supreme
Court, there were a total number of 15 tri als co mpleted and 45 cases disposed of, and there were 35 indictments filed in 2015/16. In the Bermuda Court of
Appeal, 14 appeals were carried over to the following year, and 25 appeals should be disposed of by the
end of 2015/16.

Staffing

Hon. Trevor G . Moniz: Mr. Chairman, under the d irection of the Director of Public Prosecutions there is a complement of 14 attorneys who are all engaged in
the prosecution of offences and appear when appr opriate in the Magistrates Court, Drug Court, Supreme Court, the Bermuda Court of Appeal, and the Privy
Council. The prosecutors also provide legal advice to
ministries and departments on matters relating to
criminal offences. Additional staff includes one Manager of Finance and Administration, one Litigation
Manager, f our Administrative Assistants, and one R eceptionist. In addition, the department employs two
Witness Care Officers.

Training

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Chairman, the Depar tment of Public Prosecutions continues to uphold its
mandate to train all prosecutor s as successors for all
positions and has continued to put an emphasis on
training its prosecutors to emphasise proper develo pment and skills enhancement.
Given the increase in prosecuting crimes i nvolving sexual abuse of children in 2015, some of that
training was aimed specifically at that area.
Mindful of financial restraints, the department
utilised external funding in much of the training pr ovided throughout the year.
The department held a valuable 1.5 day inhouse training and team building exercise. This trai ning was for all prosecutors and administrative staff
and focused on team building as well as legal skills enhancement. The department continued the inform ative programme of “lunch and learn” in the office.
At the end here is a list of landmark cases.
The following cases were of great public interest in
that they involved high profile defendants and/or were
complex both legally and factually.
The first case is Antonio Myers v. R , Quincy
Brangman v. R, and David Cox v. R. In July 2015, the
Privy Cou ncil heard the three cases. The Privy Council was asked to determine whether gang evidence
was admissible as relevant evidence to prove motive
and/or as explanatory evidence; and if it was so admissible, who could provide evidence. The Court also
had the opportunity to determine if gang evidence was unfair in its overall effect on trials. The outcome of
these cases was very important both to Bermuda and
also to all jurisdictions which use the Privy Council as
their final Court of Appeal and particularly to those
jurisdictions with gang crime problems.
The Privy Council found for the Crown that
gang evidence is admissible, provided it is justified beyond mere propensity. They agreed that there could


Bermuda House of Assembly be no objection to this type of evidence being given by
a police officer, provided the original threshold r equirements for expertise are met and ordinary rules of
giving expert evidence were observed. All three con-victions were upheld. The Department was repr esented by Director of Public Prosecutions, Rory Field, together with Carrington Mahoney and Cindy Clarke.
Mr. Chairman, I do not propose to read all of
these. I have these here for anyone who is interested
and the—

Well, we know you are wise and
learned.
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: The Shadow Attorney General
also has a copy of them. But it shows the sterling work
that has been achieved by the members of the D epartment of Public Prosecutions in this past year.

Future Events

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Mr. Chairman, the intention is
to continue the work undertaken over the last few
years to develop all members of the Department so
that the Department of Public Prosecutions continues
to offer an excellent service to the people of Bermuda.
At that point, I would finish my presentation
and yield to the Shado w.

Thank you, Honourable and Learned
Attorney General.
Is there any other Member who wishes to
speak to these Heads?
The Chair recognises the Honourable Member from constituency 36, the Honourable Shadow
Attorney General.

Hon. Michael J. Scott: Mr. Chairman, I am very
grateful for this opportunity to respond on the principal
Heads with which I wish to deal with, Heads 74, 75
and 3, although I thank my colleague and the Honourable Attorney General and Minister of Justice for
presentations on all of the Heads that fall under Legal
Services.
I also wish to remark on and give him thanks
for the ongoing tradition that we have had of his shar-ing his brief with me so that I can follow along in a
manner where I have had disclosure of the many i ssues, challenges, accomplishments of his Ministry, an
important Ministry of Legal Services.
So, Mr. Chairman, as I say, I wish to largely
focus on Court Services, the DPP, and the Judiciary.
You know as the debate rages across our country
across many fronts , it is and remains important that
the rule of law and the role of the rule of law remains
our focus as a primary protector. Also, that we ensure
that here in this place, within the Legislature, we e nsure that we continue to remove barriers, to freely access both social and economic opportunities in our country. And so the laws that we promulgate should
be targeted at that objective, certainly the policies that
any Government pursues should have as that policy,
have as its aim, the removal of social and eco nomic
barriers.
I chose the area of Court Services and may I
say much of what has been presented by the Learned
Attorney General in this presentation is not dissimilar
to sequential budgets on the Ministry of Justice pr esented by myself in former years, s o the model r emains the same. As I began at the top of my observ ations, there have been a number of observations just
in examining Court Services itself that describe where
we are, particularly socially, and in the administration
of justice.
Today we do an excellent job at diagnosing
the problem —urine analysis, risk assessments, all of
the mandates of the Court Services . . . reduction of
recidivism. And what we do . . . and even as I listened
to the Learned Attorney General’s report on the outcomes of Court Services, what we do is an excellent diagnosis of a problem driven largely, Mr. Chairman,
by the presence of drugs in our country —an event
which began in earnest 30, 40 years ago in the 1970s
when large quantities of Class A drugs began to be
dumped into this community. It was a storybook that
has been replicated in many jurisdictions across the world with always the same outcomes —attacks on the
minds of our young people, depression, loss of jobs, and then added to this we have the policy of policing
that interdicts charges, makes career choices increasingly impossible for this cohort of persons in our cou ntry. And so no wonder the challenges experienced,
and as reported, by the Minister of Legal Affairs, under Head 74, obtain.
Would that we could focus on breaking the
system of why and how drugs get into the country in the first place because urine analysis and asses sments and trying to reduce recidivism and drug treatment court and mental . . . court —

[Inaudible interjection]

Hon. Michael J. Scott: The mental health court,
(thank you, sir). These are all a part of the cons equences of the problems that we face. And we simply
are involved in an experience where the 357 cases
that the Learned Attorney General referred to as under mandate right now, are r eplicated in another five
years for another generation of young Bermudians,
largely male, not so many females [yet], young
women, are being caught up in this as well. And most are disturbingly largely a black population, inhabits our
prisons and corrections departments.
So, looking at Head 74, the Department of
Court Services, the main plank of which is to reduce
this recidivism, that rotating door, and that is under
[line item] 7403, Assessment and Treatment; [line item] 7402, Administration and Aftercare; [line item]
922 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly 7404, Probation Services, Parole Services and Drug
Treatment Court [cost centres 84010, 84020, and
84080].
We note that in addition to destroying the sy stem, the funding of drugs that come into our country, rather than this kicking of the can down the road so
that we are diagnosing and witnessing 5,000 cases
since 2008 (1,000 only this year) are giving testim onies about these many, many, many, far too many
cases, whether they are serious crimes or crimes i nvolving sexual offending, or crimes involving the whole
panoply of offences that must be involved in 5,000
cases since 2008. When will we, as a consequence of
a material, strategic criminal justice reform, stop the
diagnosis and the rotation of this cycle?
I submit that it requires . . . th e system of drug
importations and the dumping of Class A drugs into
our country, as I say, since the 1970s, and we will
continue to be having these discussions, and this is
no criticism of the Learned Attorney General because,
as I say, we managed these ki nds of . . . used these
tools throughout the entirety of our administration in
the Progressive Labour Party.
But when under Head 74 the Learned Attorney General references the Drug Court, which has often been one of the stars in the firmament of how
we ar e dealing with treatment and trying to stop persons from reappearing in the drug treatment court
again, we have only four candidates that were . . . and
a small percentage of persons who drift back into drug
offences versus that other statistic that the Learned
Attorney General gave to us of the 357 or so cases
under management. That is where there is the signal that we are failing. We are not winning on this problem.
As you listened to the entire Court Services’
presentation and analyses with the . . . and even with
what used to be the success story of the Drug Court, we are beginning to show that even under Drug
Court’s statistical outcomes, we are losing the battle.
But that we could direct . . . and I want to commend
and congratulate the policy analysts for forging
through and driving through policy and attacks on the
problem that we have in our country that impacts e mployment, employability, absence of depression, a bsence of mental illness, absence of taking a real ac-tive and useful part in one’s community called Bermuda.
I also commend the professionals within the
Head 74, Department of Court Services, who do their
very best and do a good job at making assessments,
and probation officers and the probation and parole boards sending our citizens back out into the comm unity. But when the report refers to the partnerships
that we seek to deploy in the private sector to absorb
these clients who are engaged in these courses, this is just the beginning of yet another device and tool,
but it does not address my primary criticism that we
are year after year leaving unaddressed and creating new generations of cohorts of clients for court services.
Mr. Chairman, turning to the question of the
Judiciary and the Head 3 where we see the amounts
of revenue driven . . . if we just examine on page B -
74, if we examine just for a moment the revenue
sources that the Judicial Department contributes u nder its various cost centres, we all remember the T umin Report and how it was moved to consider the whole question of how traf fic offending in our country
is managed. But, you know, traffic fines and traffic
court that creates this Magistrates Court glut, there
are three areas of endeavour. The Traffic Court is
filled every day and it produces revenue for the Go vernment; the Civi l Court and Debt Court is filled every
day, it produces revenue for the private sector clients
collecting debts and to some extent the Government; Child Maintenance payments where there are all of
these warrants that are becoming outstanding that the
Minis ter referred us to. This is producing pressure on
the courts.
Traffic cases, as Judge Tumin indicated, is
producing not criminals, but it is producing a flow of
young men, largely. They are the ones that get on
bikes without insurance, get on bikes and speed, get
on bikes that are not . . . and get on bikes that have
been stolen by them. It is a real field of disaster, but we are making money out of it.
Now, under the cost centre of Pedlar’s L icences, which is a very interesting cost centre, it
represents s ome of the lowest revenue sources to our
Consolidated Fund, and yet it is one of the more pos itively entrepreneurial aspects. But that we could develop more cost centres similar to that area and drive
entrepreneurism so that persons who have left corrections can engage in these other cost centres. It does
not all have to . . . we have to think about and policy
analysts have to give thought to how we can develop
within our raft of activities more areas that sponge up clients coming out of rehabilitation for drugs, coming
out of corrections, coming out of some interruption in
their lives, into an area of productivity.
As it has been recognised that the private
sector partnership is important, but it does not . . . we
can be sure that it is not operating as we ll as it should.
The Honourable and Learned Attorney General spoke
nice words, because some civil servant has said we
have to get an absorbing sponge involved, so people
have been approached. But with the population that
are in our corrections and the number that the Attorney General cited of 357 cases under management at the moment, to show some real absorption of those
persons into other activities similar to the Pedlar’s cost
centre would address the whole question of inability to
pay child maintenance, inability to pay debts or end up
in prison and go through yet another cycle, inability to
meet fines.
So it is maintenance, warrants for nonpayment of fines, and it creates an innovative positive


Bermuda House of Assembly activity rather than relying on the easy option of fines
and recoveries in connection with traffic matters. It
restricts a person’s freedom of movement and the
ability to get about when they lose their licence and in
a comparative way, the pedlar’s licence type of activity
and other entrepreneurial activity seems a much better, a much more positive policy to both develop and
pursue.
We now know that within the Judicial Depar tment . . . I read in the Minister’s brief the complement
of judges that keep this department upholding the rule
of law in our country. But there is a vacancy in the
Judiciary of one Puisne Judge or Supreme Court
Judge, there is a vacancy in the Registrar’s Office,
and persons, I imagine (in fact, I am made to understand), will apply for these positions.
I want to commend Ms. Scott, the Registr ar,
for the sterling job that she has done over these many years. I hope, and I am sure, that the vacancy being
created by the retiring Justice Norma Wade- Miller . . .
I certainly wish to thank Justice Norma Wade- Miller for
her service to this country in t he field of a Puisne
Judge. I know that the Legal Services Commission is
wedded to the idea of replacing judicial appointments
with Bermudians, and I wish them well in their consi deration of all applications that have been made to
them, as we fill these tw o vacancies created.
After [Head] 74, there comes [Head] 75 and
there is a vacancy occurring there with the Office of the Director. And I take this opportunity as I begin on
Head 75 to acknowledge that the Director of Public
Prosecutions is an impor tant office concerned with the
administration of crim inal justice. Mr. Rory Field is
leaving for fairer and bet ter fields, and I wish him well
and thank him for his service that has extended, I am
sure more than 10 years, to our Island. Again, the Legal Ser vices Co mmission will consider applicants to
this position, and it is an opportunity to . . . Mr. Field is
English. This is an opportunity for the recommendation to be made by the Legal Services Commission for an able, qualified, competent Bermudian to fil l that
position.
So we look forward, I am most sure we all
agree in this House, to the process taking place and hearing about who that new appointee to this important constitutional function is.
I noted that there were key activities, Mr.
Chairman (I am drifting very briefly back to [Head] 74),
for the upcoming year. And it comes under the head-ing of Aftercare (just let me be sure about that), yes,
the Aftercare and Community Integration Services,
cost centre 84030, under Court Services. [It mentions]
expanded partnerships between Government and pr ivate entities to explore the need for residential options for male clients. FOCUS was and remains an important entity within our community that provides this option, this facility of residential care. And so I take this
opportunity to note that FOCUS has been under some
considerable stressors of late about being able to co n-tinue to fund itself to continue this function in our
community. But if residential care is not there for cl ients exiting from either programme s or corrections or
from courses, then the recidivism, which is the main
mandate of Court Services, is placed at risk of having these sterling successes return to the rotating door
because housing is basic. I know that families have a
role, but often they do not, often they are not present,
which is why the entities like FOCUS, and there are
one or two others, are so important.
So we underscore the good efforts to press
for more residential options for male clients. We certainly underscore that FOCUS needs to be supported
so that it continues to fill that gap.
When one considers that many of these cl ients who are going through these community based
programmes are being . . . there has been an emphasis on both sex and violent offender programmes and
anger management programmes, violence reduction
and life skills, marijuana groups —to name but a few.
Again, this begins to speak only to this menticide that
occurs when drugs take over a person, this depression. It speaks again to the need to attack the system
at its core as opposed to simply trying to manage, d iagnose, these awful outcomes. Otherwise we lose
good, able- bodied people to become a part of the s ocial fabric and the economic fabric. I mean, there
could not be a more important area for governmental
endeavour than this.
I do not know if any of us have read the
analysis, the history of the China Opium Wars and how it created zombies in that nation. And then what it
is doing in Mexico right now, the prevalence of drugs. And I do recall a time . . . I am old enough to recall
that in the 1970s was when we began to see the
dumping of Class A drugs into this community, or into
the communities of South Central in Los Angeles. All
of them have the very same affect. And when it comes
to criminal justice reform, here we have an opport unity, if ever we had one, not to look for ways to continue to make court processes more efficient and
more cost -effective, but to ensure that we really get at
the problem of destruction of the system, the funding
of drug trafficking and trade in a meaningful way that I
think Bermuda can do more successfully than in any
other large countries.
You will forgive me for moving on the board of
these Heads —

Well, it is clear you are engaged in a
stream of consciousness —
Hon. M ichael J. Scott: A stream of consciousness .
James Joyce is alive and well in my presentation.
But the Learned Attorney General produced
the summary on the Legal Aid Services, and I have a
few questions for my learned friend.
It has been of interest to note that Legal Aid
has been funded and increased in funding and that is
924 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly always welcome. Legal Aid is very important to access justice in Bermuda. Frankly, the reason that u nder my administration (and certainly this administr ation faced the same challenges, we saw reductions)
was that the draw on the Legal Aid fund was contin uing to escalate, largely due to these multi -defendant
trials. But just even listening to and reading the as-sessment of the Attorney General’s brief, out of the 13
. . . and these are the highlighted cases. I mean, I
think there were some 50- plus criminal trials. The
number of multi -handlers I counted was four.
We appear to be getting a handle on the
multi- handler types of cases producing large impacts
on the Legal Aid fund. And the Depar tment of Public
Prosecutions and the Learned Attorney General’s Chambers managing Legal Aid . . . everyone is to be
commended for this because I see, as a person who
occasionally goes into the criminal courts, a getting
hold of the whole question of these very serious gun
involved violent crimes, even the gang- related inc idents. There have been a few, but as you count them,
there is every indication that we are getting a handle
on it.
If we do not provide access to justice through
a Legal Aid system that is well funded, one day we
are going to be challenged in the courts on that. We
will. Someone will take a case that we are denied the ability to access justice. So I commend the Minister
and Learned Attorney General for increasing the
budget there, ever keeping in mind the fact that the
whole question of demands on the Legal Aid fund will
be reduced by a successful reduction of major serious
crime prosecutions becoming necessary and/or mult iple handl ers occurring in our criminal justice system.
I was both pleased and happy to see that the
Director of Public Prosecutions announced the establishment of a Code for Prosecutors, a road map, a
legal road map, for prosecutors to follow in decisions
on prosecutions, or decisions on whether or not to
prosecute. And I remember discussing this with my
learned colleague in the last debate, and I discussed it
with the DPP. But I think it is a useful code and a us eful thing to have so that prosecutors have a book of
rules that gives them best practices and best princ iples for making decisions about placing a citizen
within a criminal process, which is obviously traumatic. There are other ways that it can be managed based
on a number of best practice principles as to when
you pull the trigger to send a person into a criminal
process. And so the model that we have adopted complies with best practices, and I am sure that it will
do the practitioners within the DPP’s offices a world of good and assistance as they become familiar with and
start applying this code in connection wi th prosec utions in our country.
Now, if it that can all be married to the call that
I make for attacking the system so that we are not
over prosecuting and prosecuting in a way that has
disparity in it, all the better. We really do then begin to address t he whole question of justice reform in a way
that citizens really can appreciate.
You know, the Chief Justice presides over
Head 3, the Judiciary, and has done, and is doing, a
good job of leading that complement of his staff and upholding the rule of law in our country. The Chief
Justice is wedded to being a justice who engages in
advancing constitutional principles integrated into
what was an area that was somewhat a road untra veled until very recently. And so we are getting the rule of law being applied fairly and the law is being applied
to the whole question of Human Rights and nondiscriminatory practices being integrated into the a pplication of the law in our country. And this can only
enhance the rule of law and the Chief Justice and his
team of senior judges, and it moves across the judic iary down to the magistracy’s level. It can only e nhance the administration of justice in the hands of those fine members of the Judiciary. And so we find
that we will build up a body of laws that underpin the
whole of our democracy and the whole important pri nciple of the rule of law.
I was pleased to be at a forum on the impact
of race in our legal system in which the Chief Justice
made a presentation and you, Mr. Chairman, made a
very studied and important presentation on the whole
question of reduction of the intrusion of race consi derations in our legal or in our justice system. That is
yet another example, too, of the judicial successes at
levelling playing fields and ensuring that there is the
absence of discr iminatory practices, across all of the
human rights areas of discrimination and/or race.
Race was the focus of that forum, but as we all know,
we are seeing the whole question of human rights and
all of the categories —the new categories of sexual
orientati on, same- sex marriages —now with us are all
being explored by our Judiciary in this time. So those
are the primary points, I believe, I wanted to take up.
Legal Aid I think I have covered with . . . I
want to understand too just as a measure to the Hon-ourable and Learned Attorney General, how many
applications for Legal Aid have been rejected? How
many persons have been refused Legal Aid? These
are numbers that he may have to get for me. Has
there been any level . . . let me just find it. How many
unreprese nted defendants are appearing in our
courts? Which is yet another barometer reading of
whether persons are there unrepresented, because
Legal Aid is something that they simply could not organise.
It is unrepresented defendants in the civil or
criminal mat ters, primarily criminal matters, I think I
am concerned with, that is the more important as the
risk there is loss of freedom. Rejected applications,
which would give me an understanding about just how
Legal Aid is doing in terms of persons not having access or failing to gain access to justice because they
have not been able to acquire legal aid.



Bermuda House of Assembly [Pause]

Hon. Michael J. Scott: I think I would like to just conclude by acknowledging the complete brief that pr ovides a good deal of information and data across the
entirety of the Legal Services Ministry. And to thank
the Learned Attorney General for placing this inform ation before the country today as we look for better
ways to pursue the administration of justice. You
know, the number of SARs (Suspicious Act ivity R eports) that the Learned Attorney General referred to —

[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Michael J. Scott: Yes, under the Financial Intelligence Agency.
How many of these SARs reports are linked to
terrorism, if any at all? I can see many being linked to
financial crime, but are we deploying both budget and time and resources to actually stop funding of terrorism? Now that we have gotten many, many years
down the road —over 15 years —of having this kind of
reporting and monitoring going on, do we see the risk
of funding of terrorism in any material way?
I will leave some time for the Attorney General. I think we do have plenty of time and I will leave
some time for others who wish to speak on this matter.

[Pause]

Hon. Michael J. Scott: When the Attorney General
was giving his assessment of the magistracy and the
question of outstanding fines, the question of ou tstanding warrants, and outstanding maintenance
payments for children, it has to be clear that those
9,000, nearly 10,000, active warrants are being driven
by the downturn, people being out of work. So they
are not paying fines, they are not paying child maint enance, and they are not able to pay fines imposed on
them in the courts.
We all know, but we all hope that [decreasing]
the unemployment f igures will certainly begin to address this. But it is all part of my basic theses that the driving . . . the driving factors, . the drivers of this sy stemic, both barriers to participating in social and ec onomic life, and the impact of falling out of wor k, driven
out by our administration of criminal justice, which prevents people [who are] making applications for
work being successful if they are carrying these co nvictions and records. We contribute to and exacerbate and compound the problem, and the day is well past
time that we look at another way and another system
of addressing the country’s needs, particularly in
these times.
And so thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank the
Learned Attorney General for his information provided
in his brief.
Thank you. The Chairman: Thank you, Honourable Member.
Is there any other Honourable Member that
wishes to speak to these Heads?
Attorney General?

Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: Thank you. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
I thank the Shadow Attorney General for his
comments. Any i nformation that he would like to have
we will try and get for him. I do not have the inform ation that he asked for some on the Legal Aid with r espect to applications rejected. I do not have that, but
we can certainly endeavour to get it through the departm ent.
He also asked questions on SARs (Susp icious Activity Reports) that come out of the FIA. And I
just say to him that we will very shortly be tabling the most recent annual reports for the Financial Intell igence Agency, so that will be coming to this House
very soon. That will come to us very shortly.
We are also entering into, as I mentioned in
my brief, there is this mutual assessment that will be
taking placing by CFATF of us in the year 2017/18. So
that will also tell us how effective we are in term s of
preventing any sort of financial activity in this jurisdi ction that could be related to terrorism, et cetera. So that will also be a very good exercise for us in that regard.
I certainly would like to join that Honourable
Member and learned friend of mine in thanking every
one of the officers who work in these various heads in
the Ministry for the sterling work that they do. And
some of it, as he says, is very much unrecognised in Court Service, very difficult work in Probation, et cetera.
Having sai d that, I would like to then move the
Heads: Head 87— Ministry of Legal Affairs Headquarters; Head 3—Judicial Department; Head 4— Attorney
General’s Chambers; Head 74 —Department of Court
Services; and Head 75—Department of Public Pros ecutions.

So it has been moved that Heads 3,
4, 74, 75 and 84 —
Hon. Trevor G. Moniz: [Head] 87.
926 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly The Chairman: —[Head] 87 be approved.
Any objection to that?
So approved.

[Gavel]

[Motion carried: The Ministry of Legal Affairs, Heads
3, 4, 74, 75, and 87 were approved and stand part of
the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditures for the
year 2016/17.]

It has been moved that the Commi ttee rise, report progress, and sit again.
Any objection to that?
So moved.

[Gavel]

[Motion carried: The Committee of Supply rose, r eported progress and sought leave to sit again.]

[Pause]

The Deputy Sp eaker: Thank you, Members. We are
now moving back to the Order Paper for the day, O rder No. 2 on the Order Paper.

The Chair recognises the Pr emier. You have the floor.

ORDER

STATISTICS (CENSUS OF POPULATION AND
HOUSING) ORDER 2016

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
I move that consideration be given to the draft
Order entitled the Statistics (Census of Population and
Housing) Order 2016, proposed to be made by the
Minister responsible for Statistics under the provision of section 5(3) of the Statistics Act 2002.

Is there any objection?
No objection.
Proceed.
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
The matter before this Honourable House this
evening is consideration of the Order entitled the St atistics (Census of Population and Housing) Order
2016. In less than three months from today, the D epartment of Statistics will begin col lecting the 2016
Census information from residents of Bermuda. Madam Deputy Speaker, the collection of the census
information is a mammoth task for any country. We
will accomplish this work by using a multi -model a pproach that includes electronic means, telephone i nterviews, personal interviews, and mail.
I would like to remind this Honourable House
that the information collected during this census is of
paramount importance to the development of social
and economic policy. It is for this reason, Madam Deputy Speaker, that all residents 16 years and older
are required to provide census information to a census officer.
The primary purpose of this Order is to confer
upon the Director of Statistics the legal authority to
take a census of population and housing in Bermuda and to establish Friday, 20
th of May 2016 as Census
Day. Census Day is the day to which all data collected by census officers refer, unless otherwise specified.
Madam Deputy Speaker, the Director of St atistics, through this Order, has the aut hority to collect
information in respect to the following topics:
1. where the person being interviewed spent
census night;
2. characteristics;
3. birthplace;
4. immigration;
5. status in Bermuda;
6. health;
7. marital status;
8. fertility;
9. education;
10. economic activity;
11. income fr om the main job;
12. income from other sources;
13. household members and visitors;
14. dwelling characteristics; and
15. emigration.

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

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker (as we have
had a change in Chair), the Census questionnaire i ncludes one new question. There is currently a question on the section titled Health, which asks about the
type of health insurance coverage. If the person a nswering responds No or None, then a new question
has been added that asks for the m ain reason for not
having health insurance. The data collected from this
question will be useful to both Government and pol icymakers.


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members will know
that there are fewer topics listed for the 2016 Census.
The Department of Stati stics has endeavoured to
achieve cost -savings by collecting data on core census questions, to reduce the duration of the intervie wing and to minimise the response burden on the public
for this interim census. In addition— and this is important to note, Mr. Speaker —the Department of Stati stics is investing in technology that will reduce the total
costs allocated to hiring field workers and clerical
workers.
Mr. Speaker, the Order authorises the Director of Statistics to start collecting census data during
the period beginning Saturday, 21st of May 2016, and
ending no later than Saturday, 31st of December 2016.
During the data collection period, the following persons are obligated to provide a census officer with
information: household records persons, who mai nly
are responsible for the running of the affairs of a
household; household members who have attained
the age of 16 years on the Census Day; persons in charge of a hotel or an institution; persons in charge
of other persons on board a government ship or a
vessel who were in Bermuda on census night.
Mr. Speaker, we are determined to secure
information so that sound policies can be derived and
Government’s efforts and resources can be strateg ically deployed as we continue to work on behalf of the
people of Bermuda. To assist Honourable Members
with their consideration of this Order tonight, I will pr ovide a brief analysis of the provisions in the Order as they appear.
Paragraph 1 of the Order cites the full title of
the Order. Paragraph 2 of the Order provi des interpr etations for the main terms used in the Order. Par agraph 3 of the Order stipulates Friday, 20
th of May
2016, as Census Day. Paragraph 4 authorises the
Director of Statistics to take a census of population and housing of Bermuda during that census period.
Paragraph 5 of the Order specifies the persons required to provide information at a private dwel ling unit. Paragraph 6, Mr. Speaker, of the Order spec ifies the persons required to provide information
at a group dwelling unit. And paragraph 7 of t he Order
specifies the persons required to provide information
at a hotel. Paragraph 8 of the Order specifies the persons to provide information at non- sheltered locations.
And paragraph 9 of the Order specifies the persons required to provide information at an institution.
Paragraph 10 of the Order specifies the persons to provide information on board a government ship or vessel. Paragraph 11 of the Order specifies
data collection methods to be used during census -
taking.
Mr. Speaker, Schedule 1 outlines the topics to
be asked of household members and household reference persons at private dwelling units. Schedule 2
outlines the topics to be asked of household members
and household reference persons at group dwelling units. Schedule 3 outlines topics to be asked of
household members and household reference persons at non- shelter locations. And Schedule 4 outlines
topics to be asked of persons at institutions.
Mr. Speaker, with that outline, I am looking
forward to comments from colleagues. Thank you, sir.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, obviously, we support this O rder. We recognise the importance of it. And of course,
it demonstrates our ability to support important legisl ation and Orders coming from the Government side
when we feel that it clearly is of benefit to the public.
So we are happy to support this.
Mr. Speaker, data are critically important for
making adequate and proper policy decisions. There
is a sentiment that sometimes goes around that there
were lies, other type of lies, and then there are stati stics. People tend to dismiss it because there is so
much confusion in s ocial media and so much conf usion on the Internet that people no longer trust the
data that they see, because they come from multiple sources.
But census data is absolutely critical for getting information on key aspects of our country. So we
need this. I am happy to see that we are doing it now.
There was legislation passed some time ago to allow
for a census to be held really more often than it had traditionally been held. It used to be held every 10
years, now we have the ability to do it more than once
every 10 years. My ideal preference is that we do it
every five years. But I think the Premier’s point is that
you do a larger scale census, and then you do a more
modified version just to get ready access to data.
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Statisti cs is
one of the most efficient departments in Government.
I have worked with them for more than 20 years, and I
always get quick and detailed responses, and they just have a very high level of professionalism. So
when I look at the survey instrument, I am more or
less pleased with it.
I do have some questions for the Honourable
Premier, which I am hoping he will be able to address.
The last census, we had a challenge because there was a very high refusal rate. And even though the
people are required by law to answer it, there was a
very high refusal rate. And some of the refusals came in a rather hostile fashion. So I want to know what pr otocols are in place to address that, because that led to
a significant delay in the delivery of the data last time.
Seco ndly, Mr. Speaker, I am encouraged to
see that the Government will use online means to a far greater degree than ever before. And that will help
to expedite it and reduce the costs. I am not sure I
928 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly understand why we are still doing mail, though. Mail is
known as snail mail. And you typically get a very, very
low and late response rate for mail. So if I could get
an estimation as to why we are doing mail in addition
to telephone, site visits, as well as the online— that
just seems to be inefficient in this modern era.
Also, will there be a mechanism to address
the non- occupied dwelling units? Because of the modus operandi with online and other means, will we still
be able to catch all the vacant units? The last time I saw census data, we had about 2,000 vacant units.
And I just want to know if there is a methodology by
which we will still be able to get that, because that, of
course, has significant policy implications.
So, Mr. Speaker, I see that we are doing a
modified question. I just have a couple of questi ons
about the questionnaire. I already asked the Premier if
this was to be the totality of the questions that were to
be asked, and he did say they were because it is a
scaled- down census.
[Crosstalk]

I would like to know, if you look at
the Schedule 1, Characteristics, you have Character-istics, (a), (b), (c) . . . Question 2(c) Sex. Can you just
confirm whether “Sex” is the proper nomenclature for
today? “Sex” as opposed to “gender”? If you use sex,
then you have two options; if you use gender, there
are more than two options.

[Laughter]

Well, I just want to know, what is
the standard? What is the international norm today, to
use “sex” or “gender” in the questionnaire? So that is
the first thing.
Secondly, I see that you have “race” being
asked, but there needs to be “ethnicity” as well. And I
think if y ou are going to ask the question, you got
people right there, you should ask ethnicity. So is it
possible to amend this questionnaire, I guess? We have enough time to add a couple of other dimensions
to it.
I notice also that we have question 3, Birt hplace, (a) Country of birth. Well, I am not sure what
that means.

Where you were born. Mr. Walton Brown: Mr. Speaker, I am not quite sure
what that means. Because you could be born in a
country, but not be a citizen of that country. So what I
want to know is whether the technical people can have the adequate and proper wording so that we know where people were born, as well as what their
nationality was when they were born. Because an yone born in Bermuda is not necessarily a British su bject. S o the question, I think, is important, especially in
light of some of the changes that we are looking at
making legislatively in another area. So if these ques-tions are not bedded in stone, I think that we might
want to adjust that, or add to it.
Then als o, on the question 5, Status in Bermuda, is it just Bermudian or non- Bermudian? Or
should we not also ask if they have PRC? Because it
has relevance, again, to policy formulation. I have not seen the questionnaire, and I have not seen the a nswer categories . So I pose these questions just so
that we can get the best possible information out of
this.
And of course, question 7 on marital status,
given what has just been proposed today by the Go vernment, we might want to add an additional category
as well, in terms of not marital status, but the actual
nature of the union between people. Because again,
we are talking about policy matters, and that is why
we are doing it.
I also just would like to see . . . I think if you
get into the data, you might as well ask it. The question 9 asks, Education (a) Highest academic qualific ation obtained, I think it might also be relevant to look at those people, try to identify those who have actually
had further, or additional training, because one of the big challenges today is that when companies make
people redundant, people in their 40s and 50s need to
find new opportunities. And the world has changed so
much, a significant number of people are actually b eing retrained. So it would be useful and helpful if we
are collecting data for policy development, let us ask,
Who is involved in retraining? And therefore, the Go vernment can better assess what it may need to do in
terms of providing a level of retraining for people.
Right. Question 12. Can you confirm whether
or not when you ask for income from other sources whether those sources are broken down by category?
Because there is rental income, there is dividend i ncome, there is Social Assistance income. And again, it
makes sense from a policy standpoint. You are going
into t he field. You are asking questions. You should
ask these questions. And because it is not specified
here, it may already be included. But I would just like
to know if we are, in fact, including those different
categories in the answer.
My last point here is that I am happy to see
[Schedule 1,] Part B, question 4 on Emigration, to collect data. I just want to make sure that we have a m odality in place to ensure that, without double counting.
Because you are asking people in a household if they


Bermuda House of Assembly know if other members in their household have left the
Island. If someone is filling it out online and someone
else is filling it out in person . . . I know Stats have
thought about it. I am sure you have thought about it.
So I just need to know, what modalities do you have in
place to ensure that we are not double counting —if
someone answers it online and someone else a nswers it in the house, that you do not actually end up
counting more people having left the Island than there
actually have been?
So those are my ques tions, Mr. Speaker. We
do not go into Committee, because it is an Order, correct?

Mr. Premier.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker,
and thank the Honourable Member for his contribution. And I am pleased to see, Mr. Speaker, that the
Honourable Member is comfortable with the work of
the Statistics Department (my words, not his) —

[Inaudibl e interjection]

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Very comfortable, the
Honourable Member said.
Mr. Speaker, just for the edification of Honourable Members in the House and people listening, I
sit down with all heads of the departments within the
Cabinet Office on a regular basis and go through what
is going on in those areas. And obviously, I have had
the opportunity now, for some time, to meet with the
Department of Statistics. And it is interesting. The
Honourable Member who spoke for the Opposition on
this sub ject has been involved in information and st atistics and polling in another life. I guess, that the
Honourable Member has. So he would know, as well
as most people, that when you collect information and
when you collect statistics, that you can feel very c omfortable with the approach you took and the inform ation that you obtained, and other people can try to spin it in another way. So the work of the Department of Statistics is
a very difficult job to do because it is all in the interpr etation of the data. But I have been very pleased, as
Premier, with the responsibility over that, to have the
opportunity to work with them. I know they have a tremendous job with the number of surveys they do
and the work that is required, and the way nowadays
people tend to look at that information in a very thorough review of that information. So I take the opport unity to congratulate the Director, who is here tonight,
and the PS, who is here as well.
To answer a few of the questions that the
Honourable Member raised, and if there are others
that I missed in doing this, I am happy to come back
again and answer them.
First, let me just say in a general comment,
Mr. Speaker, that the questionnaires have been final-ised. I am happy to get a copy of the questionnaire for
Honour able Members so they can see the actual copy
of the final questionnaire. If we were to change the
questionnaires at this point in time, it would certainly jeopardise the department’s ability to adjust the internal controls and mechanisms before the Census Day.
And further questions or modifications would also r equire testing, which I think the Honourable Member would understand and appreciate.
So, given the time constraints we have and
the need to try to collect this information in an appr opriate way, I th ink it is prudent that we stick with what
we have here, because it is tested and tried by the
Department of Stats. So I am comfortable with that
approach.
Now, I believe the first question or comment
that the Honourable Member made was in regards to the refusal rate for the last census, which was started
in 2010, and the information was finally released in
2012. There was a 96 per cent rate of completion for
that census, which is a bit lower than in past censuses, and I think it was related to two main fac tors.
The first, Mr. Speaker, at the end, there was a shor tage of interviewers to actually do the final job and get
it done. And there was a real concern by the interviewers in certain neighbourhoods for their safety at the time. And that led to being just a bit deficient
there.
We believe with the approach that we are taking this time, when we start out with the e- Census
first, (and as I said in the Statement to this Honourable House a few weeks ago, in the e- Census, we
launched that on the first day of t he four stages that
we do), it is anticipated we will probably get about a 10 or 12 per cent success rate or completion rate.
That is what we have got when we tested it, and we
believe we can get that when we actually do the census. And if we do it at a hi gher rate, then we will be
much better off.
By doing the e- Census and then following on
with the different modules after that, I think we will be able to have a very, very high completion rate, and I
930 29 February 2016 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly think Members of this Honourable House and me mbers of t he public will be comfortable with the results
that we get.
To answer a few of the other questions, in
regards to mail, Mr. Speaker, the mail option is the
last option that will be used. Prior to that, we have the
online, the e- Census, which I mentioned. We will have
the telephone. And the personal interviews will also be
used to collect data collection. So the mail is just to try
to get some more information done.
Mr. Speaker, in regards to country of birth and
Bermuda status, this will be collected in t he census.
The question I believe you asked about race and et hnicity, only race will be collected in the 2016 Census.
Ethnicity includes that of culture. And, Mr. Speaker, when we have discussed this paper in other places,
before the Order came to the Hous e, just like the
Honourable Member has raised a number of ques-tions that he would like to be included in the census,
we also had those same questions. And we deferred
to the expertise of those people in the Department of Stats to guide us as we move forwar d.
I think you asked about PRC status. That will
be collected in the census. And marital status, was
that another question?
[Inaudible interjection]
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: At this time, we will not be
able to collect information on unions. However, info rmation can be collected in regards to sex and the rel ationship in the household.
Emigration has been collected in previous
censuses, and it will be collected again, emigration,
yes. Not reflecting on another debate, Mr. Speaker,
but I referred to that in the economic debate that we
had on Friday night. So emigration will continue to be
collected.
So having said that, I am happy to answer any
more questions. I just have an answer here that has
come through on education. The highest educational
attainment will be collected; but unfortunately, there
will be no information collected on training.
With that, I am happy to hear more comments
or answer any further questions.

Since there are none, Premier.

Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Now that we have concluded the debate, I
move that the draft Order be approved and that a
message be sent from t his Honourable House to His
Excellency the Governor. The Speaker: Thank you, Premier.
Are there any objections to this approval and
that a message be sent to the Governor?
There are none.
This matter is approved.

[Motion passed: The Statistics (Census of Population
and Housing) Order 2016 was considered by the
whole House and approved.]

Thank you.
The Chair will recognise the Honourable
Member from constituency 6, MP Wayne Furbert.

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, an interesting day. This morning
we starte d out with the Minister reading a Statement,
and I am sure that most Members in this House, e xcept the Premier, are probably totally confused about
what is going on.

[Laughter]
Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Not on this side.
[Inaudible interjections]

CIVIL UNION BILL
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: The Minister read out the
Government’s Bill on Matrimonial Causes, I am not
going to debate that. But in her Statement, the Mini ster talks about that they seek to confirm that, notwit hstanding (and it is all in bold print) the Human Rights
Act, marriage remains exclusively a relationship between a male and a female, inferring that the Government will still bring the Matrimonial Causes Bill.
But then we have, in the discussion Bill (which
I am not going to discuss) the same statement about
between a male and a female. But then the Premier
makes the statement about a referendum. Now, all


Bermuda House of Assembly this time they have been denying the whole idea of
having a referendum. Members from this side have
tried to lay down motions. Just here r ecently I know
one of my colleagues tried to lay down . . . We heard
the—

There was a reason for that.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Right.
But my point is this: Is the Government going
to be debating the Matrimonial Causes Bill? Or are we asking the people to make the decision between
same -sex marriage or union? Because it is confusing.
Will the Government be pulling the Bill and letting the
people decide whether there should be a yes or a no
on the referendum? Because to me, it is confusing.
Now, maybe I am the only one.

[Inaudible interjections]

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: But I am sure I am speaking
to some Members on that side, Mr. Speaker. They are
confused also.

No, no, no.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Right? They can say no, no
as much as they want. But up to last week when the Honourable Minister . . . As a matter of fact, the Honourable Minister said in a meeting that I think was held
at Berkeley, the Minister and the Honourable Member
Trevor Moniz, when the question was asked, Will you
have a referendum? the Honourable Minister (I am
paraphrasing) said, No, because the majority would
trample on the minority.
So, you know, some Ministers say, No, we are
not. And the key Minister is saying and the Premier is
saying, Yes, we are. So there is this whole confusion.
And now the Minister is saying the Government will
bring the Civil Union Bill. Now we have a discussion of
the Civil Union Bill. And the reason why is because
they know that they cannot get it through the caucus.
Because the Minister said we are go ing to have a
conscience vote. We are going to have a conscience vote. When any government brings a conscience vote,
we know the signal is they cannot get it through their
caucus. It is clear.
So I asked the Minister one day, Well, will the
Cabinet Minist er have a conscience vote? She said,
No, no, no, no, no, no, the Cabinet Minister will not
have a conscience vote, only the backbenchers. Well, that is totally confusing. That is really la- la land, right?
And most times anybody brings that conscience vote,
it is a backbencher. That is who is brings a con-science vote, because you cannot have the Gover nment lose their Bill.

So the Government has these meetings up
and down the country, Berkeley —at least at Berkeley
and over at CedarBridge, saying, We are goi ng to
have a Bill on civil union, right? And it is going to be a
conscience vote, knowing it is going to lose. And then
we are going to also have a Matrimonial Causes Bill,
which they laid, which is going to define marriage as
between male and female.
What is it? Where does the Government stand
right now? Will the Government still be debating the
Matrimonial Causes Bill? Will that still take place? Or will we wait? What is the answer? Should we have
same -sex marriage, or should we have civil union? Or
is it a yes -or-no between same- sex marriage, yes -orno between civil union? Where is the Government?
They have totally confused the country on where they
stand. I guess they are trying to please everyone,
even their backbenchers, and they cannot get it
through.
So maybe the Minister, or the Premier . . . I
am not referring to the two key Ministers who the
Premier told to go out and have these discussions up
and down the country, because now the buck falls to
the Premier. Where is the Government standing on
this issue? Will the Matrimonial Causes Bill be d ebated? That is why I have held back on my Human
Rights Amendment. You know, if the Government is doing it, I may consider just pulling back. If not, I am
going to bring it forward. So, where does the Gover nment stand on this issue now? Because like I said, by
reading the Statement this morning, it was like the
Minister did not know what the Premier was going to
be doing. Because why would you bring this Stat ement?
Why would you bring a Statement talking
about a discussion amongst ourselves, and we are
supporting the Matrimonial Causes Bill, and then an hour later the Premier calls the Minister (and I am assuming, the Junior Minister) to stand next to him to
say, No, we are having a referendum?
I am not sure if he heard when we were tal king this morning about having a referendum and your
Minister was saying, No, we are not going to have it. It
was like nobody knew what was going on besides the
Premier.

Hon. Patricia J. Gordon -Pamplin: Point of order, Mr.
Speaker.

Thank you. I think that is correct.
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: He was talking about the
margin of appreciation. You remember our discussion
about the margin of appreciation and how we deter-mined it. Our side was saying we could determ ine that
margin based on, I think it was the Oliari case, but
definitely Italy.

[Inaudible interjections]

Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Yes, in Italy, they said that
determined the margin of appreciation. And that side
said, No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. We are
going to be going forward with this discussion on the
. . . and hence we laid it down called a draft discussion on the civil union, and then we are going to move ahead with the Matrimonial Causes Bill. Can someone
on that side, the Premier, stand up and tell the country
exactly where his Government stands right now? We
know the referendum, yes. Well, I do not know! By next week, they will be changing their minds again.
Every week, they change their minds on
where they stand or where they are going. Because—

Dr. the Hon. E. Grant Gibbons: Yes. Like you and
the parties, Wayne.

[Laughter]
Hon. Wayne L. Furbert: Mr. Speaker, I am not going
to answer that question.