September 30, 2024

There are six votes in favour of
the Bill, and three not in favour.
The President: So, Senators, the vote is carried and
there is support for the Bill.
So, Senator Hodgson, you will —
[Motion carried by majority on division: The Bermuda
Health Council Amen dment (No.2) Act 2024 was given
a second reading.]
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes. Thank you, Madam
President.
I move that Rule 26 be suspended in respect
of this Bill.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
And I move that the Bill entitled the Bermuda
Health Council Amendment (No.2) Act 2024 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.
652 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate BILL
THIRD READING
BERMUDA HEALTH COUNCIL
AMENDMENT (NO.2) ACT 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill do now
pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: the Bermuda Health Council Amend-ment (No.2) Act 2024 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson
and Senators.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: We will now move on with our agenda,
the Orders of the Day. The next Order is consideration of the Bermuda Health Council (Health Service Provid-ers) (Licensing) Regulations 2024. And that is also in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson, the Junior Min-ister for Finance . . . spokesperson for Finance, sorry.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes, thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that Standing Order
71(2) be suspended so that Senate may now proceed with consideration of the Bermuda Health Council (Health Service Providers) (Licensing) Regulations
2024.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 71(2) suspended.]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I move
that Senate do now take under consideration the Bermuda Health Council (Health Service Providers) (Li-censing) Regulations 2024 proposed to be made by the
Minister responsible for Health after consultation with
the Council in exercise of the power conferred by section 15 of the Bermuda Health Council Act 2004.
The President: Senator Arianna Hodgson and all Senators, we have been here all morning. It is now 25
minutes past 11 [sic] . And I am putting to you that
maybe we need to break for lunch until two o’clock. Are you in agreement?
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I do
ask that the Senate now do adjourn for lunch, please.
The President: Thank you. We will adjourn for lunch,
and we will return at 2:00 pm.
Proceedings suspended at 12:25 pm
Proceedings resumed at 2:17 pm
The President: Good afternoon, Senators, and to the
listening audience.
We have been delayed, but we will resume with
the Orders of the Day. And prior to the lunch break, we had indicated that item number 11, which is under con-sideration . . . and I believe Senator Arianna Hodgson,
the Junior Minister for Health, was to present on con-sideration of the Bermuda Health Council (Health Ser-vice Providers) (Licensing) Regulations 2024.
I think you had begun to introduce that Bill, and
I am inviting you to continue.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes, Madam President, and
thank you.
DRAFT REGULATIONS
BERMUDA HEALTH COUNCIL (HEALTH SERVICE
PROVIDERS) (LICENSING) REGULATIONS 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Good afternoon.
It is my pleasure to introduce the Bermuda
Health Council (Health Service Providers) (Licensing) Regulations 2024. These Regulations to be made by the Minister of Health pursuant to section 15 of the Ber-muda Health Council Act 2004 provide for the licensin g
of health service providers by the Bermuda Health Council and contain requirements with respect to financially vested referrals and self -referrals.
Madam President, the role of the Health Council is to regulate, coordinate and enhance the delivery
of services rendered by health providers in Bermuda. Under the Bermuda Health Council Act 2004, the Council has the authority “ to exercise regulatory responsibilities with respect to health services and to en-sure that health services are provided to the highest standards . . .” under section 5[(1)](b).
Section 2 of the Act defines a “health service
provider" as “a person, group of persons or organization that operates a business offering health services to
the public, but does not include a person who is an em-ployee under a contract of services . . .”.
Madam President, the Minister of Health intends to gazette a notice that will bring into effect sec-tion 13 of the [Bermuda] Health Council Act 2004 [licensing of health service providers (HSPs)], soon after
assent of the Amendment Act and thereby authorise


Bermuda Senate the Council to fulfil its duty in licensing the businesses
of health service providers whether hospitals, medical,
dental or other professional services related to health.
For clarity, insurance companies are health businesses.
Madam President, the allocation of human resources to the Health Council in 2015 raised its capac-ity to fully exercise its mandate to license and inspect
facilities. The Health Council established a scheme inviting voluntary registration of local health s ervice providers by instituting a scheme inviting registration of local health service providers. In 2019, this registration
evolved into the Provider Advantage Programme basic
and advanced registration. To date, more than 200
health service providers have voluntarily registered
with the Provider Advantage Programme, which repre-sents 32 per cent of the estimated 630 health service
providers in Bermuda.
Madam President, with the making of these
Regulations, the mandatory licensing scheme through the Council will establish a comprehensive register of all health service providers for the first time and building
on the work already conducted. The Health Council has
implemented a robust automated document management system that will be utilised to administer an effi-cient and nimble licensing process.
The local categorisation of health service providers will follow the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] classification that is
published in the OECD System of Health Accounts, Ta-ble 6.2. These categories and SHAs [systems of hea lth
accounts] are already incorporated into the Bermuda
Health Council application form. The desired result is a
comprehensive mapping and classification of health businesses that will be licensed to operate locally.
In a third phase of consultation, codes of practice and business standards specific to each classifica-tion will be developed in close collaboration with the
stakeholders to which they apply. Ideally, this will be
HSP [health share plan] led by classificat ion and facilitated by the Council. It is envisioned that drafts will be shared and developed collaboratively online and transparently, using the Council’s website consultation tab
as needed and until they are finalised.
Madam President, licensing requirements in
the Cayman Islands, US Virgin Islands, The Bahamas,
Barbados, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia
and the USA are all relevant and informative in this matter. The aforementioned list includes Caribbean Islands , countries which already have universal health
coverage (including the UK, Canada, New Zealand and
Australia) and those with a similar fee- for-service
health care model as Bermuda.
Most of these jurisdictions require licensing or
certification of health care facilities. The UK and New
Zealand are exceptions in that emphasis is placed on registration and certification of the service provider and
the health service, respectively, rather than the facility.
Cayman, the US Virgin Islands and The Bahamas require licensing or certification of practitioners’ offices
as well. Like Bermuda, these jurisdictions also have
professional registration requirements for the health
and medical individuals, which are managed by their
professional boards and councils. In these jurisdictions, the board commission or the Minister of Health is the
regulator. Applications for licensing and certification are
required, and inspections of facilities are part of the process. There can also be investigations into consumer
complaints. Licences or certificates can be refused, revoked or suspended.
Bermuda’s regulatory framework currently provides for the licensing of diagnostic imaging facilities,
clinical labs, pharmacies, health insurers and long- term
care facilities, plus the hospital, which carries an over-seas accreditation. But these are a fraction of the health
services and health businesses on offer in Bermuda. For the remaining health service providers or health
businesses, the focus has traditionally been on registering the health professionals carrying out the work —
that is, confirming educ ational and training qualifications, but not the health businesses themselves.
Madam President, under the proposed Regulations, health businesses will now need to apply online using the Council’s form. This form was shared with
stakeholders during consultation, and links to the form
are available on the Health Council’s website. Currently, there is no application fee, but this is subject to
change in the future. The Council will have the authority
to add conditions or restrictions to the licence, which
will typically be valid for three years. If the application
is denied, the Council will provide the applicant with an
explanation and give 21 days for a response before
making a final decision.
Madam President, under the proposed regulations the Council will be responsible for maintaining and publishing a register of licensed HSPs, ensuring transparency and public access to information. Additionally,
the Council will have the authority to publis h standards
and codes of practice, but only after seeking and considering feedback from HSPs and other relevant stakeholders.
The Council can also modify licences by adding, changing or removing conditions or restrictions, or
even revoke a licence entirely if necessary. However, the Council must follow due process by providing a
warning notice and granting 21 days for a response before taking any action against the licence. Furthermore,
a written decision must be issued within 90 days of the warning notice or it will be deemed that no action has
been taken. In cases where an HSP surrenders their
business licence, the Council will perform oversight to
ensure that patient and operational matters have been properly administered.
Lastly, the Council is tasked with publishing
guidelines to outline how civil penalties will be administered, providing clarity and predictability in enforcement
actions.
654 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Madam President, licensed HSPs have the
right to request changes to any conditions or restrictions imposed on their licences. If the Council denies the application for a licence, renewal, or changes
to the licence or changes to the licence conditions, the HSP has the right to seek a judicial review. In some
cases, the HSP can also request the court to suspend
the Council’s decision while the review application is
being processed, ensuring that operations are not unduly disrupted.
Licensed HSPs must adhere to all conditions
attached to their licence or they risk facing a civil penalty. Failure to operate within the restrictions outlined
on the licence could result in fines and even the revocation of the licence. If an HSP contravenes the law and
a director of a company was involved, the director can
be held responsible as well. Madam President, HSPs are obligated to submit reports as required, maintain proper records and
comply with standards of practice and codes of practice, failure of which could lead to a civil penalty. If an HSP intends to surrender their licence, they are required to provide a 60- day notice to the Council and a
90-day notice to their clients, allowing for a smooth
transition and ensuring continuity of care for patients.
Madam President, businesses operating as
health service providers before the Regulations come into operation can continue to operate as long as they apply for a licence within 90 days. This Regulation will
come into operation on the day appointed by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette .
Madam President, the proposed health service
provider licensing scheme will enable the Council, in close collaboration with stakeholders in the implemen-tation of business standards, to manage the entry of
new services to the health care system in harmony with Bermuda’s population health needs, provide high- level
oversight of operational practices to ensure appropriate
and safe patient care and monitor utilisation where conflicts of interests may arise.
The Health Council is committed to continued
dialogue, accountability and collaboration with the
health system in implementing the licensing of the
health service providers. Madam President, this repre-sents the Regulations for the licensing of health servi ce
providers.
With these remarks, I am pleased to introduce
these Regulations today. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Hodgson.
Would any Senator care to speak on these
Regulations?
Senator Tucker, Leader of the OBA [in the Senate], you have the floor.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
My comments are going to be . . . actually, I do
not have a whole lot of comment on the Regulations. I do have a few questions, though. And of course they
are more operational questions.
Can the Junior Minister confirm whether a
health provider can continue to operate while their application is being considered if it has been submitted within the required timeframe? So as we know, life gets
busy and all of that.
The second question is, Will renewal licence
notifications be sent?
And then the third question is, In licence application, the Junior Minister just mentioned that there will
be a link to the form online. So I am just wondering
whether a person or an entity will be able to make that
application and the form will be submit ted online. [Do]
they print the form and then send it in after?
And if I may, Madam President, there are two
minor numerical errors that I would just like to point out
to just put them on record that I have noticed. So Regulation number 20(1)(c) mentions regulation 7(4). It
should be [regulation] 7(5), which speaks to the penalty
in that particular section.
And as well as clause [20](2). Almost at the end
of that first sentence, it speaks to regulation 12(6), and
it should be regulation 12(5).
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Vice President Kiernan Bell, you have the floor.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
I alluded to this earlier, this question that I had
earlier in comments around the principal Act, the amending Bill that we have already debated.
But my first particular question concerns the judicial review provisions, which oust to a certain degree
some of the common law jurisdiction for courts to judicially review administrative decisions. So my first question is, Was that the intention, to have a very narrow
judicial review process available to those who might be
aggrieved by the decisions that might be taken by the
Regulator? The provision ousts and limits the access to
judicial review and in particular seems to exclude judicial review on the basis of irrationality, or what lawyers
would refer to, Wednesbury reasonableness principles.
That is essentially that no reasonable regulator could
have reached that decision. That right to have that kind
of a decision reviewed seems to be ousted by this language.
Secondly, I wanted to again raise why there is
no right of appeal. There should be, and it is modern best practice for there to be an appeal process, particularly when you are dealing with decisions which could
essentially affect peoples’ ability to earn a living. Those
are my two questions.
The third question does not come so much
from the Regulations but more from the statement that
the Junior Minister made, which I thought I heard— and
she can correct me if I am wrong— was that health


Bermuda Senate insurers are also considered health businesses. She
also referred variously to health businesses and health
service providers. Health service providers are defined,
and I do not understand that definition to include health
insurers. “Health businesses” is not defined in the prin-cipal Act or in the Regulations. So I just wanted to clarify whether I had understood that correctly. Are these
provisions intended to apply to health insurers who of
course are already regulated by a regulator? And I
would like some clarification on which provision it is that
they fall under in that definition.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Kiernan Bell, Vice
President.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Hearing none, then it is over to you, Senator
Arianna Hodgson, when you are ready.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes, thank you, Madam Pres-ident.
Senator Tucker had a question about whether
or not a health service provider could continue to oper-ate while an application is being processed. As indi-cated in my brief, the answer is yes. For health service
providers, they may continue to practice while given 90
days to make an application to the Council from the day the Regulations come into force. And then when we
consider the high- risk technologies, there is actually a
transitional period where immediately before the coming into operation of these Regulations, any person,
group of persons or any organisations who are in the
process of importing high risk health technologies or even if they already own high risk technology, they can
actually apply to the Council within 60 days from the day these Regulati ons come into operation. And of
course, that is notwithstanding [proposed] sections
16A(1) and 16B(1) of the Act.
Senator Tucker also had a question about
whether or not renewal licence applications be sent.
The answer is yes. The intent is for all such identifications to automatically send, and we are assuming it will
be something similar to how TCD sends out their noti-fications. So again, a lot of technological advances that
have gotten us to this point.
As it relates to the form, the application is
linked in the consultation spreadsheet. And that has ac-tually been shared in all of the consultation emails. But
yes, we can resend it to anybody who may not have it. And we can ensure that they are included on any future
emails as we progress through this consultation process.
As we should know, given many of the statements that have come to the House, the Bermuda
Health Council is a digital office. And so forms will be digital, available online. But of course we can always
print them out if needed. Senator Bell had some questions about judicial
review and the narrow provision, whether or not that
was intended. We can say that the standard is actually
found in a number of other statutory appeal processes.
It is actually used in all 11 BMA regulatory Acts that relate to appeals to a tribunal by a financial institution.
There are three main grounds for judicial review of a
decision of a public authority —that the decision was irrational, unreasonable or unlawful. And when we look at regulation 19(4) of t he Health Service Provider Regulations, the court is actually required to determine if
the Council’s decision was unlawful or not justified by
the evidence on which it was based. I think it is also
important to note —
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Point of order.

POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading the Senate]

Sen. Kiernan Bell: Apologies for interrupting, but I do
not know if it is appropriate for me to just say “point of order.”
I am not sure that was a correct reference to
the BMA [Bermuda Monetary Authority] appeal process, which is in fact an appeal process.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Kiernan Bell.
Sorry, you were making a statement of correction?
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Sorry, yes. And I do not normally
do these, so apologies if I am getting the procedure . . .
is the right thing to say “misleading the Senate”?

The President: Yes, but in reference to?

Sen. Kiernan Bell: In reference to, the BMA does have
an appeal process. I actually sit on an appeal tribunal. There are appeal regulations. There are processes
around an appeal process. Judicial review is not an appeal process; it is a review process around the decision-making process. It is a common law process.
This particular regulation provides for a very
narrow right of judicial review. It specifically excludes other common law avenues to judicially review an administrative decision.
My question was around why? And if the suggestion is that the BMA’s appeal process is the equivalent to what is in this regulation, I would ask to be directed specifically to those regulations.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Kiernan Bell.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President. I will continue.
The threshold of rationality will actually be defined during the consultation process. So again the
656 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report
Ber muda Senate health professionals and the businesses that exist will
actually be aware and get an opportunity to provide feedback on the grounds that someone would not be compliant with the standards that they are actually go-ing to set. And again, the statutory boards will be ex-pected to provide input into those decisions.
I think it is also important to highlight that the
judicial review is not the first option to actually resolving disagreement in the decisions of the Council. As indi-cated in my brief, persons do have a minimum of 21 days to appeal to the Council in writing before the op-tion of a judicial review process would even be explored.
I am just looking at my notes regarding any
other questions.
[Pause]
Se
n. Kiernan Bell: Perhaps the Junior Minister could
direct us in the Regulations to where that appeal right
exists, having referred to it.
Thank you.
[Pause]
Se
n. Arianna Hodgson: Senator Bell had a question
about the inclusion of health insurers. So I just wanted to indicate that, according to the Health Council 2004 Act, a health service provider is a person, group of persons or organisation that operates a business which offers health services to the public. These services may include medical, dental, hospital or other professional services related to health including residential care. Health insurers are currently regulated by the Health Council and are health businesses. The regulations
provide an overarching regulatory framework for all
health businesses. And of course this would not dupli-cate the processes for those who are already regulated but it will consolidate the processes under a single framework.
Th
e President: Senator Kiernan Bell.
Sen
. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
I think a point of clarification.
POINT OF CLARIFICATION
Se
n. Kiernan Bell: The Health Council does regulate
health insurers, but it is under different legislation. It is not under that piece of legislation nor is it pursuant to that provision.
[Pause]
Se
n. Kiernan Bell: Sorry. If it assists, Madam President and the other Senators, the legislation that is rele-vant for the purposes of health insurers is the Health
Insurance Act. Not the other Act. Thank you. The President: Thank you, Vice President Kiernan
Bell, for the clarification.
[Pause, inaudible interjection]
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Are you asking me to repeat a
question or to give y ou my final question?
[Pause, inaudible interjection]
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Well, I do have one final question.
Madam President.
It is not repeating a question though, s o I am
not sure if I am answering the question from the Junior
Minister, but one of the questions I had again surrounded the judicial review process and the procedure.
As I indic ated earlier, judicial review is specifically limited to whether, for reasons deduced by the applicant,
“the decision of the Council was unlawful or not justified
on the evidenc e on which it was based” [Regulation
19(4)].
And my question concerns that latter part of
that regulation, “the evidence on which it was based.”
Becaus e there is no provision in the Regulations for any
pre-a ction disclosure process so that the applicant
would have any idea on what evidence the Health
Counc il made its decision.
So, one of my questions is, Why is there no
pre-a ction disclosure requirement? All the Health
Counc il is required to do is to giv e its reasons. It is not
required to give the ev idenc e, but the burden of proof
is on the applicant to show why the decision is unlawful
on the basis of the evidence that the Health Council
had, which it may not know at the time it has to make
this application for judicial review.
Thank you.
The President: T hank you, Senator Kiernan Bell.
[Inaudible interjections]
The President: Attorney General, you have the floor.
Kim Wilkerson—t o assist in this clarification.
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Yes. Thank you very
much, Madam President. And I will try to assist my colleague with the questions from Vice President Bell.
I think on this point, I think the general conversation on the ques tions around judicial review in the
Regulations is the same as the commentary on the
main Bill. And as I s aid before, I agree with the point
that there perhaps should be a preliminary s tep and it
is something that I certainly will undertake to address.
But again, as I s aid before, on balance, (right?) what
the Regulations are purporting to do in terms of ensuring that every provider meets some standard, [is] that
they are registered and that the Health Council is aware
of who they are as a matter of protection for the public.
So that is the broader question.

B ermuda Senate On the more technical question, though, of just
. . . the fact that the judicial review as a process, there
is no requirement for the Health Council to render a
written decision for the evidence. I take your point that it is not explicit. But if we read, and I am at Judicial Review, [regulation] 19, paragraph 4. And I just read from
the [draft Regulations]: “The matter for determination
by the Court in respect of an application made under paragraph (1)” (which all of the various items for which one might be seeking judicial review of a decision of the Council) “is whether, for reasons adduced by the appli-cant, the decision of the Council was unlawful or not
justified by the evidence on which it was based.”
That implies that the aggrieved party would
have some sight of the evidence on which the decision
was based, although it is not explicit in the Regulations. I think that is the point. And I think that gets us to the intention here. I think that leaves us a question of
whether there could be further support for the Regulations that helps to outline how those steps take place. I accept that can be the case.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Madam President, thank you.
I think absolutely if the Regulations can be clarified to make that explicit as opposed to it being a mat-ter of interpretation, I think that would be great.
And I thank the Attorney General for her comments. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Vice President Kiernan
Bell.
And thank you, Attorney General Wilkerson.
That has been very helpful.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
In light of all questions having been answered,
I would like to move that the said draft Regulations be approved and that the following message be sent to Her Excellency, the Governor:
May it please Your Excellency:
The Senate, having had under consideration
the draft Regulations entitled the Bermuda Health Council (Health Service Providers) (Licensing) Regula-tions 2024 proposed to be made by the Minister re-sponsible for Health after consultation with the Council
in exercise of the power conferred by section 15 of the
Bermuda Health Council Act 2004, has the honour to
inform Your Excellency that the Senate has approved the said draft Regulations.
The President: Thank you, Senator.
I beg your pardon? Sorry. Senator Kiernan
Bell?
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Just a quick question on procedure,
Madam President. And forgive me.
Is there no vote on Regulations? It is the affirmative resolution procedure, correct? The President: Affirmative resolution.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: And so that gives a period of time
in which . . . How does the affirmative resolution procedure give the Legislature time to consider some of the
comments that are raised in the Senate if they choose
to take them on board?
I thought there was a 21- day period for affirmative resolutions where issues were raised in the [Sen-ate]. I could be wrong. This is my first one.
[Inaudible interjection]
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Well, I have certainly objected, in
any event, for the record. I object.
The President: Senator Robin Tucker?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I also oppose these Regulations.
The President: You oppose them?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, I object as well.
The President: You object to the passage.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, thank you. For the record,
yes.
The President: Two objections.
We will have a vote.
[Pause]
The President: So, Senators, what we now have is a
vote on the Regulations being referred to the Gover-nor—approval.
The Assistant Clerk: All right, Senators. This is a division on the motion to approve the Bermuda Health Council (Health Service Providers) (Licensing) Regula-tions 2024.
Say Aye if you are in agreement of the approval
and Nay if you are not.
Senator De Couto is absent.
DIVISION
[Bermuda Health Council (Health Service Providers)
(Licensing) Regulations 2024]
Ayes: 6 Nays: 3
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell Sen. Dwayne Robinson
Sen. Arianna Hodgson Sen. Robin Tucker
Sen. Leslie Robinson Sen Kiernan Bell
Sen. Lindsay Simmons
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson
Sen. the Hon. Joan E. Dillas -Wright
658 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate Absent:

And with a [vote] of six to three,
the motion passes.
The President: Thank you, Senators, the motion has
been carried.
Senator Arianna Hodgson, could you just repeat . . .
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: A suitable message will be
sent to Her Excellency the Governor.
The President: Yes. So a suitable message will be
sent to the Governor.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Bermuda Health Council (Health Service Providers) (Licensing) Regulations 2024 have
been approved.
[Motion carried by majority on division: The Bermuda
Health Council (Health Service Providers ) (Licensing)
Regulations 2024 were approved.]
The President: Senators, it has been a long day, and
I would just like to clarify the decision that was made
first thing this morning. And that is that of the 12 Bills that we were to discuss today, it was decided that sev-eral of them will be carried over. But I just want to indicate at this point that the second reading of the National
Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Amendment Act (that is the first order of the day), as well as the consideration of the National Pension Scheme (First Time Homeowner Refund) Regulations 2024,
these two Bills will be done today at the end of the session. We identified those that will be done today and those that we carried over.
And so we will now move on to item number 4
(which is 12 on yours), consideration of the Bermuda Health Council (High Risk Health Technology) Regulations 2024 which will be done at this time. And that is in
the name of Arianna Hodgson, the Junior Minister of
Health.
So, Senator Hodgson, when you are ready,
you can present [these draft Regulations].
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that Standing Order
71(2) be suspended so that the Senate may now proceed with the consideration of the Bermuda Health Council (High Risk Health Technology) Regulations
2024.
[
Motion carried: Standing Order 71(2) suspended.]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I move
that the Senate do now take under consideration the
Bermuda Health Council (High Risk Health Technol-ogy) Regulations 2024 proposed to be made by the Minister responsible for Health after consultation with the Council in exercise of the power conferred by section 16D of the Bermuda Health Council Act 2004.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
DRAFT REGULATIONS
BERMUDA HEALTH COUNCIL (HIGH RISK
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY) REGULATIONS 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, today I introduce the Bermuda Health Council (High Risk Health Technology) Regulations 2024. These Regulations to be made by the Minister of Health pursuant to the newly inserted Part IIIA of the Bermuda Health Council Act 2004 provide for the regulation of the importation and registration of high risk health technology [HRHT].
Madam President, the use of health technologies has modernised the delivery of health care services and in many ways has the potential to improve the quality of the prognosis, diagnosis and treatment of
clients. While health technologies can bring many benefits, it is important to remember that some technolo-gies, especially those classified as high risk , can also
lead to unintended harm or a decrease in the quality of care if they are overused or misused. They should only be used when medically necessary, as overutilisation
can needlessly inflate the cost of health care.
Madam President, [proposed] section 16E of
the Bill, the Bermuda Health Council Amendment (No.
2) Act 2024, defines a high risk health technology as“any instrument, apparatus or machine requiring calibration, maintenance, repair, user training and decommissioning, used for the purpose of diagnosis and treatment of disease or rehabilitation . . .” and which “does
not include an implantable, disposable or single usemedical device,” but which meets any of several listedcriteria.
HRHT criteria, for example, include technology
used to administer or supply energy to a patient’s body, technology used to administer or remove medicine, body fluids or other substances from a patient’s body, technology that admits ionising radiation for a diagnostic or therapeutic intervention or technology used for
imaging in vivo distribution of radiopharmaceuticals.
These high risk health technologies include X -ray


Bermuda Senate machines, dialysis machines, linear accelerators, positron emission tomography scanners, CT scanners and
magnetic resonance imaging machines (or MRIs).
These high risk health technologies are expensive to
use and can cause harm if they are not used or main-tained correctly.
Madam President, controls are important to ensure the proper installation and maintenance, safe op-eration and timely phasing out of aged high risk health
technologies. Furthermore, to assess and determine
whether the Island has the right high risk health t echnology balance for our population’s demographics and
disease profile. Businesses could previously import any
health technology regardless of our population’s needs
or the impact on our health care economy. This has
created subsequent pressure to grant a n application for
the standard health benefit to support a predetermined
business model and return on investment that may otherwise lack demonstrable clinical need or a clear health
system benefit. Combined with Bermuda’s fee- for-service health care model which incentivises utilisation,
this lack of control adds cost to the health care system
and to patients.
Madam President, the Island is moving toward
a more managed health care system with the implementation of universal health coverage. And key to this
is ensuring cost effectiveness and cost efficiency in
health care service and delivery.
Madam President, the Health Council had previously conducted voluntary health technology assess-ments. Health technology assessments provide evi-dence about given technologies and services, and expert opinion about the health system capacity to accommodate a proposed high risk technology with the
goal of informing policy and decision- making to ensure
proposed health interventions that are medically nec-essary and fill a gap in our health service provision—key elements in having an affordable and sustainable
health system.
Madam President, under the new regulation,
importers of high risk health technologies will need to
proactively apply to the Council and provide additional
information to assist in their decision- making process.
While currently free, applications will incu r fees in the
future. Providing false or misleading information is an offence. The Council will evaluate the application to determine the necessity of the technology in Bermuda.
Should the Council deny the application, they will furnish written reasons and allow the applicant 21 days to
respond before issuing a final decision.
Madam President, registering or reregistering
high risk health technology involves a process similar
to importing, necessitating a specific form and supporting information. Upon granting registration, the Council
may impose certain conditions or restrictions. Typically,
registrations are envisioned to remain valid for one year. Relocating equipment necessitates reregistration. Physical fa ctors impact safety , including wall and
floor thickness and proximity to the public. The new location must ensure bystander protection and must meet all safety standards.
Madam President, the Council is committed to
providing ongoing support to health service providers
with completing the digital form needed for the licensing and registration processes. The Council will have a
duty to establish and maintain a register of hi gh risk
health technology and help the Authority to modify conditions, impose restrictions, suspend or cancel registrations and levy civil penalties. Prior to taking any action,
the Council will issue a warning, provide an opportunity for representation and subsequently issue a decision of
discontinuance notice.
A decision notice is expected within 90 days of
the warning, failing which, the Council has decided not
to proceed with the decision or discontinuance. In the
event of cancelation, the Council will ensure the re-sponsible handling of the technology. Civil penalties
must be appropriate and not exceed $15,000, with
guidelines to be published online.
Madam President, provisions have been made
for registered owners to apply to modify the particulars
of their registration, or to vary or remove a condition or
restriction attached to the registration of the technology. Registered owners have the right to s eek judicial
review if their application for import, registration, renewal or modification is denied. Furthermore, in some cases they can also apply to suspend the Council’s decision while the review is pending.
Madam President, registered owners have a
responsibility to adhere to the conditions and re-strictions set forth, or they risk facing suspension, civil
penalties or even cancelation of their registration. Vio-lations of these restrictions can result in fines and potential cancelation. Maintaining accurate records and
reporting is mandatory, and failure to do so can lead to
civil penalties. Furthermore, providing false information
on reports is considered an offence. If a company commits an offence with the di rector’s involvement, the director can also be held accountable. Lastly, owners are
required to give 60 days’ notice before cancelling their
registration.
Madam President, persons or organisations already importing or using high risk health technology before these regulations commence can continue if they apply for a permit or registration within 60 days. These
regulations will come into operation on the day appointed by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette .
Madam President, in closing pillar eight of the
Bermuda Health Strategy 2022– 2027 prioritises the
prevention of wasteful care and the promotion of efficiency. The introduction of Regulations for the importation and registration of high risk health technology
closely aligns with the priorities defined in the strategy
and enable the Government and the Health Council to
better quantify and manage value for expenditure in the
health care system. Additionally, registration data are
critical for the Council to be able to monitor and make
660 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate informed decisions on continued regulation of the high
risk health technologies available in our country in alignment with the health needs of our ageing popula-tion.
Madam President, this represents the Regulations for the importation and registration of high risk
health technology. And with these remarks I am
pleased to introduce these Regulations today.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson,
Junior Minister for Finance.
Would any Senator care to speak on these regulations?
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I just actually just have one question. I do note
that obviously a provider will have to reregister their equipment if it moves locations even within the same building. My question is the Register of Health Technol-ogy does not actually indicate a location of the technology in the building. So I am just wondering how the
Council is going to be able to track that movement, if it
comes to that, because it is not on the Register of Health Technology. All the other pertinent information seems to be there, but just not that one. So just curious as to how that aspect will work.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak on
this?
Senator Kiernan Bell, Vice President, you have
the floor.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
I will not repeat all of the other comments that
I had on the previous, but they all stand and they should be taken as read so far as judicial review, lack of appeal
and so on. So with that, I will not repeat those questions.
But I do have a question on regulation 4 which
concerns the granting of an application to import health technology, which says that, “In determining an appli-cation . . . the Council shall make an assessment in accordance with internationally recognized and standard-ized processes, to determine whether there is a need for such technology in Bermuda.” And I was not very clear what that actually means and what “internationally recognized and standardized processes” is referring to. I think that is a very ambiguous provision.
I have a follow -on question in terms of health
service providers who have equipment that they have already invested in and that they wish to replace. There is no specific regulation dealing with health service pro-viders who are looking, who are already in an existing business, they provide an existing service under an existing license. Do they need to go again? Is there going to be a new assessment of whether or not they can import a more modern replacement piece of equipment?
And if so, can that be explained as to why? Because
clearly that puts some uncertainty around health service providers who are in this type of business, their
ability to know that they can continue in business longterm and continue to invest in their equipment.
The President: Thank you, Vice Pres ident Kiernan
Bell.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
SENATE VISITOR
The President: Before we move on I would just like to
acknowledge and welcome Ms. Shavonna Simpson,
the Senior Regulatory Analyst, to the Chamber, who
will assist in helping to answer any questions.
[Bermuda Health Council (High Ris k Health Technology) Regulations 2024 debate continuing]
The President: Senator Tucker, y ou have indicated
you would like to ask questions. You have the floor.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President. I
do hav e a second question.
The question is, Since a health services provider will need to consult with the Council and apply to
import their high risk health technology, what c ould a
provider expect for a reasonable turnaround time for response? Because obviously providers are waiting to
bring this equipment in, so again it would be good to
know what the expectations will be up front.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: T hank you.
[Pause]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, Senator
Tucker had a question about the location of the high
risk technologies . I would suggest that the provider
would provide s uch info as it relates to the location of
the equipment. And if something were to move, that location would obviously need to be considered, given
the functionality of the s pace. There are also inspections that will occur. And if there is a risk created by
moving the equipment, then it should be noted or the
risk identified during an appropriate inspection. So it will
be a matter of being forthcoming about the placement
of [that equipment]. And most of [that equipment] already has standard indicators of placement and the
rest in terms of proximity to other patients or other
[equipment].
Senator Bell had a question about the internationally recognised and standardised processes. And I
do know that after the region of the Americas, the Pan

B ermuda Senate American Health Organization [PAHO] actually has
specific technical advisors who prov ide guidance for
countries across the region on the management and
safe usage of health technologies , with a special emphasis on maintenance management and rational use.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Madam President, may I just ask a
supplemental?
The President: Yes .
Sen. Kiernan Bell: The particular regulation is not
about the safe use of the technology or the technology
itself. That provision is solely concerned with the need
for such technology in Bermuda. So the need for an Xray or the need for an MRI or an ultrasound or whatever
that might be. I would like to know what internationally
recognised and standardised process es exist today to
determine the need for that technology.
Thank y ou.
The President: T hank you, Senator Kiernan Bell, Vice
President Kiernan Bell.
[Pause]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Senator Bell had a question
about [the use of high risk health technologies] in Bermuda and the practicalities of how one may be able to
determine whether or not it is suitable for the population. And I can say that we can appreciate that, without
the nec essary planning, then the use of high ris k health
technologies beyond what would be necessary to meet
the needs of our population c ould of cours e have serious implications. So if we look at the existing population
and we say, Perhaps there isn’t such a great need for
three or four of these machines, then it is just a
rational response to what our population needs or
requires.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
By that answer am I to understand that there is
no internationally recognised and standardised process
to determine the need for such technology in a jurisdiction, based on size? That is what the provision, the regulation, currently requires. So if that does not exist, it is
not actually going to be possible for the Council to make
a decision under that regulation.
It might sound overly technical, but it is actually
an important ques tion to ask. And it is also the basis
upon which health service providers who inves t in this
type of equipment who may be denied would be asking
for evidence of that international process that has been
allegedly relied upon. Because that is what the regulation requires.
Thank you.
The President: T hank you, Senator Kiernan Bell, Vice
President. Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Again, my response, Madam
President, is that Bermuda has its own specific needs,
and much of the direction that we are taking is in line with PAHO which is an international body. So I am not quite sure why that would not be sufficient in terms of the establishment of guidance for us to use as we move
forward. I do not understand that.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Sorry, Madam President, just for
the record to be clear, and I think the question has been
asked and answered. But the question concerned reg-ulation 4, “ In determining an application made under
regulation 3, the Council shall make an assessment . .
.” (so it is mandatory, shall make an assessment ) “in
accordance with internationally recognized and stand-ardized processes, to determine whether there is a need for such technology in Bermuda.” That is the pro-vision I was concerned with.
So I am grateful to the Junior Minister for answering the question and I think the point has been made, and no doubt they have it now.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Kiernan Bell, Vice
President.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: I did just want to revisit the
question pertaining to replacing equipment. And I just want to highlight the fact that part of the proposed application process is for submission of documentation on
the intended life of the equipment. So that means that there will be a base level of awareness regarding how long that equipment should last. And of course that would mean that a business would have to plan accord-ingly in terms of planning for the next application, if that
makes sense. In some cases we would defer to a subject matter expert to determine if any additional assess-ments would need to be made with the replacement. In terms of innovation, I say that we welcome innovation to be part of the modernisation of the system, but of
course there has to be a balance between health demand, capacity and cost.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President, can I just get
some clarification?
The President: Senator Robin Tucker.
Sen. Robin Tucker: I just want to make sure that I understood what the Junior Minister just said. Did she just say that the Council is going to dictate to the provider when their equipment needs to be —
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Now you know that is not
what we said.
Sen. Robin Tucker: No, not that word.
[
Laughter]
662 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report
B ermuda Senate Sen. Robin Tucker: Sorry. I am just trying to condense
it into one kind of sentence. Will they be mandating, instructing them on the lifecycle of their equipment?
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: No. We said that most equipment—o r equipment should come with an indication of
an appropriate lifecycle.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Right. Okay. I am just asking. That
is why I am asking for the clarification to make sure that
I understood what you said.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Got you.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Okay. Thank you.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Madam President, I think that I was
actually responding to one of my ques tions. So I do
have a supplementary, whic h is . . . I think that is quite
good guidance. Equipment [does] have a lifespan. So
the question that I had really went to, Are the regulations going to make prov ision for businesses which are
in that replac ement lifecycle to make an application?
The regulations currently do not make any provision for
that. And I think it would be sens ible for those regulations to exist, based on s ome period of time that the
Health Council can give guidance on, that they think is
appropriate for a provider to get out in advance of the
natural lifespan of that retiring equipment. Thank you.
The P resident: T hank y ou.
[Pause]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: The short answer to Senator
Bell’s question is that yes, it would just fall under an
application for new equipment, given that it would be a change in equipment. Senator Bell’s question about the health technology assessment, I just want to make it
clear that the health technology assessment is actually
the international standard process and it is globally accepted. So . . .
[Pause]
POINT OF CLARIFICATION
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Point of clarification. The assessment that is referred to in the regulation is in context of the “need ,” not the specific technology itself. It is the
“need” that “the internationally recognized and standardized processes” is referring to.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: I believe I have answered the
questions posed. So, Madam President, I move that the said draft Regulations be approved and that the follow-ing message be sent to Her Excellency the Governor: May it pl ease Your E xcellency, the Senate,
havin g had under consideratio n the draft R egulations
entitled t he Bermuda Health Council ( High Risk H ealth
Technology) Regulations 2024, propose d to be made
by the Minister r esponsibl e for H ealth after c onsultation
with the Council i n exercis e of t he power conferre d by
section 16D of th e Bermud a Healt h Council Act 2004,
has the honour to inform Your Ex cellenc y that the Senate has approved the said draft Regulations.
The President: Is there any objection to the message
being sent? No?
Senator Bell.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: I think for the record we should go
through the same process that we did on the previous
Regulations because the same objections apply.
Thank you.
The President: We will then have a—
Does somebody second that motion?
[
Inaudible interjection]
The President: Thank you.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT
SENATE VISITOR
The President: I would just like to also inform the Senators that Deputy Premier, Mr. Walter Roban, Minister of [Home Affairs] and Health, at the moment, is back with us.
Welcome to you, sir.
The Assistant Clerk: This division is on the motion to
approve the said draft Regulations. If you are in favour, say Aye. If you are not, say No.
DIVISION
[Bermuda Health Council (High Risk Health
Technology) Regulations 2024]
Ayes: 6 Nays: 3
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell Sen. Dwayne Robinson
Sen. Arianna Hodgson Sen. Robin Tucker
Sen. Leslie Robinson Sen. Kiernan Bell
Sen. Lindsay Simmons
Sen. the Hon. K im Wilkerson
Sen. Hon. J. E. Dillas -Wright
Absent

With a vote of six Ayes to three
Nays the motion carries.


Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Ms. Beale.
Do we agree that it is suitable that the Senate
has passed these Regulations and a suitable message
will be sent to the Governor? [Motion carried by majority on division: The Bermuda
Health Council (High Risk Health Technology Regula-tions 2024 were approved.]
The President: We will now move on to the next item
on our agenda. It is item number 4 on the Order Paper. We have had to change the order. But it is the second
reading of the Companies and Limited Liability Company Amendment Act 2024. And that is in the same of Senator Leslie Robinson, the Junior Minister of Economy and Labour.
Senator Robinson, when you are ready you
have the floor.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
Companies and Limited Liability Company Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

BILL

SECOND READING

COMPANIES AND LIMITED LIABILITY
COMPANY AMENDMENT ACT 2024

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President, I am
pleased to present the Companies and Limited Liability
Company Amendment Act 2024 t o this Honourable
Chamber. This Bill seeks to eliminate an administrative
process involving the lease of real properties by corporate entities to provide housing, accommodations or
recreational facilities for company personnel and events.
Madam President, as Senate Members will be
aware, the Government has been making efforts to at-tract and retain family offices in Bermuda. As part of
this initiative, typical business activities of family offices
were considered, as well as Bermuda’s exist ing frameworks and regulatory requirements that might impact those family offices doing business here. Madam Pres-ident, following consultations with industry representa-tives and reviews of options for a family office product,
various suggestions were put forward for discussion
and consideration by relevant ministries and regulatory agencies.
Madam President, while the focus of the family
office initiative was originally intended to identify possible solutions or incentives for family offices, we have
taken the opportunity to make changes that would also benefit other Bermuda businesses governed by the same legislation, policies and procedures that may be used by family offices. Madam President, Senators will be aware that we are also actively working to stream-line government processes to eliminate unnecessary red tape. This Bill is aimed at reducing administrative burden related to corporate leasing of residential accommodations for employees and leasing of recreational facilities for a term up to 21 years.
Madam President, presently a company must
make an application to the Registrar of Companies (ROC) for consent from the Minister of Finance prior to entering into or renewing a residential lease to accommodate a staff member or for rental of a recreational
facility. Once an application has been received by the
ROC, it is reviewed for completeness and processed by the ROC personnel.
Processing by the ROC includes the following
steps:
1. A review of the proposed lease and any prior lease terms is conducted to ensure that the ag-gregate term does not exceed the 21- year limitation included in the statute.
2. Due diligence is performed on the proposed
landlord. Where the landlord is a trust, a due
diligence review of the trust beneficiaries is also conducted.
3. An executive summary memo is prepared out-lining the applicable law and various aspects of the proposed lease including the term and the
applicant’s compliance status with respect to
required filings and fees.
4. The executive summary memo, draft consent
letter and proposed lease are forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for review and considera-tion by the Minister.
5. Following receipt of the Minister’s decision, the ROC notifies the applicant of the outcome.
6. Where consent is granted, the list of residential lease consents maintained by the ROC is up-dated and the consent is made available for
public inspection.
Madam President, the ROC has previously
aimed to process these applications for consent within
five days of receipt. However, increased regulatory re-sponsibilities, resource constraints, requirements for processing other applications and handling matters
with high priorities may result in substantial delays
Madam President, during the last seven years
there have been a total of 102 consents provided in relation to residential leases. The totals are as follows:
• 12 in year 2018;
• 6 in year 2019;
• 15 in year 2020;
• 17 in year 2021;
• 17 in year 2022;
• 21 in year 2023; and
• 14 so far in 2024.
The process to grant these consents is extremely burdensome and delays the receipt of rental
664 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate income by Bermudian property owners , who must wait
for Government approval to execute what is essentially
a standard contract for renting a property.
Madam President, there are various layers of
regulation that already apply to persons doing business in Bermuda. For example, to comply with anti -money
laundering and anti -terrorist financing laws, banks are
required to conduct due diligence on their customers and engage in ongoing monitoring of their banking
transactions. This would include Bermudian property
owners who receive rent payments into their Bermuda bank accounts. Beneficial owners of all companies are
subject to due diligence checks and ongoing filing requirements. The settlers and beneficiaries of Bermuda
trusts are also subject to due diligence checks by appropriate parties such as licensed trustees, private trust
companies or licensed corporate service providers. Compliance with requirements for annual filings and
company fees is also subject to enforcement powers of
the Registrar of Companies.
Madam President, it is also noted that there is
no similar approval required for leases of land up to 50 years for the business purpose of a company or limited
liability company, also commonly referred to as an LLC.
Accordingly the Bill will make the following amend-ments:
1. The Companies Act 1981 and the Limited Lia-bility Company Act of 2016 will both be
amended to remove the requirement for companies and local LLCs to obtain the consent of
the Minister of Finance for certain land- holding
for terms up to a maximum of 21 years .
2. A new provision will be inserted into the Limited Liability Company Act 2016 to mirror the newly amended provisions to apply the same flexibility for exempted LLCs.
3. In consequence of the substantive amendments, the fee for making an application with
the Registrar of Companies for the required
consent is being repealed.
Madam President, following enactment of this
Bill, all companies and LLCs will be able to enter into
the subject leases as a matter of law. These changes
will alleviate administrative burdens for corporate ten-ants and their service providers, the Registrar of Companies and the Ministry of Finance. Bermudian property
owners will also benefit from these changes since the
current delays in the rental process due to the consent
required will be eliminated. Imagine, if you will, being a
Bermudian property owner, having a mortgage to pay
and coming to agreement with a prospective lessee
only to incur a holdup in executing the lease due to an
administrative process. This amendment will overcome
that hurdle.
Madam President, while today’s Bill is not a
landmark change, it is indicative of progress —progress
in making it easier for Bermuda companies and Bermuda property owners to conduct their business and
progress in ensuring that Government resources are used more efficiently. Madam President, although the
requirement for consent is being removed, companies
and LLCs will still be obliged to comply with existing
laws and regulations regarding land use and landholding. The 21 -year limit on leases will still apply , and the
removal of consent is not expected to compromise
compliance with local laws or international standards.
Madam President, this Bill is just one of the
steps we are taking to make Bermuda a better place to
do business. The family office framework that the Government tabled earlier this calendar year highlighted many of Bermuda’s existing corporate products, as well
as proposed changes to enhance legal protections and
provide more flexibility for certain products.
Madam President, we will continue working to
attract new business and investment to Bermuda while
also streamlining government processes and reducing red tape. We look forward to bringing forth more legislation to achieve these goals in the coming months.
Madam President, I wish to extend my sincere
thanks to the technical officers in the Ministry of Economy and Labour, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice, as well as the private sector representatives for their assistance with this proposal .
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Leslie Robinson,
Junior Minister for Economy and Labour.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have the floor.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
And the One Bermuda Alliance always supports measures that reduce red tape to make it more
feasible for locals and Bermudians and businesses
here to prosper and thrive. It is just interesting to me,
though, Madam President, that it seems as though the
PLP and the OBA have found consensus here on this
Bill because we also believe that the removal of ministerial powers when it comes to the day -to-day of the
private sector is a good thing. So I would say that I am
glad that we will come around to the same spot here.
And we see that when consultation with industry leads to . . .

Sen. Leslie Robinson: We thank you for the support!

[Laughter]

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Yes!
Where consultation with the industry leads to
the same path, which is to remove the Minister from the
day-to-day minutia of the private sector. So we are in
support of that.
I just want some clarity on recreational facilities
that are stated in this Bill, just some clarity on how “rec-reational” is defined by the Government? I know what
my definition is, but I want to make sure. Because again


Bermuda Senate it is not specific. And obviously, with this Bill it makes it
easier not just for locals, but also for exempt companies. So I just wonder how Government is going to
manage the competition there. Because just anecdotally, one of those two groups has a signi ficantly larger
resource bank to rely on. So we want to make sure that,
yes, we make it easy; but also that locals are protected
in this industry, especially when it comes to leasing
property.
So with that, we support this Bill and look forward to comments from the Junior Minister.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Vice President Kiernan Bell, you have the floor.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Just because it makes a nice
change today, I would just like to say I support this Bill.

[Laughter]

Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: We will take it!

[Laughter]
The President: We will all take it. Thank you.
Senator Robinson, you have full support.
An Hon. Senator: Leslie Robinson.

[Laughter]

The President: Yes. Let me make sure. It is Leslie
Robinson.
You can pass your Bill.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you. And thank you for
all of the support. It is quite welcome indeed.
I think we are just going to try and get one answer, Madam President.

The President: Mm-hmm.

[Pause]

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President, Senator
Robinson just asked . . . I believe it was the second
question because the first question was about “recrea-tion.” What is that defined as? Yes. And just if you could
repeat the two questions, that would be great.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Yes. Just what is the Government’s definition of “recreational facilities” in the leg-islation? And the second question was, Because this Bill does make it easier for both exempt companies and
locals to lease, how will Government manage the competition in that sector to make sure that locals have an opportunity to thrive in that sector? As we know, one,
the exempt companies tend to have more resources
available to them.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson, for repeating your question.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you very much, Madam
President.
First of all, “recreational” itself is not defined in
the Bill. So it would take on its normal meaning.
Regarding potential conflicts, I will get an answer to you in one second.

The President: Senator Robin Tucker, do you—
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, I have a question.

The President: Yes.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Just in response to the Junior Minister’s answer about “recreational facilities” taking its normal meaning, if she can just give one or two examples of specifically what she is talking about, that would
be helpful in terms of understanding the context. Thank
you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robin Tucker.

[Inaudible interjections and pause]

Sen. Leslie Robinson: So in answer to the concern
that Senator Robinson has had, there have been very
few corporate leases over the years, so we do not anticipate this being any issue.

[Pause]
Sen. Leslie Robinson: And, Madam President, the
other response, I guess, would be for Senator Tucker.
A recreational facility would be a place that might be
rented for corporate hospitality events.
Madam President, that was the question. And
if I may, if I can proceed?

The President: You can certainly proceed with passing
your Bill.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you.
So, Madam President, I now move that the Bill
entitled Companies and Limited Liability Company Amendment Act 2024 be read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

666 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Leslie Robinson: I move that [Standing Order]
26 be suspended in respect of this Bill.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President, I move that
the Bill entitled Companies and Limited Liability Com-pany Amendment Act 2024 be now read a third time.

The President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

BILL

THIRD READING

COMPANIES AND LIMITED LIABILITY
COMPANY AMENDMENT ACT 2024

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Madam President, I move that
the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill entitled
Companies and Limited Liability Company Amendment
Act 2024 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: the Companies and Limited Liability
Company Amendment Act 2024 was read a third time
and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson, Leslie
Robinson.
We will now move on to the next item on our
Order Paper, and that is the second reading of the Res-taurants (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Amendment Act 2024, and that is in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson, the spokesperson for Finance.
Senator Hodgson, when you are ready you can
present your Bill.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled the Restaurants (Temporary Cus-toms Duty Relief) Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

BILL
SECOND READING

RESTAURANTS (TEMPORARY CUSTOMS DUTY
RELIEF) AMENDMENT ACT 2024

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, Senators are requested
now to give consideration to the Bill entitled Restaurants (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Amendment
Act 2024 . The Bill proposes to amend the Restaurants
(Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Act 2002 to approve
an additional period of duty relief in respect of capital goods to be used in capital investment schemes for res-taurants.
Madam President, Senators will recall that the
period of a temporary customs duty relief for restaurants was last extended for a period of five years effective April 1, 2019. This period of duty relief expired on the 31
st of March 2024. Madam President, Senators will
appreciate the importance of operating Bermuda’s tour-ism product in order to revitalise the local tourism in-dustry. A vibrant and exciting restaurant sector is an
essential component in the Government’s quest to provide a first -class experience for our Island’s visitors.
Fortunately for Bermuda, most restaurateurs
are committed to upgrading their facilities to the highest standards possible, and those who have already
reached world- class status are determined to maintain
that achievement. To reach their goals in the preva iling
economic climate, a number of restaurateurs will be in
greater need of assistance than in the past .
Madam President, I am pleased to inform the
Senate that during the last five years Bermuda’s restaurant sector has benefited by claiming and receiving
approximately $2.5 million in duty relief in respect of goods imported for the renovation and refurbishment of their facilities. Over the next five years this customs duty concession will continue to be of immense benefit to the restaurant sector and by extension to the general
economy of Bermuda.
Madam President, this Government intends for
the extended period of the duty concession for restaurants to be back -dated to April 1, 2024, to provide for
uninterrupted restaurants temporary duty relief for a full five-year period through the 31
st of March 2029.
So I welcome comments from my colleagues,

Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
Would any Senator care to speak on this
Amendment Act?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have the floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
We definitely understand the strain that the
hospitality industry has been under and restaurants es-pecially, its being a very mammoth task here in

Bermu da Senate Bermuda to get the capital and maintain a restaurant
and provide that service to people. And we recognise how crucial restaurants are to the local tourism product, and we support the extension of this relief to them. And also, we are happy to give you an easier one this time.
Sen
. Arianna Hodgson: I will take it. I will take it.
[Laught
er]
Sen
. Arianna Hodgson: After that.
Sen
. Dwayne Robinson: Yes. We do support efforts
made to bolster our tourism product. We do definitely also recognise and salute restaurateurs because we know that it is not an easy feat to stay open and com-pensate staff and also recover from COVID -19, which
we know was a huge hit to that industry. So we support
this Bill.
The
President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Minister Darrell, you have the floor.
Sen
. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
And I just want to thank and lend my support
as the Minister responsible for Tourism to this Bill that
is being brought forth by the Junior Minister and the
spokesperson for Finance. Though this directly deals with the restaurants, this is something that, as the Minister responsible for Tourism, I have heard quite a bit as something that the Government has had in place for some time now. And we are just extending it.
So just this weekend there were restaurant
owners who would come up and say, Thank you very
much to the Government for continuing to support local
businesses so that they can continue to provide these culinary experiences for our visitors to the Island. And I
am happy to hear that the spokesperson from the Op-position is also onboard with this. And it is an example of the Government once again providing relief and as-sistance to those who need it most.
Thank you, Madam President.
The
President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Sen
. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
In light of so much support this afternoon, I
would like to move that the Restaurants (Temporary
Customs Duty Relief) Amendment Act 2024 be now
read a second time.
The
President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26 Sen. A rianna H odgson: Thank y ou, Ma dam President.
I mov e that [ Standing Order] 26 be suspended
in respect of t his Bill.
The P resident: I s there any obj ection t o that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 s uspended.]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Pres ident.
I move that the Bill entitled the Restaurants
(Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Amendment Act
2024 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.
BILL
THIRD READING
RESTAURANTS (TEMPORARY CUSTOMS DUTY
RELIEF) AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Hearing none, Madam President, I move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill entitled
the Restaurants (Temporary Customs Duty Relief)
Amendment Act 2024 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Restaurants (Temporary Customs
Duty Relief) Amendment Act 2024 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson,
and Senators for your support.
We are moving on now to the next item on our
Order Paper, and that is the second reading of the Ho-tels (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Amendment Act
2024. And that is also in the name of Senator Arianna
Hodgson, the spokesperson for Finance.
Senator Hodgson, when you are ready you can
present your Bill.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Given the support that I am looking to receive,
I will be brief.
[Laughter]
668 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate BILL

SECOND READING

HOTELS (TEMPORARY CUSTOMS DUTY RELIEF)
AMENDMENT ACT 2024

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the Bill entitled the Hotels (Temporary Customs Duty Relief)
Amendment Act 2024 pr oposes to amend the Hotels
(Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Act 1991 to approve
an additional period of duty relief in respect of capital
goods to be used in capital investment schemes for ho-tels. Madam President, Senators will recall that the pe-riod of temporary customs duty relief for hotels was last extended for a period of five years effective April 1,
2019. This period of duty relief expired on the 31
st of
March 2024.
Senators will appreciate the importance of operating Bermuda’s tourism products in order to revitalise the local tourism industry. Of course, a vibrant and exciting hotel sector is an essential component in the
Government’s quest to provide a first -class experience
for our Island’s visitors. Fortunately for Bermuda, most
hoteliers are committed to upgrading their facilities to the highest standards possible, and those who have al-ready reached world- class status are determined to
maintain such an achievement.
To reach their goals in the prevailing economic
climate, a number of hoteliers will be in greater need of assistance than in the past. I am pleased to inform the Senate that during the last five years the Bermuda ho-tels sector has actually benefited by claiming and re-ceiving approximately $8.8 million in duty relief in respect of goods imported for the renovation and refurbishment of their facilities. Over the next five years, this customs duty concession will continue to be of im-mense benefit to the hotels sector and by extension to the general economy of Bermuda.
Madam President, this Government intends for
the expanded period of duty concession for hotels to be back -dated to April 1, 2024, to provide for uninterrupted
hotels temporary duty relief for a full five- year period
through the 31
st of March 2029.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have the floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
And again we support this relief to hotels on the
Island. I just have a few questions because we did have an updated Tourism Investment Act, and we did have some hotel Orders that were passed which gave an increased level of concessions to hotels. And at the time,
you know, it was debated as to whether or not these
concessions were in line with the investment being done. And so I just wanted to ask the Junior Minister if she could clarify the overlap of this particular relief with the increased concessions that certain hotels have received in this very Chamber, and whether or not Gov-ernment has done a cost analysis as to whether or not we are getting the best bang for our buck and whether
or not hotels are investing as much into the local community and the Island as they are getting concessions?
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
No? Hearing none, it is over to you, Senator
Hodgson.
[Pause]

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR
The President: While you are getting your responses,
I would just like to welcome to the Chamber Mr. Dean Lema, the Principal Customs Officer.
Welcome to you, sir.
[Hotels (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Amendment
Act 2024, Second Reading Debate, continuing]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President, and thank you.
As I am sure my Senate colleague, the Junior
Minister Hodgson, will directly answer the question
from Senator Robinson, I again as the Minister of Tourism would like to lend my support and say my congrat-ulations to my colleague. And again it is another indica-tion of the Government and what we are doing, in this case to provide customs duty relief for hotels. And I know the Senator from the other side did mention the
Tourism Investment [Amendment] Act, and as my colleague will explain in a moment, that is a much wider
net of relief that is available for a much longer time. And that is more for long- term investments to bring stability
and confidence to the investors who are going to, as we saw, a hotel just financially closed the other day at
upwards of about $550 million. That type of relief and
that type of guarantee for the Government is a lot different than what may be in this one, which is just basi-cally, specifically on customs duty for hotels.
But with that said, this goes to continue to show
that this Government is committed to the tourism indus-try in this Island, we are committed to all that we can do to put ourselves on a competitive footing. As Bermudi-ans would know, when you travel all over the world, people come back and say, Well, you know, Minister, I was just down in this particular country, and I heard that
they do this or they do that. Why can’t we do this and
Why can’t we do that? And I think, as the world they

Ber muda Senate say is getting smaller, people are starting to understand
that Bermuda does have beautiful pink sand beaches,
and we have beautiful people and beautiful culture and
sports. But we have to do more to compete with the rest
of the world so that we can continue to host people on
our beautiful Island.
So this is another example of the Government
and what we are doing in this instance to assist hotels.
And as the Minister of Tourism, I am happy to support
it on behalf of this Government.
The P resident: T hank y ou, Mi nister D arrell.
It is over to you, S enator A rianna Hodgson,
spokesperson for F inance.
Sen. A rianna H odgson: I do not need to repeat all t hat
the Minister c ontributed.
[Laughter]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: But I did want to point out just
two bits of information that I thought would be helpful
and useful for those listening.
So as it stands, there are only eight Tourism
Investment Orders for hotel properties. On the other
hand, there are no restaurants that then benefit from
the Tourism Investment Order. Some of the duty relief
and other bits that benefit under the Tourism Investment Order of course would not apply, and so this
broader relief is able to help more persons.
And of course if the Temporary Customs Duty
Relief Acts were allowed to expire, which is why we
back -dated them, it means that any properties that do
not have a Tourism Investment Order attached, they
would have to have paid full duty. But I also wanted t o
make it clear that there were no hotels or restaurants
that have been denied duty relief in the intervening
months.
So, Mad am President, w ith that I w ould l ike to
move that t he B ill entitled the Hotels ( Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Amendment Act 2024 be now read a
second time.
The
President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended
in respect of this Bill.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.] Se
n. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Hotels (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Amendment Act 2024 be
now read a third time.
Th
e President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.
BILL
THIRD READING
HOTELS (TEMPORARY CUSTOMS DUTY RELIEF)
AMENDMENT ACT 2024
Se
n. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you.
I move that the Bill do now pass.
Th
e President: It has been moved that the Bill do now
pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Hotels (Temporary Customs Duty
Relief) Amendment Act 2024 was read a third time and
passed.]
The President: Thank y ou, Senator Arianna Hodgson,
and to, Senators, for your support.
Now, Senators, we will return to the first item
on the Order of the Day, and that is the second reading
of the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Amendment Act 2024. And that is also in the
name of Senator Arianna Hodgson as the spokesperson for Finance.
So, Senator Hodgson, you hav e got a busy af-ternoon.
When you are ready you can proceed.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: It seems to always be one of
those, Madam President.
[Laughter]
The President: You have a lot of support.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: I hope s o, Madam President!
[Laughter]
The President: Well, you hav e representatives here to
help you.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: I will take it.
Madam President, I mov e that the Bill entitled
the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions)
Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.
670 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

BILL

SECOND READING

NATIONAL PENSION SCHEME (OCCUPATIONAL
PENSIONS) AMENDMENT ACT 2024

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I am pleased to provide for the consideration of
Senate the Bill entitled the National Pension Scheme
(Occupational Pensions) Amendment Act 2024 . Senators will be aware that the National Pension Scheme
(Occupational Pensions) Act 1998 provides for the establishment, administration and regulation of private
sector occupational pension plans in Bermuda.
The Act became operational on the 1st of January 2000, and over the years a number of amendments to the Act and Regulations have been introduced
to provide for various matters. Madam President, since
2010 the Government has provided plan members and those 65 and older additional access to their pension
funds, which over the years have provided both timely
and substantial financial support. In particular,
• the temporary COVID -19 refunds totalling
$243 million;
• lump -sum refunds totalling $58 million;
• financial hardship refunds totalling $31 million;
and
• small pension refunds totalling $12 million.
Madam President, this Bill proposes to amend
the Act further to allow individuals the ability to use a
portion of their private pension savings toward the purchase of their first homes. This was an election promise
made in 2020, and I am proud to say it is a promise
made and promise kept.
Madam President, homeownership is not just a
personal achievement. It strengthens our communities and supports our economy. It gives individuals and
families a sense of stability and security and helps them
to build equity for future generations. Also, as Bermuda’s real estate market over the years has shown
steady increases in property values, homeownership is not just shelter and can be a wealth- building tool.
Another key feature to this Bill is that it allows
individuals to withdraw pension funds not only for their own first home, but also for the home of a spouse or child. This increases accessibility and empowers families to support each other in securing pro perty, ensuring the next generation’s steps onto the property ladder.
Madam President, the Bill provides clear withdrawal limits, as well as [the ability for] individuals between the ages of 18 and 45 to withdraw up to 30 per
cent of their pension balance, while those between the ages of 46 and 64 can withdraw up to 15 per cent. This
tiered approach recognises the fact that as a person gets closer to retirement, the need to preserve their
pension account increases, and therefore this approach ensures a balance between supporting homeownership and protecting retirement securit y.
Madam President, I also feel it is incumbent to
illustrate the impact of this Government’s initiatives
aimed toward building a nation of owners. I would like
to highlight that currently if a Bermudian wishes to pur-chase a $600,000 home, they would typicall y need to
provide a 20 per cent down payment, which is a total of
$120,000. However, under the Government’s Mortgage
Guarantee programme, this requirement is reduced to
10 per cent, which then brings down the payment to
$60,000. Now, with this Amendment, g iven the average
pension balance of a 35- year-old in Bermuda, a young
Bermudian in their 30s could withdraw up to 30 per cent
of their pension and therefore would only need approximately $40,000 in cash compared to the original
$120,000 requirement. That i s an $80,000 reduction,
Madam President.
While we are proud to help make home ownership more accessible, this Government recognises that purchasing a home still requires discipline, sacrifice, a
plan and a budget. This Government is committed to
creating pathways to ownership, but the journey’s s uccess is up to each individual. Owning a home is a long-term commitment, and through financial responsibility,
Bermudians can secure not only a home, but their family’s financial future as well.
Madam President, I should also mention that
this proposed initiative is not unique to Bermuda, as many countries around the world provide their citizens
with the option to use a portion of their pension savings
for homeownership. A stand- out example is Singapore,
where the government similarly allows citizens to use
their pension savings to finance the purchase of their
home. As a result of this policy, Singapore has one of
the highest homeownership rates in the world with over
90 per cent of its population owning their homes. By
leveraging pension savings, Singapore has transformed homeownership from a distant dream to reality
for many of its residents.
Madam President, it is also important to note
that applicants are not required to live in the property
they purchase using these funds. Successful applicants can choose to rent the property out, thereby presenting an opportunity to generate income to support
their mortgage repayments.
Finally, as I mentioned last week, due to the
very nature of the plan, this initiative will not be available to individuals on defined benefit pension plans.
Madam President, as I close, I would like to
thank those within the Pension Commission, the Attorney General’s Chambers and the team at the Ministry
of Finance for their efforts. I would also like to thank our
local approved pension administrators for act ually
working with the Government on not just this initiative,

but
preparing on a much broader scale to help the people of Bermuda become retirement -ready.
This initiative is more than just a financial option; it is a stepping stone to building stronger families,
securer futures and a more resilient Bermuda. By giv-ing Bermudians the flexibility and opportunity to invest
in their own homes, we are not just helping them
achieve a lifelong dream but [we are helping to] creat-ing a nation of proud homeowners. Together we are ensuring that more Bermudians can take pride in the roofs over their heads and the wealth they build for gen-erations to come.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER
SENATE VISITOR
The President: And before I open the floor to the Senators, I would just like to welcome Mr. Peter Sousa, CEO of the Pension Commission.
Welcome to you, sir, in the Chamber.
[
National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions)
Amendment Act 2024, Second Reading Debate, con-tinuing.]
The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have the floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
And I will say that I understand the essence of
what the Government is attempting to achieve here. And I also recognise the intention to bolster homeown-ership in Bermuda.
I take a bit of exception to the comparison to
Singapore only because the housing market, the avail-ability and also the pricing are very different. I do un-derstand that it was just used as an example to show-case how this would actually work. But I think the way that the Government is presenting this Bill is irrespon-sible. And the reason why I say that is because the
OBA previously supported during COVID -19 the ability
to dip into your pension and use it for hardship because
we knew and agreed with Government that folks needed relief during that time.
The issue is that since then we know that that
money has not been replaced. Folks have not — . . . oh,
and I cannot say everybody. But I can say there is a general consensus that that money has not been re-turned. Folks have not [made] or cannot afford volun-tary contributions to replace the pension that they have taken out since COVID -19. And the reason why that is
important is that we in this Chamber have to legislate not just for now, but we have to legislate for the future as well.
We have a Government that is $3 billion in
debt. And the reason why that correlates to this is be-cause if folks do not have a suitable amount left in their pension, in the future when my mother’s generation
(who is 59) hits 65, there are not enough of my generation to support those pension payments already. And now what we are doing is essentially saying, on top of that hardship payment that people have taken out, they now can go back in and take out another 15 [per cent]
or 20 [per cent] or 30 per cent from their pension to
scrape up enough to make a down payment and then be shackled to a mortgage.
So we have to also look at the climate that we
are in right now. A house is extremely beneficial to the wealth generation of a family —no doubt. But on the flip
side of that, it is an asset and a liability. We have to
make sure that folks understand that i t is a massive liability to renovate a house, to upkeep a house.
We are in an Island right now where we have
people who are being unable to hold onto their mortgage. Most people who want financial assistance right
now are seniors. And seniors would be the people who
would have the amount in their pension to make a down payment for this house. And they are already on finan-cial assistance. Their pension already does not go far enough. And now we are saying that, even though we have an Island where folks are sitting in their house
wondering how they are going to make their mortgage
payment or have a renter who is in their home being
rented out, or an apartment, unable to make rent pay-ments . . . so, you are counting on the rent payments.
And people are on payment plans for that.
We have to be honest about the state of our
Island and the drawback with these folks doing this and having no pension and then they end up on financial assistance in the future. It is incumbent on us to make sure that we do not make policy that is benefic ial for
now, and when we look back on our time as Legislators
and see the fallout, or potential fallout of the Bills, we
feel somewhat ashamed.
I do not want to discourage. Obviously, as the
Government has said, this is a choice. It is not some-thing that you are being compelled to do. I personally believe that during your growth years and how it has
been packaged that it will help young people. Y ounger
folks by and large who are just getting into their jobs
most likely do not have enough in their pension. And I am just . . . well, the Junior Minister can answer if she believes it is true or not. But it is not necessarily for peo-ple who are just starting out on the home level.
[
Inaudible interjection]
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Well, you made the chirping,
see there.
[Laughter]
Bermuda Senate
672 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I will speak directly to you,

I was just going to remind you, Senator
Robinson, to address the Chair. You address the Chair.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Definitely. I will address you.
And I also think it is very interesting that we see
this come forward in a time where we have many young
Bermudians who feel as though they cannot afford to
live here in the rental market.

[Inaudible interjections and laughter]

An Hon. Senator: They want to be rental owners.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Well, the issue is this, right?
Madam President, the issue is this, right?

[Inaudible interjections]

The President: Senators, please! I want to hear when
Senator Robinson is speaking.
Point of order?
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I was waiting for one.
The issue is this, right? If your people are in a
renter’s market and struggling to rent, how exactly [does] a mortgage level where they are taking from their
future to pay for now and may not have the money to
recover that lead to people actually thinking, Hey, let
me take t his on ?
I [hear] the chirping, and I know that this is a
Bill that is a flagship for their election platform. But at the end of the day —
The President: Senator Robinson, please direct your
comments to the Bill itself.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Yes.
So, at the end of the day it is incumbent on me
to stress that we must enforce proper financial planning
for the future. And we cannot be giving more and more
reasons for people to dip into their pension when we know that pensions right now as they stand are not going far enough for our seniors. So just making that
point, I personally believe that this Bill is irresponsible.
And I cannot support it.
I do understand that it is something that may
seem enticing. But I do warn that your pension, your growth years are between your 20s, your 30s and your
40s. If you are taking out your pension in those years it
can be hard to replace it and you could end up in a position where you may be in financial hardship. And we
will not be able to see it until the next five, ten years,
fifteen years when people are going through their mort-gage.
So with those comments I yield, Madam President. The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Kiernan Bell, you have the floor.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
I read this Bill with interest. I declare a conflict
of interest in the sense that I have a pension plan. So
of course I am looking at this with interest. But I thank
the Junior Minister for indicating that one of the influential legislations that inspire d this or assisted the statutory draftsmen in drafting it was Singapore, because
my questions do concern where there are gaps in this
draft legislation that do not exist in the Singapore legislation.
In particular, and I do not pretend to be an expert on pensions, but what they have done in Singapore
is they have tied (if I can put it this way) the housing policies that are enacted by the government and the incentives they give to people to be able to aff ord to buy
public and private housing with the pension plan and
their ability to access pension plans to buy those properties. And for example, interest rates are generally
aligned between those two.
The reason that they have done that is that if
and when they sell the house that they have bought,
that money must get repaid with interest into their pension plan. And that does not seem to me to be the case in the enactment that we have passed. There seems to
be only one provision where the monies that you have
received out of your pension plan must be repaid, and
that is where your attempt to purchase the property has
failed. So the money gets provided to a lawyer or their
client account for the purchas e of a property. For whatever reason, the property sale does not go through.
Then those funds, as I understand the legislation mechanically, must get repaid back into the administrator
of the pension. And that makes perfect sense to me. I
totally understand that.
But my question really concerns . . . once you
take that money out of the pension plan and it is not
going back, you have successfully managed to buy the
property, that property may be sold. You may not be
able to afford to maintain that property. That ass et will
essentially have potentially gone and left your pension plan permanently, and you may not actually have suc-cessfully retained the ownership of your primary residence. So, I do question whether or not this is prudent
for everybody. And there is a lack of scaffolding (if I can
put it that way) around the pension plan itself for the individual from that particular asset.
So in principle, I am in favour of being able to
draw out a savings asset to be able to buy another asset that will hopefully accrue in value. But that asset
should be considered a loan, if you like, from your pension plan. And if you can repay it back to the pension
plan, you should. And those are the incentives and the provisions that Singapore appears to have enacted
which we do not appear to have followed.


Bermuda Senate And I would note that even in Singapore there
was a concern about retirement adequacy. That is,
whether people when they get to retirement age who
have availed themselves of the plan that they have in
Singapore are going to have enough in their retirement plan to support their retirement.
So that is the question. If we were going to follow Singapore, why did we not follow it completely? If I can simplify that question.
The second question I have is, What was the
feedback from the various pension administrators? I would be interested to understand whether there was
any concern flagged or raised about whether there was
a risk of under -funding within the pension plans. One of
the things that I do see, and I referred to the fact that I looked at this with interest, [is] people are going to look
at this who may not necessarily need this but as a way of being able to remove funds from their pension plan.
Because they may think they can do better with those
funds than their pension plan administrator can do. And
there is, as I see it, no guardrail around that. So I am
concerned generally that there will be a bit of a run (if I
can put it that way) on pension plans and whether there
was any concern about that.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Vice President Kiernan
Bell.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Yes, Senator Lindsay Simmons, you have the
floor.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President. I am going to be very brief.
But I just want to say, Madam President, on
Saturday I got a phone call from a young mother who
is getting married. And she and her partner have good jobs. But they are short in funds to buy a home. They
want to thank this Government for thinking about th em
so that they could take money out of their pension to
invest in a home for their family. Without this, it might
take them another five or six years before they have the
opportunity to buy a home.
So, like my colleague over on the other side
said, this is a choice. It is not for everybody. But we are giving options to people so that they can buy a home.
And honestly, I think that if this helps some Bermudians
acquire a piece of the rock, like we say, I say, Go for it
if it works for you. This is an option. It is something that
we put out. And you either take it or you do not take it.
You have people who are 40 who are dying
and they never get to use their pensions. Right? You
have people . . . What if this person dipped into their
pension at 30 and was able to buy a house for their
young family? Now that family has a house to leave to
their family if they never even reach a pensionable age. So I think the option is there. It is not for everybody. But
it should be an option. And I think that this is a great
incentive so people can own a home. I know personally before I bought my home I
was paying more in rent than I am on a mortgage. So
financially, buying a home was in my best interest because I saved $1,000- plus a month on owning a home
[over] renting. So I thank this Government for thinking
about others, and this might be the way forward to people actually owning homes in Bermuda.
So thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons.
Senator Robinson, Leslie Robinson, you have
the floor.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
I came up in a time where my parents were
able to have a home. And so when it came to my time,
and those of us, several of us in my generation, where we wanted to own a home, we were able to . . . our
family members were able to assist us with the properties that they did own. And so I was able to get my mortgage. And I know my other cousins and family mem-bers were able to do it in the same way.
We now have generations of Bermudians coming up where their family, their parents were not able to
acquire a home. And so there is no asset to be able to
use as some collateral, partial collateral for them. And
so that is one issue.
We also have the issue of the fact that there
are a number in that age group—20s, 30s, 40s —who
are working and having good jobs. And of course they
still cannot. They may even downsize a little bit, they
may want to work more hours and have a few more
jobs. But they still cannot realise (I guess) the reality and dream of owning a home. And you know, I want to
say that during this Administration with this Government, we have more young people now in international
business working and more young people worki ng in
general. So we want to as a Government be able to say, You know, we want you to be able to own your own
home and to be able to continue on with a legacy, because it is about legacy.
So, think about it. The one who is 30, the parents who are 30 are able now to own their own home,
that their children will see that, Yes, even if I go away
to school I can come back and I can own a home. Or at
least I now have something that could help me to have
a home as well. So we are thinking about the future because we are wanting our Bermudians, the younger
ones who are coming up, we want them to be coming back. And if you have got a home and got some legacy
and you have got an asset, then it will continue on. So
then they will come home, and they will work and they
know that they can get their home.
So I am in full support of this Bill. And I would
hope that those who may be thinking about wanting to
be homeowners may look to what this Government is
trying to do in saying that they are able to have that
down payment or a bit of that down payment for homeownership.
674 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Leslie Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Vice President Kiernan Bell, you have the floor.

Sen. Kiernan Bell: I did have just one last question. In
the Bill it refers to “ principal residence .” And I believe I
heard the Junior Minister indicate that you do not actually need to live in the property, or your child does not need to live in the property. You or your spouse do not
need to live in the property, and you can rent it. But I
did not see a definition of “principal residence.” I am
obviously familiar with how that works in other jurisdictions where there are often tax breaks for people living
in their principal residences and so on. But I am a little
confused how that is supposed to work.
So, what is the definition of “principal residence”?
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senator Wilkerson, Minister Wilkerson, you
have the floor.

Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Thank you, Madam
President.
I wanted to add my voice to this debate because I think it is incredibly important. And certainly I
have heard the concerns from another place around
the idea that this Government might be encouraging people to raid their pension pot, so to speak.
Listeners certainly would have heard from the
debate in another place that there is indeed an intention that there be an education campaign that goes along
with this Bill. And those conversations have been had
with the pension administrators, all of the major pension providers on the Island, around the kind of conversations that should be had if a person approaches to
take advantage of this scheme.
But you know what I say, Madam President?
This is not for everybody. Right? There is a very limited scope of Bermudian residents who will be able to take
advantage of this as has been pointed out in this Chamber already. People of a certain age may not have the
funds in their pension to fully take advantage of it. They
may not be built up enough. But as Senator Hodgson pointed out, there will be people who are young, they
may be in their 30s, they may have high- paying jobs,
they may be in international bus iness. And I can liken
the situation to what I faced myself when I was that age.
Madam President, home ownership was the
singular most important thing for me growing up, because as a child my family was evicted from our home.
And so I grew up understanding that that was the single
most important thing you had to do when you were able to do so. I was in the shoes where I had a good- paying
job. Funds were going into my pension. But I did not
have the funds to make a down payment. I had the ability to see those payments through based on my trajectory for work and future income, but that d own payment
was a stumbling block. You have part of it but not the
rest of it.
As Senator Leslie Robinson just pointed out,
she had the benefit of having family who could help. I
fortunately had a brother and sister -in-law who were
able to collateralise my down payment for my first
home, and that got me on the ladder of homeownership. But as Senator Leslie Robinson just pointed out,
not every Bermudian has the benefit of families with
real estate holdings who can assist in that manner. I
believe that this Government is trying to address a very
unique problem. It definitely is not an e ncouragement
to make a run on pension assets.
I did a little bit of research, Madam President. I
was just curious as to historically, you know, what the outlook on the housing situation has been in Bermuda.
And I took a look at the planning document from the
Housing Land Audit and Analysis of 2022. There is an
analysis in that document which can be found online at
planning.gov.bm. It talks about the census data from
that time.
And I will read from it if you will permit me,

Absolutely. You may read.

Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: This is paragraph 4 of
the Analysis page. And the second paragraph reads, “In a recent article by the Royal Gazette, realtors revealed that rents have increased by up to 30% in the
past 12 months alone [ (June 2021 – June 2022) ].”
So that was a period from June 2021 to June
2022, rents increased by 30 per cent. Not 5 percent,
not 10 per cent, not 15 per cent, but 30 per cent! And
think about a 30 per cent increase in the rent that you
are obligated to pay, if you are subject to a le ase, and
if you are a family with small children or whatever the
case my be.
And I will go on, Madam President.
“They have attributed this to a ‘ significantly reduced available rental inventory island- wide’. The reasons behind this are complex and multi -faceted. For example, one reason could be the increasing difficulty of
obtaining a mortgage since the 2008 global recession.
Since then, banks have tightened their lending policies,
making buying unattainable for some and forcing them
into the rental market. ”
So, Madam President, you will see that even
the rental market is unattainable for some, as well as
homeownership. But as my colleague pointed out,
there are situations now where the monthly mortgage
payment could be cheaper than market rent for many citizens. But if they cannot access the housing ladder

B ermuda Senate by bein g abl e to get that dow n payment, they ar e in a
conundrum.
I believe this is what this Bill is trying to
achieve. It is striking a balance. And we understand. I
heard all of the comments about the safety of the pension pot. I am there. I am 62. As Vice President Bell
pointed out, I am self -interested. I want the pension pot
to be whole. But I can say this from the perspective of
being someone who is in their 60s. But if I were in my
30s with a young family and a good job, trying to get on
the homeownership ladder, this would be very important to me. And I think it is an example of the creative ways that the PLP are thinking about how to make
Bermuda more equitable for every citizen.
Thank y ou, Madam P resident.
The P resident: Thank y ou, A ttorney G eneral, M inister
Wilkerson.
Senator R obin T ucker, O BA Le ader i n the S enate, you have the floor.
[Laughter]
An H on. Mem ber: Good Lord.
Sen. R obin T ucker: Good afternoon, M adam President.
The P resident: M m-hmm.
Sen. Robin Tucker: In some ways I am a bit conflicted.
And I mean that because I do take the point that this
policy, this piece of legislation, is not going to be for
everyone. What I have decided, though, is that I am not
going to lose sight of the purpose of pension funds in
the first place.
Just to explain just a little bit about where my
thinking is, my children are now both in their 30s. When
they came back home from school and they got their
full-time jobs, one of the first conversations I had with
both of them was, S ave some money for retirement . Of
course, in their very, very early 20s they were looking
at me like, Really? I have, like, forever and a day.
What’s the problem?
I said to one of them, What I would like you to
do is start with voluntary contributions. And what you
can do . . . one of my children (I will not name who it is
in case someone is listening), but one of them got —
[Inaudible i nterjection]
Sen. R obin T ucker: No.
[Laughter ]
Sen. Robin Tucker: One of them would buy their
breakfast every morning and buy their lunch every day.
So my suggestion to them . . . because of course, you
know, first job you get , you think you are rich and you have got all of this money and whatever. You have got
a steady payche que and what -have- you. And what I
told them to do was take the money that they would
spend on their breakfast and lunch every single day
and put that aside for their voluntary contributions. And
I did a bit of a calculation and got them to see how m uch
that would compound over the years, right? And how
much just saving that little $50 or whatever it was over
time.
I
think, Madam President, that while I can see
some benefit for some people —

We will take “some.”
Sen. Robin Tucker: — as Legislators we have to not
just look at a core group of who this is specifically going to assist. We have to look at the whole country. And we have to look at whether what we are saying is a beneficial thing , not necessarily just a good thing. B ut is it
beneficial for most? We already know . . . pensions became mandatory in January 2000 for a reason. It was
mandatory so that we could be as sured as a country
that people when they reach retirement age would actually have monies in their pot in order to have some
income for the course of their lives.
I think, Madam President, that we have to be
focused on the purpose of that pension. Because while
we have some who are just out of their 20s, some are
just, I guess, somewhere in their 40s, I am closer to 60.
What we do know is that there is a concern for people
today who have retired who do not have enough money in their pension account. And we have already heard
about people, 1,000- odd people—seniors , who are on
financial assistance, people who have worked their en-tire lives and saved as much as they could and still cannot make ends meet.
So what we have to be careful of is that for
whomever this population is that this will be good for —
not necessarily beneficial, but be good for —

What is the difference?
Sen. Robin Tucker: It is a big difference between what
would be good and what would be beneficial.
But, Madam President, we have to be careful
to make sure that we do not end up with an unintended
consequence. And by creating an environment
whereby . . . I mean, we saw how certain things worked
out for people who had zero- down mortgages. Looked
like a brilliant idea. Bunch of people ended up signing up, and we all know how that ended up.
So, Madam President, the other point I want to
make is about opening this up for seniors. We already know some seniors are suffering at the hands of their families and others as it relates to financial abuse. What guardrails do we have in place for seniors to ensure that they are not being put in that type of a situation? Some of them will be willing. Some of them, it will go
well for . But for some it will not. So again, Madam
676 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate President, we have to make sure that we are doing
what is beneficial for the masses and not just looking at
a core group.
I have no doubt, based on the comments of my
colleagues, that this legislation will go through. What I will say, though, Madam President, is that I, for one, am
happy to stand up and say I do not support this Bill. I
do not support it. I do not support it for this particular
reason: that I am looking at what is beneficial. I am looking at what guardrails are not in place, because,
again, I am one of those people with one foot in the 60
pot. And I am one of those people that, everyone here
knows, I have a bunch of grandchildren. We need to
make sure that we are educating our children to save
their money early so they get compound interest. We
need to make sure that we train up our people so that they know about being able to prepare as best as they can without tapping into pension monies.
There are other ways. But touching your pension money . . . again let us say that we have another
COVID -19. Let us say someone gets this money, and
then things go awry with family and rents and whatever,
someone else has already mentioned it. And then of
course the Pension Commission has a hardship withdrawal process. Now the potential is COVID -19 monies
have come out twice, monies for this partial down payment have come out and now I am going to have to tap
into my money again because of an unforeseen emergency. And then I am at retirement age, and I have
nothing or little, a lot less —at the very least a lot less
than what I could have had had I kept that nest egg where it needed to be and let the thing grow.
Now to be clear, I am not against homeownership. I am not. I own a house. I am not against it. And I would like for my children to own their houses. I would
like for everybody I know to own a house. I am not say-ing that at all. All I am saying, though, is that we have
to look down the road. We cannot just look at today. We
have got to look at down- the-road as it specifically relates to having sufficient pension monies left in those
accounts. Not everybody is going to be able to make
up that money when retir ement comes. And who is to
say that house is still going to be there?
We have to be sure to look beyond just today.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robin Tucker.
Would anybody else like to speak?
Minister Darrell, you have the floor.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, in this
debate that we have had this afternoon on this very important topic, many individuals in this Chamber today
have given personal stories about where they are currently, where they were maybe 30 years ago and where
they are trying t o go. But I am going to take this debate
in a different direction, Madam President. And I am going to go back to the ethos of the Progressive Labour
Party. I want to say thank you to the Junior Minister of
Finance who brought this Bill in another place, Madam
President , because he (if you know him who sits in another place) is a young man, Madam President. He is a
young man who is building a young family, Madam President. And he, like the Senator who sits on the
other side, speaks to young people his age. And one of
the number -one desires of young people in this country, esp ecially young, educated people in this country,
is the desire for home ownership.
I want to say thank you to the Junior Minister
who sits in another place for bringing this because he
remembers why the Progressive Labour Party are here. We are here, first and foremost, Madam President, to serve the people of Bermuda. Madam President, that slogan does not talk about serving some people. It does not talk about only serving those who have. It talks about serving the people. And in this Bill that we
have in front of us, Madam President, is an opportunity
for us right now to assist individua ls who are looking to
get into homeownership in Bermuda. And as we have seen, the fortunate ones who
have had the opportunity to get a house, that opens up
so many more opportunities. You can use that for education. You can use that as an income generator. You
can use that to assist seniors. Because as many of us
in the sandwich generation know , you are taking care
of both sides of the coin, Madam President.
I must say, from a young man who sits in this
Chamber, younger than me, Madam President, on the
other side to give me this speech about more doom and
gloom and a lot of coulds and what ifs, and call the Government irresponsible for bringing legislation that will
help most of his peers is shocking, Madam President!
Because I can tell you one thing about the Senator that
sits on the other side.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Point of order, Madam President.

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I would like for the Minister
to not only speak to the Bill but show me in the legisla-tion that it is targeted toward people in my age bracket.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: You have the higher percentage.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: They do not. They do not.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President.
The President: Minister Darrel.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Madam President, they have
15 per cent.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thirty!


Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Ah, ah! From a . . . thank
you, Madam President.

The President: I want to only hear one person: Senator Darrell.
Minister Darrell, you have the floor.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
When we hear the Opposition come to this
Chamber, Madam President, and they take aim at this
Government and they point out people are leaving and
they are going and doom and gloom, and they cannot
afford to be in their country, that is one of the number -
one talking points! But again as we point out over and
over again the One Bermuda Alliance comes with no
solutions, Madam President.
And here we have the Junior Minister who sits
in another place bring ing a solution that is going to help
the peers of the Senator over here, and he says it is irresponsible.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Point of order, Madam President.

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: There is absolutely nothing
that has been presented by this Government regarding
this Bill—

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Point of order, Madam
President.
Madam President?

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: —that stipulates what the
Minister is saying.

The President: Senator Robinson, I am listening to the
Minister, Mr. Darrell.
You may continue.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: What we find in this
country —I am just going to say it, Madam President,
which is hugely disappointing— is that so many times
when you see situations and opportunities like this
come before this place to help people in need, it is
those who have who sometimes, Madam President,
disregard the options for those who have less.
And I am sorry, Madam President —

The President: Minister Darrell, you are addressing
the Chair.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
I am sorry, but for individuals in here who would
love to talk about campaigns and talk about the people
that they go knocking on their doors, surely the Senate Leader for the One Bermuda Alliance has spent some
time at Devil’s Hole listening to people who may be
younger than her. And they would tell her that homeownership is one of their number -one priorities and one
of their number -one self -indicators of success , Madam
President.
You know how many people go to work every
single day and make a solid wage, Madam President,
and they say, I am just saving my money to try to get
that down payment on a house, and cut off years and
years of their life and experiences, not being able to take their children on that vacation to Disney World because they just have to pinch every single penny for a
down payment to give to the bank, Madam President.
Here we have the Junior Minister, again from
another place, who has brought this to serve the people, and we have a young man telling me, No, well,
what ifs , and, this is being irresponsible. Let me tell you
what some other young people say, Madam President.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Point of order, Madam President.

POINT OF ORDER
[Misleading]

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: The Minister is misleading
the House. I supported homeownership in my statement. Just because we do not support this particular
Bill does not mean we do not support homeownership.
He should correct his statements in that regard.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President?

The President: That is not a point of order.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, that
is why I tell you all the time and I tell the listening public: I am proud to be a member of the Progressive Labour
Party. This legislation today is progressive. As a young
person in my circle says, Madam President, This would
be a huge help for our people. Listening to this debate,
you would think there are no safeguards in place. There
are plenty, Madam President.
And since everybody was telling their story, let
me tell you my story. Because just like the Senate
Leader of the One Bermuda Alliance has said, it is a
proud time for parents when their children come back
from university to say, Okay, let ’s go on to the next step.
I do not hear it much anymore, but the saying back then
was, We need to find you a piece of the r ock.
One of the first things my father did when I got
back from university was introduce me to every single
real estate agent that he could. This person is going to
help you find a piece of the rock. And while you might
say, Well, that is a very honourable thing to do, I felt
that it put me, for a little bit, Madam President, in a state
of depression. Because everywhere I went, what I
could get for what I could afford was not even worth it.
678 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate And if it was something that I could afford, I had to
spend the next 30 years trying to fix it up.
And here we are. We have this piece of legislation that has come today. And it is dealing with the
singular issue of not being able to afford a down pay-ment. And we have some individuals calling it irresponsible. And I would like to say this: There are some politicians who would run to the news and give a story
about protecting real estate on a beach so that people
could get a suntan!

[Laughter]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: But will not stand up and
wave the flag of something that this Government is do-ing that will directly support the people of this country
that we serve.
And, Madam President, I just have to say this
because so many times we hear individuals who just
disrespect the brilliant minds that we have in this country who are working to make things better. You made mention of individuals who are in the Chamber today
from the Pension Commission. Do you think that those
individuals would sign their names to something that
was irresponsible? Absolutely not, Madam President. So I take exception to that.
And again I will start where I finished, by reminding individuals of the ethos that the Progressive Labour Party has always had. And that is to put people
first. And that is to serve the people. I am shocked to hear some comments from some individuals in this Chamber just totally disconnected from the people in
their age group.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Senator Arianna Hodgson now, you had comments from Senators. It is over to you.

[Laughter]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes, Madam President.
I would like to thank colleagues for their support this afternoon. I can also obviously note some of the comments that have come from the other side. I do
not tend to get flustered in situations like this because I
know that at the end of the day it comes down to just
simply a difference in policy.
There was a question about how many first -
time homeowners or how many persons may be interested, something like that . So I did want to share that
while it is difficult to come up with a precise number, the
Office of the Tax Commissioner was able to report that
in 2023 they actually received 101 first time homeowner applications. And to me that is exciting, Madam
President.
There was a question about the definition of a
“principal residence.” And I can say that it is an ordinary
one. And that in addition, this would be associated with the property purchased by a first time homeowner as
certified by the Tax Commissioner.
There was some comment —

The President: Senator Hodgson, c an you speak up?

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes, sorry.
There were some questions about pensions,
the administrators and what their thoughts were surrounding all of this. And we can state that their primary
concerns were about, as we indicated, pension readi-ness. But we do want to highlight the fact that the C ommission, along with the Ministry of Finance, were actually looking at addressing some of these issues through
awareness programmes. So financial well -being or financial awareness programmes which will actually be rolled out to assist plan members in actu ally understanding the risk and associated rewards, because of
course there will be many rewards as well of making
such a refund.
I think it is important to highlight that the concern about homeowners who may be getting in over
their heads financially and whether or not the refund
would then apply, I want to make it clear that members
can take comfort in knowing that lending institutions will
be doing their due diligence and that they will be verifying that borrowers will be able to meet their mortgage obligations just as they would for any other type of land
owning. So if they are not able to show evidence that
they have actually secured the necessary financing to
actually purchase a property, then their refund application will not be approved by the Commission. So we do
not have to go down the rabbit hole about what hap-pens after.
I would say that while it is understandable that
some Honourable Members have concerns over the
long-term impact, I think that in my many instances today we have overlooked the financial benefits that will actually accrue.
There was some talk about . . . I must have answered that question.
And so, Madam President, given that I have responded to each of the questions that were posed by
my colleagues, I would actually like to move that the
National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Amendment Act 2024 be now read a second time.

The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Perfect.
Madam President, I move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended in respect of this Bill.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President, can we call
names, please?


Bermuda Senate [Inaudible interjections]

Sen. Robin Tucker: On the second reading motion,
thank you.
The Assistant Clerk: Do any Senators object to the
second reading?
The President: Two Senators object, and we will take
a vote.
[Inaudible interjection and pause]

Sen. Kiernan Bell: Madam President?
The President: Sorry.

Sen. Kiernan Bell: You may have gone past this already. But I did have a supplementary question from
the answer that was given. But we went very quickly.
So do I still have time to ask a supplementary question? If not, that is fine.

[Inaudible interjections]

The President: Senator Arianna Hodgson, are you
prepared to answer a supplementary question?
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: [Microphone off ]
The President: [The Senator] will answer the question
offline.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: We will continue with the . . .
The Assistant Clerk: Okay. Senators, we are voting
on the second reading of the Bill entitled the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Amendment Act 2024.
Those in favour of the motion will say Aye.
Those opposed will say Nay.
And we will begin this vote.
Senator De Couto is absent.

DIVISION
[National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions)
Amendment Act 2024

Ayes: 6 Nays: 3
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell Sen. Dwayne Robinson
Sen. Arianna Hodgson Sen. Robin Tucker
Sen. Leslie Robinson Sen. Kiernan Bell
Sen. Lindsay Simmons
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson
Sen. the Hon. Joan E. Dillas -Wright

Absent Sen. Dr. Douglas De Couto
Sen. John Wight

The Assistant Clerk: The [second reading of] the Bill
is affirmed by six votes to three.

Yes. So the vote is carried.
[Motion carried by majority on division: The National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Amendment Act 2024 was given a second reading.]

The President: Senator Arianna Hodgson.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes. Thank you, Madam
President.
I believe I was moving on to [request] that
[Standing Order] 26 be suspended in respect of this Bill.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to move that the National Pension
Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Amendment Act 2024 be now read a third time.

The President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

BILL

THIRD READING

NATIONAL PENSION SCHEME (OCCUPATIONAL
PENSIONS) AMENDMENT ACT 2024

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Hearing none, Madam President, I move that this Bill do now pass.

The President: It has been moved that the Bill entitled
the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions)
Amendment Act 2024 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Amendment Act 2024 was read a
third time and passed.]

680 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson,
and thank you, all Senators.
We will now move on to the next item, the last
item on the Orders of the Day. And that is consideration
of the National Pensions Scheme (First Time Homeowner Refund) Regulations 2024. And that is also in
the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson, the spokesperson for Finance.
Senator Hodgson, when you are ready you can
proceed with your draft Regulations.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President. We are nearly at the end of the day. And so I move that Standing Order 71(2) be suspended so that
Senate may now proceed with consideration of the Na-tional Pensions Scheme (First Time Homeowner Refund) Regulations 2024.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 71(2) suspended.]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I move
that Senate do now take under consideration the National Pensions Scheme (First Time Homeowner Refund) Regulations 2024, proposed to be made by the
Minister of Finance in exercise of the power conferred
by sections 24(9)(f) and 69 of the National Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Act 1998.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

DRAFT REGULATIONS

NATIONAL PENSIONS SCHEME (FIRST TIME
HOMEOWNER REFUND) REGULATIONS 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I am pleased to present the
National Pensions Scheme (First Time Homeowner
Refund) Regulations 2024 for the consideration of
[Senators]. Madam President, the just -passed National
Pension Scheme (Occupational Pensions) Amend-ment Act 2024 provided the authority to permit members and former members of defined contribution pension plans and individual, local retirement products who
have not attained normal retirement age for such mem-ber, their husband or wife, or their child, who is to be a
first time homeowner to be able to receive a refund of
30 per cent of their account balance in the case of a
member under the age of 45 years, or a refund of
15 per cent; in the case of a member who is 45 years
or older but who has not attached the age of 65 years to apply toward the purchase of a principal residence in
Bermuda.
The amendment Bill clearly provided the rationale for allowing these refunds, and these [draft] Regulations provide the framework for applying for the refund and other related matters, such as:
• definitions;
• application of regulations;
• relevant statement of account;
• incomplete or defective applications;
• determination of amount of refund;
• notification of decision to an applicant and pension administrator;
• Record keeping by the Commission; payment
of refund by the administrator;
• non-imposition of charges by the administrator;
• administrator compliance; and
• commencement of the Regulations.
Madam President, the specifics of the proposed Regulations are as follows:
Regulation 1 is self -explanatory and provides
for the citation of the Regulations.
Regulation 2 inserts various applicable definitions.
Regulation 3 provides for those persons whom
the Regulations apply to.
Regulation 4 provides for the process for applying for a refund.
Regulation 5 provides for a relevant dated
statement of account showing the applicant’s account
balance, and such statement of accounts to be received from an administrator within seven working
days.
Regulation 6 provides for the handling of incomplete or defective applications.
Regulation 7 provides for the consideration of
applications by the Commission and restrictions on approving such applications.
Regulation 8 provides for the determination of
the amount of the refund.
Regulation 9 provides for the decision of the
Commission and notification of such to applicants and
the administrator.
Regulation 10 specifies record keeping requirements by the Commission.
Regulation 11 provides for the payment of refunds for any approved applications within 20 working
days.
Regulation 12 prohibits the administrators from
imposing a charge in performing their duties or requirements under the Regulations.
Regulation 13 provides for the administrator’s
compliance with the Regulations notwithstanding any
contrary terms of a pension plan or local retirement
product and having regard to any advice or guidance
issued by the Commission.
And finally, Regulation 14 provides for the
commencement of the Regulations.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: And thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.



Bermuda Senate ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR

The President: I would just like to acknowledge in the
Chamber the Parliamentary Counsel, Gwen Johnson.
And welcome to you.

[National Pensions Scheme (First Time Homeowner
Refund) Regulations 2024, debate continuing]

The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
[these draft Regulations]?

[Pause]

The President: Senator Tucker, you have the floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I actually just have a couple of questions. So
what I would like to do . . . the Junior Minister did mention again in her brief that this is to enable applications
for a husband and wife . . . for an applicant to . . . enable, or husband, wife or child to get a down payment for
a house. But when we closed the other debate, I had
just gotten confirmation that this does not include people in domestic partnerships. And I would like to know why they have been excluded.
The second question that I have is, Given that
the refund is for a specific purpose (for the down payment on a house), I am interested to know why the
funds would be given . . . (I am on the fence about this
question because I can understand both sides, b ut I will
follow through.) Why would the funds not be given to
the banking institution rather than the individual? Because the funds are for a specific purpose. So just some clarity around that.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker, OBA
Leader in the Senate.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
Bill?
Hearing none, then, Senator Arianna Hodgson,
it is over to you.
(She is just waiting for a response from officers.)
[Pause]

[Inaudible conversation]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President.
The President: Yes, Senator.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I just want
to indicate that the Regulations follow the traditional ref-erences — The President: Can you speak louder into the microphone? I couldn’t hear you.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Sure.
I was just speaking to the fact that the Regulations actually follow the traditional references to husbands and wives.
There was a question about the payment of the
refund. I want to make it abundantly clear that the payment will not be made directly to the applicant, but actually to the lawyer who will be acting on behalf of the seller, who will hold the funds in a protec ted escrow account. So I hope that satisfies the questions that were
posed.
The President: Senator Tucker, you have—

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. I am sorry. I am not clear on
the response concerning domestic partnership. If [the
Senator] can just kind of expand a little bit on that. I am
just not clear on the response.

[Pause]

The President: Senator Hodgson, did you have a response on the domestic partnership question?
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I do not
think I have the answer that the [Senator] is looking for.
The President: Minister Wilkerson, you have a point?
Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: Yes. If I might assist in
answering the question?

The President: Yes. You certainly may.

Sen. the Hon. Kim Wilkerson: I believe my colleague
was explaining that the language in the legislation fol-lows the traditional, the general meanings of “husband”
and “wife.” If someone happens to be your spouse by
virtue of the Domestic Partnership Act , they are still
your spouse. T here is no need to further reference that
specifically in this language.

[Pause]
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: As I previously indicated,
Madam President, I do not have, I believe, the answer to the question that Senator Tucker has posed. But I can say that in all other similar refund Regulations, the
Regulations themselves make reference to a husband
or wife.
And so, Madam President, I move that the said
draft Regulations be approved and that the following
message be sent to Her Excellency the Governor:
May it please Your Excellency,
The Senate, having had under consideration
the draft Regulations entitled the National Pensions
682 30 September 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Scheme (First Time Homeowner Refund) Regulations
2024, proposed to be made by the Minister of Finance
in exercise of the power conferred by sections 24(9)(f)
and 69 of the National Pensions Scheme (Occupational
Pensions) Act 1998, has the honour to inform Your Excellency that the Senate has approved the said draft
Regulations.

The President: Senators, do you approve of the message being sent?
The message will be sent.

[Motion carried: The National Pensions Scheme (First
Time Homeowner Refund) Regulations 2024 were approved.]
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson,
for presenting the [draft Regulations].

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President, for your time today.
The President: Yes. Thank you, all Senators. It has
been a busy day.
We are now moving on.

MOTIONS

The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR OBITUARY
SPEECHES
The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
this topic?
Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you. Thank you,
Madam President.
And in the same theme that we have been talking about in previous debates, I want to give congratulations to many of the sports teams who participated. It
was a busy weekend of sports, Madam President.
First I would like to start with —and I know we
talked about it last week Wednesday, but the tourna-ment has now concluded for the field hockey, the Pan Am qualifiers that took place. And I just want to congratulate all of the teams that took place. Thank y ou to
all of the sponsors that allowed the teams from all over
the Pan Am region to come to Bermuda and experience
our great sporting and hospitality.
The Bermuda team did win a game on Friday
evening. They were victorious against Brazil. And they
fell just short of a medal on Saturday. So I want to congratulate all involved in the team, the coach, the admin-istrators who made that tournament possible.
Also, Madam President, we saw an exciting
conclusion, as I did mention last week that it was going to happen. But I happened to be on hand yesterday and
watched the finals of the cricket T20 Knock -out Cup. So
congratulations to First Division winners Willow Cuts, who defeated Flatts Victoria up at the National Sports
Centre. And congratulations to St. G eorge’s Cricket
Club, who defeated in the Knockout Cup Cleveland
County in the final on Saturday. So I was able to get
there.
And congratulations again to the national
sports governing body, which is the Bermuda Cricket
Board, for organising not just this end- of-season knockout tournament but a stellar cricket season that many
of us enjoyed.
Also, Madam President, I would like to congratulate the Bermuda Football Association, for they did
start their domestic football league this weekend, and it
is continuing this evening. And I will be in attendance at
the Devonshire Recreation Club to see my particular
team open their campaign. That is the Devonshire Colts. So congratulations to all.
Also, I would like to congratulate the ladies of
Delta Sigma Theta. They held an event on Friday evening, and they held it in the Bermuda National Gallery.
And this event is to raise funds for the community. And
I want to say thank you. That is part of Ber muda’s culture, and I want to say congratulations to them. It was
a well- attended event. I was happy to be invited.
And while I was at the Bermuda National Gallery, I was able to see some of the artists who have their
artworks on display for the Bermuda Biennial that has
been on display. And one particular artist, a former stu-dent of mine, Ms. Gherdai Hassell, she had a n exhibit
in that particular [gallery], the Bermuda National Gal-lery. But she also has an exhibition which opened at Masterworks on Friday.

[Inaudible interjection]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Okay.
Her exhibition, which opened at the Masterworks on Friday, featured other Bermudian creatives:
Ms. Yesha Townsend and Ms. Essence Aikman. So
like I said, Madam President, it has been a busy weekend for the sporting world, as well as the creatives of Bermuda. A nd I want to congratulate them for the work
that they are doing in this country, the work that they
continue to do. And I will assure them, as I have said
before, that this Government will continue to support
them. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Would any other Senator care to speak on congratulations or obituaries?
Vice President Kiernan Bell, you have the floor.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: At the risk of being repetitive, I just
wanted to actually say that I also went to the exhibit at
Masterworks, Gherdai Hassell’s paintings in particular.
I am lucky enough to have one of her works, one of her


Bermuda Senate early works. Extraordinary! Everybody should go. It is
unbelievably moving. Her talent (and I say this as
someone who cannot draw a straight line) is just unbelievable. But I think everybody should go and look at
the entire exhibit. All of the artists were outstanding. But Gherdai is an artist of a generation. And people should
go and enjoy her works. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Vice President Kiernan
Bell.
Would any other Senator care to speak on congratulations or obituaries?
Hearing none —

ADJOURNMENT
The President: Minister.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I do now ask that the Senate adjourn until Wednesday, October the 2
nd, 2024.

The President: Thank you.
Would any Senator care to speak on the motion to adjourn?
No?
The Senate stands adjourned. I want to thank
you all. It has been a long day. You have done exceedingly well. So thank you. We will meet on Wednesday, the 2
nd of October.
Senate is adjourned. Thank you.
[At 5:13 pm, the Senate stood adjourned until 10:00 am
Wednesday, 2 October 2024.]


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