July 17, 2024

Thank you, Minister Darrell.
I believe you have a second Statement.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I do.
The President: You can start when you are ready.

EMANCIPATION 2024 —SNAPSHOTS
OF OUR PAST
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I come before you today to
recognise one of the most significant milestones in our history: the e mancipation of our ancestors from the
bonds of enslavement. This year’s
Emancipation [Day]
commemoration theme , Reimagi ning Community:
Snapshots of our Past , as set forth by the Department
of Culture, provides us with a profound opportunity to
reflect on our journey, celebrate our heritage and envi-sion a future built on lessons of our past.
Madam President, Emancipation Day holds an
historic and intrinsic connection to our cherished Cup Match holiday, a tradition established by the Friendly
Societies in the aftermath of slavery. This two- day celebration filled with cricket and cultural festivities serves as a living testament to our resilience and unity. While Cup Match, as I just spoke about, has become a beloved sporting and social event, it is essential, Madam
President, to remember that its roots are deeply intertwined with the struggle for freedom and equality.
Madam President, the first day of Cup Match is
officially recognised as Emancipation Day, a public holiday dedicated to commemorating the abolition of slavery in Bermuda. On this day we honour the courage
and sacrifices of our ancestors who fought tirelessly for their freedom and laid the foundation for the rights and liberties which we enjoy today.
The second day of Cup Match holiday is designated as Mary Prince Day in honour of a remarkable woman whose bravery and activism have left a memo-rable mark on our history. Madam President, Mary Prince was born into slavery and became the first woman of African descent to write an autobiography detailing the horrors of enslavement in the British Empire. Her narrative, The History of Mary Prince, played
a pivotal role in the abolitionist movement, shedding light on the brutal reality of slavery and galvanising sup-port for the cause of emancipation. Through her cour-age and eloquence, Mary Prince gave voice to the
voiceless and inspired generations to fight for justice
and equality.
Madam President, Mary Prince’s autobiography, The History of Mary Prince, remains a seminal
work in the history of the abolitionist movement. Through her vivid and harrowing account of her life as
an enslaved woman, she brought the brutal realities of
slavery to the forefront of public consciousness. Her narrative challenged the prevailing notions of her time
and galvanised support for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. Today we honour her legacy as a pioneering activist and celebrate her contributions to
the causes of freedom and human rights.
Madam President, the Department of Culture
has curated a calendar of events to mark the commem-oration of emancipation. These events, organised in
collaboration with the government departments and community groups such as CURB [Citizens Uprooting
Racism in Bermuda], Friends of Sandys and Titan
554 17 July 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Express , provided a platform for education, reflection
and celebration.
In addition to sponsoring several community
events leading up to the anniversary of emancipation,
the Department of Culture is proud to host two signature events that promise to be both enlightening and
inspiring. Madam President, as part of a Throne
Speech initiative, the department worked closely with students associated with the Family Centre to delve into the history and culture of the Court Street area. The collaborative effort resulted in the creation of Heart of
the City , a 30- minute documentary produced by
filmmaker Marq Rodriguez —I would like to say his full
name, Madam President, Marquedelle Rodriguez —
and researcher and journalist, Meredith Ebbin.
The documentary explores the vibrant history
and enduring spirit of Court Street community, captur-ing its significance as a cultural and historical hub. I am
delighted to announce that Heart of the City will be
screened at the Court Street Market on July 28. This
screening will not only showcase the engagement of our young people, but also serve as a tribute to the re-silience and vitality of the Court Street community.
Madam President, we also thrilled to welcome
the return of the Dr. Kenneth E. Robinson/Cyril Outer-bridge Packwood Memorial Lecture, an event estab-lished to honour these two distinguished Black Bermu-dian historians who dedicated their lives to preserving and promoting our heritage. This year’s lecture will be
delivered by Yusef Bushara, a passionate researcher
who spent last summer interning at the Bermuda National Gallery. Mr. Bushara’s talk, entitled “Eyes Wide
Open—the Awe and Delight in All of Us Everywhere: Lessons from Richard Saunders,” will take place on August 21. The lecture will focus on the singular impact of
Richard Saunders, a Black Bermudian photojournalist
whose work earned international acclaim.
Madam President, Richard Saunders is one of
the few Bermudians photographers who have gained
much widespread recognition for [their] work. He spent
the majority of his career in the United States where he established himself as a highly respected photojournal-ist. His captivating images appeared in leading publica-tions such as Life, The New York Times, Fortune, EB-ONY Magazine, showcasing his exceptional talent and unique perspective. Through the lens , Mr. Sa unders
captured the beauty, strength and resilience of the African Diaspora, providing the world with a powerful vis-ual narrative of our shared humanity.
Madam President, the importance of commemorating emancipation cannot be overstated. Emancipa-tion is not just an historical event; it is a testament to
the power of human resilience and the enduring quest
for justice and equality. It reminds us of the impor tance
of standing up against oppression and advocating for the rights and dignity of all people. As we reflect on our past, we must also look to the future with a commitment to building a society that values and respects every individual regardless of their background or circumstances.
Madam President, the Culture Department’s
theme for this year’s Emancipation, Reimagining Com-munity: Snapshots of our Past, invites us to look back
at our history with fresh eyes and a renewed appreciation for the strength and resilience of our community. It
encourages us to reimagine our collective future, build-ing on the foundations laid by our ancestors and striv-ing for a more just and equitable society. Madam Pres-ident, may this year’s commemoration be a time of re-flection, celebration and unity. May it inspire us to build
a future that honours our past, embracing the strength
of our community. And may we all have a joyous and memorable Cup Match filled with the spirit of together-ness.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
The next Statement is in the name of Senator
Arianna Hodgson, JP, Junior Minister for Labour, Fi-nance and Health.
Senator Hodgson, when you are ready you
may begin.

BERMUDA MONETARY AUTHORITY
ANNUAL REPORT 2023
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, in accordance with section
28 of the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969, I am pleased to table the
Bermuda Monetary Authority Annual Report 2023 . Madam President, Bermuda’s financial services sector is subject to the regulation and supervision of the Bermuda Monetary [the Authority]. The Authority operates pursuant to the Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969, which provides it with a number of principal objects including the supervision, regulation and inspection of financial institutions operating in or
from within Bermuda, together with the promotion of financial stability and the soundness of financial institutions.
Madam President, the Senate would be aware
that the Authority has specific licensing and supervisory responsibilities under the following regulatory statutes:
• the Bank s and Deposit Companies Act 1999;
• the Corporate Service Provider Business Act
2012;
• the Digital Asset Business Act 2018;
• the Insurance Act 1978;
• the Investment Business Act 2003;
• the Investment Funds Act 2006;
• the Money Service Business Act 2016;
• the Fund Administration Provider Business Act
2019;
• the Trust s (Regulation of Trust Business ) Act
2001; together with other statutes.


Bermuda Senate The Authority also regulates the Bermuda Stock Exchange Commission.
Madam President, the Authority’s mission is to
contribute to Bermuda’s financial stability, protect consumers of financial services and protect Bermuda’s currency through maintaining effective and proactive
regulatory frameworks through its highly skilled and engaged workforce, delivering efficient operations and
sustainable business packages and supporting responsible innovations locally and in global markets.

International Recognition

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the Authority has received international recognition of its work. The Senate would be aware that Bermuda is one
of only seven total jurisdictions worldwide that have re-ceived the US National Association of Insurance Commission’s qualified jurisdiction status. Additionally, Bermuda is one of three jurisdictions to receive the National Association of Insurance Commission’s elevated status of reciprocal jurisdiction. Bermuda has also been
granted [third- country] equivalent status under the European Union’s Solvency II directive for its commercial
insurer sectors. Bermuda is one of only two jurisdic-tions that has been granted this status.
Madam President, the Authority is recognised
as a constructive participant in a number of interna-tional organisations. Meetings of such organisations offer opportunities for the Authority to strengthen its relationships with other supervisors. Currently, the Manag-ing Director supervision of the Authority serves as a
member of the International Association of Insurance
Supervisors Executive Committee. The MA [Monetary
Authority] staff [is] also heavily involved as chair, vice
chair or member of a variety of committees and subcommittees such as the Macrop rudential Committee,
the Policy Development Committee, the Signatories
Working Group and the Financial Crime Forum.
In addition, the Authority is an active member
of the Financial Stability Board Regional Consultative
Group [for the] Americas and participates in and contributes to the Bank for International Settlements and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Devel-opment’s Insurance and Private Pensions Committee.
The Authority also is a Coordination Group member of
the Global Financial Innovation Network. The Global Financial Innovation Network is a group of regulators
committed to supporting financial innovat ion in the best
interests of consumers.

Legislation

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the Authority is authorised to act as an advisor to the Minister of Finance on policy matters relating to any financial in-stitution. Accordingly, it may propose laws that allow it
to do so appropriately and consistently with its functions under the Bermuda Monetary Act 1969. In this regard, the legislative proposals advanced during the
relevant period addressed, the establishment of a new
digital asset business activity, and enhancements to
the Authority’s oversight of digital asset business, the
introduction of a recovery plan and framework for com-mercial insurers, insurance groups and internationally
active insurance groups, proposals to enhance the investment funds framework and amendments to the
fees tabled by certain insurers pursuant to the Act.

Supervision and Licensing

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I draw
Senators’ attention to the following key highlights:

BANKING SECTOR

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the consolidated assets of the banking sector decreased by
8.8 per cent, or $2.3 billion, to $23.7 billion in 2023. This
change is in line with a decrease in deposit liabilities
and is evidence d primarily by cash and deposits decreasing by 36.5 per cent to $2.7 billion. Madam President, investments retained the largest share of total as-sets at 49.1 per cent, followed by loans at 35.6 per
cent, and cash and deposits at 11.3 per cent. Madam
President, net interest income continues to be the largest component of the banking sector’s income at $790
million.

INSURANCE SECTOR

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, 1,220 insurers were registered as of the 31
st of December 2023
as compared to 1,196 in 2022. Sixty -two insurers were
added to the register in 2023. Madam President, insurers and insurance groups are required to submit statutory financial returns either four months, five months or six months after the financial year -end depending on
the applicable licence class. While the majority of insurers have a December 31
st year end, some have financial year ends outside of the ca lendar year end. Occasionally, insurers also apply and may be granted filing
extensions underwriting statistics and the report incorporate aggregation of all data from the 2022 year -end
filings received in 2023.
The 2023 year -end statutory filings initial filing
was due at the end of April 2024, and therefore 2022
year-end information is the most recent complete set of
information. According to 2022 year -end information,
total capital and surplus was $347 billion in 2022. Gross premiums written were $277 billion in 2022. The $9 billion increase in gross premiums written between 2021
and 2022 is attributed to the growth in business written
by large, commerc ial, general business and long- term
insurers. Total assets were $1.65 trillion in 2022. The
main increase of $21 billion in total assets from the pre-vious year is largely due to increased business written
by a specific group of insurers.
556 17 July 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate INVESTMENT SECTOR

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, there were
47 licensed investment business providers operating in Bermuda in 2023. The aggregate total assets of the
management were US$224.5 billion compared to
$216.2 in 2022. Sixty -nine per cent of assets under
management relate to European client business, while
20 per cent of the assets under management relate to
Bermuda- based clients. Total assets under administration for 2023 rose US$28.1 billion compared to $26.8 billion reported for 2022.
Madam President, in 2023 there were 804 investment funds in the Investment Funds Act Register, comprising 146 overseas funds being promoted in Bermuda and 658 Bermuda funds. This is contrasted
against 2022 whereby 136 overseas funds were pro-moted in Bermuda and Bermuda funds totalled 668
with a net asset value reported in relation to Bermuda
funds of $280.94 billion. Madam President, at the end
of 2023, a total of 24 fund administrated licences were on issue with $238.3 billion in assets under administration.

DIGITAL ASSET BUSINESS SECTOR
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: There were 24 digital asset
business providers operating in Bermuda at year end
2023.

BERMUDA STOCK EXCHANGE

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the total
equity market capitalisation of the Bermuda Stock Exchange stood at $191.7 billion at the end of 2023 as
compared with $166 billion at the end of 2022. Madam President, a total of 195 new insurance- linked securities were added t o the Bermuda Stock Exchange in
2023, increasing the total number of value to $59 bil-lion. Madam President, domestic trading volume totalled 2.28 million shares in 2023 and was valued at
$20.4 million.

Employees

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, at year
end December 31, 2023, the Authority comprised 273
full-time permanent employees as compared with 235
in 2022.

Financial

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, Senators’
attention is drawn to the following highlights set out in
the Statement of Accounts Report. Madam President,
the net comprehensive loss was $3.53 million, down from net comprehensive income of $5.45 million in the
previous year. Total revenue increased by 8.8 per cent,
up to $86.666 million, up from $79.650 million. The increase is mainly due to a $3.44 million increase in revenue from supervisory and licensing fees.
Madam President, expenses increased by
21.4 per cent to $90.19 million. The increase was
mainly due to the $10.09 million in increased salaries
and benefits. Madam President, licensing fees were
$74.414 million at year end as compared with $71.049,
of whi ch $63.544 million was paid by the insurance sector.
Madam President, board members are paid an
annual fee of $26,000. Boards’ subcommittee chairs
are paid an annual fee of $33,000. And the Chairman
of the Board receives an annual fee of $96,000. Madam
President, the CEO’s salary is set at $500,000, and he
is eligible for a performance- based bonus of up to
50 per cent of base salary. The salaries of the other 18
members of the executive team range from $258,000 to $459,000 in 2023 with a performance bonus of up to
37 per cent of salary.

FINES, PENALTIES AND OTHER INCOME

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the receipt
of funds from fines and penalties decreased by $1.18 million from the previous year. Upon reviewing the Authority’s 2023 Financial Statement, the Auditor General
has issued a clean opinion.
Madam President, I wish to express my sincere
thanks to the Authority’s Board who served and continue to serve this complex sector, and a special thank
you to the Authority staff.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson.
Moving on with our agenda.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS
The President: There are none.

FIRST READING OF PUBLIC BILLS

BILL

FIRST READING

WEST END DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
AMENDMENT ACT 2024

The President: The following public Bill has been received from the Honourable House of Assembly and is
now read for the first time. Its title is the West End Development Corporation Amendment Act 2024.

FIRST READING OF PRIVATE BILLS

The President: There are none.



Bermuda Senate QUESTION PERIOD

The President: Senators, we will now entertain questions on the first Statement that was given by Minister
Darrell, and that is the one on Cup Match 2024.
Are there any questions?
Senator Tucker, Opposition Leader in the Senate, you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: CUP MATCH 2024

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President,
and good morning to my Senate colleagues and those
in the listening audience.
First, I just want to join Minister Darrell’s encouragement for Cleveland County, who will be playing in Saturday’s game. So as someone who represents
constituency 7 . . . Minister Darrell is giving me a funny
face over there. But I just want to join with him and tell
them, Good luck on Saturday.

[Inaudible interjections and laughter ]

The President: All right. No question. Just a compliment, right?

[Inaudible interjection and laughter ]
Sen. Robin Tucker: A compliment, and then my question.

The President: You have a question. All right.

Sen. Robin Tucker: My question is, I am just wondering if the Minister can just confirm the amount of funding that was provided to Somerset Cricket Club.
Thank you, Madam President. That is it.
The President: Thank you.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President . . . I am sorry. Is that the end of the questions?

The President: No, no. There is another.
Senator Robinson, Dwayne Robinson, you
have the floor.

QUESTION 1: CUP MATCH 2024
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
And I would like to lend my support as well to
the Minister’s excitement for Cup Match.
I just wanted to ask, How many times has he
hoped that his team would turn around their fortune? You know, how many years has it been, Madam President?
[Laughter] Sen. Dwayne Robinson: That is my only question.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Are there any more?

The President: There appear to be no hands raised.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I am
waiting on the figures. (I should have had those with
me.) But as was stated in the Budget Debate back in
February and March, the Government has committed
and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport has
committed $50,000 to the Somerset Cricket Club. And
as you know, this has been consistent over the last cou-ple of years. Last year, St. George’s Cricket Club, but
the same.
There is an additional funding that we also give
to the clubs for infrastructure improvements, Madam President. You will know that there is a large contingent
of scaffolding up at the event. It is very important that
we have that scaffolding inspected by professional engineers and signed off on. So, one of the reasons that
for many, many years, Madam President, that did not
get signed off on was because it was cost-prohibitive
for the clubs. So, the budget has also included additional funding for the engineering report and the signoff of that scaffolding.
I am awaiting the exact figure on that. I think
last year the additional funds were somewhere in the
region of an additional $16,000. And we budgeted about that this year. I am waiting for the proper numbers on that. And once I do get it, I will let the S enate
Leader of the One Bermuda Alliance know. But like I
said, for Cup Match . . . and you will see in a presentation in the coming weeks a cheque will be presented to
Somerset Cricket Club of $50,000.

The President: Mm-hmm. Thank you, Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: And for the second question—

[Laughter]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: The [answer to the] second question posed by Senator Robinson from the One Bermuda Alliance is that I heard him make some com-ments earlier about when he was young and a different
team winning quite a bit. I cannot remember my childhood where Somerset actually had the Cup, Madam
President. From I think it was 1982 right up until 1996,
I think it was, St. George’s held that Cup.

[Desk thumping]

558 17 July 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I remember when I was
young— and this is the answer to the question —[the
Senator] should know not to open up questions to me
like this.
[Laughter]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I will give him a history
lesson!
But I remember in my childhood watching
brothers, one of my moments that I remember in Cup Match [was] watching Wendell Smith and Clay Smith
both bat as opening batsmen and both make a century
in Cup Match. That was one of the highlights I can re-member as a young cricket fan watching.
But it has been some time; I will acknowledge
that. It has been some time.

[Laughter]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: You do know that we do have a former Cup Match Captain who does work in the Department of Sport and Recreation, Mr. Jekon Edness. And we watched . . . I have watched Jekon come
as a captain, win as a captain, leave as a captain. And
Somerset . . . unfortunately I have to hear it from my
children. I do not know how they became Somerset fans, but nonetheless.

[Laughter]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I have to hear it from
them and my mother to remind me year after year that it has been— I will acknowledge that, Senator Robinson—a very long time.
But as I did say in my Statement, my team will
win this year. Thank you, Madam President.
[Laughter]

The President: Thank you, Minister.
Are there any more questions on the first Statement?
We will now move on to the second Statement
that was given. And that was given by the Minister, and
that is on the emancipation, Snapshots of our Past.
Would any Senator care to ask questions on
[this Statement]? No? We are all happy with the State-ment.
Minister, you do not have any questions on
your second Statement.
We will now move on with our agenda.
The order of day is the second reading of the
National Heroes Act 2024, and that is in the name of the Senator the Honourable Owen Darrell, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
Minister.

[Inaudible interjections and laughter] The President: Oh, I am sorry. I am speeding along.
Can I just reflect that I did not ask whether there are
any questions on [Junior Minister] Arianna Hodgson’s Statement?
[Inaudible interjection]
The President: I know you were very comprehensive,
and it was a lot of information.
But are there any questions on the Statement
that was delivered by [Junior Minister] Arianna Hodg-son entitled The Bermuda Monetary Authority Annual
Report 2023?
There are no questions.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Seeing none . . .

The President: You were very comprehensive. Thank
you.

ORDERS OF THE DAY
The President: Minister, we will now hand over to you
and the Orders of the Day, National Heroes.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you. Thank you,
Madam President.
(Let me get this right.) I now move that the Bill
entitled National Heroes Act 2024 be now read a sec-ond time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

BILL

SECOND READING

NATIONAL HEROES ACT 2024
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I am pleased to introduce
the Bill entitled National Heroes Act 2024
, which establishes and formalises the criteria which are to be ap-plied in the selection of a National Hero. Madam Presi-dent, as my Senate colleagues will be aware, in the No-vember 2022 Throne Speech a commitment was made to invite the Legislature to codify the nomination pro-cess and qualifying criteria for the selection of National
Heroes.
Madam President, the National Heroes Day
holiday is observed each year on the third Monday in
June. The purpose of this holiday is to honour those persons who have been officially designated as Na-tional Heroes in Bermuda. The National Hero designation is a lifetime honour that is bestowed. Madam President, the designation of a National Hero is intended to


Bermuda Senate be a rare honour. Dame Lois Browne- Evans was inducted as Bermuda’s first National Hero in 2009. Cabinet will recall that seven additional heroes have been
inducted since that time with Sir John Swan being the
most recently inducted hero in 2016.
Madam President, the Department of Culture
maintains the responsibility of enacting plans relating to
National Hero nominations. They emphasise that National Heroes should have made a significant and lasting contribution to Bermuda, should have enriched t he
lives of others, and should have a legacy that will stand
the test of time and have continued relevance in the
future. They have contributed to the quality and life and
destiny of Bermuda. They should be considered as outstanding in their area of servic e. And they have ready
name recognition amongst the general population. They are recognised by his or her profession or organ-isation and are reflective of Bermuda’s cultural heritage
and diversity.
It is important that the individual or group designated as a National Hero is of outstanding character
and may possess some or all of the following characteristics:
• dedicated, ethical, committed and self-sacrificing;
• conscientious agent of change or betterment ;
• a risk taker ;
• demonstrates consistency and passion ;
• demonstrates love of Bermuda and her people;
and
• demonstrates leadership qualities.
Madam President, this Bill seeks to codify the
nomination process into legislation to ensure that the
selection of a National Hero is driven by established
standards and attributes rather than being influenced
by any set of current events or political circumstances that may not stand the test of time. Public confidence in the National Hero selection proces s is essential to
successfully maintain the order of the heroes as a symbol of exceptional excellence selected for the purpose
of engendering national pride.
Madam President, due to the extraordinary,
rare nature of this honour, the nomination process for new posthumous National Heroes will open to the public once every 10 years starting in 2025, with the window for nominations occurring the October prior. This
has already been established with policy, but we are
now codifying it within this Act. These nominations
must have had at the time of death Bermudian status or were enslaved in Bermuda.
Madam President, a Naming and Recognition
Committee will be established to consider nominations for National Heroes, comprising seven members appointed by the Minister responsible for Culture, including a head of the committee; three members recom-mended by the Minister in consultation with the Director
of Culture and one member recommended by the
Leader of the Opposition; and two members from the
general public appointed by the head of the committee. Madam President, the Naming and Recognition Committee will consider recommendations on the naming of National Heroes, as well as the naming or
renaming of public sites. The committee may also be
responsible for recommendations on producing monu-ments or mem orials as they relate to National Heroes.
These recommendations will be presented to the Minister with responsibility for Culture.
Madam President, as you know, there is a
precedent set for naming buildings and public parks after our National Heroes. In this Bill, the process be-comes formalised with the Minister responsible for Culture able to grant tokens of recognition based on the
recommendations of the Naming and Recognition
Committee. Madam President, the Bill also includes a
clause that allows the Minister, on recommendation of
the committee and with the approval of Cabinet, to re-voke the honour of a National Hero if it is determined
that this person has engaged in any act that brings the
integrity of the honour system into disrepute.
To close, Madam President, the National Heroes Act 2024 formalises and allows transparency into
the process for the selection of National Heroes to be
safeguarded from any political interference. It includes
provisions for the periodic public nominations and establishing a Naming and Recognition Committee for
transparency. To ensure that the honour remains an
exceptionally rare and special one, it is limited to every
10 years.
It is my sincere desire that this Bill, fulfilling the
2022 Throne Speech, will help us best recognise our deserving heroes.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR

The President: And before I open the floor for Senators, I would just acknowledge the presence in the Senate Chamber of Ms. Lovette Tannock, Parliamentary
Counsel from the Attorney General’s Chambers.
Welcome to you, ma’am.

[National Heroes Act 2024, second reading debate,
continuing]

The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
this Bill?
Yes, Senator Dwayne Robinson. You have the
floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
The One Bermuda Alliance fundamentally has
no issue with this Bill/legislation. I just would bring a
question that I have heard from the community a lot as
560 17 July 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate far as its being a bit top- heavy when it comes to politicians becoming National Heroes. So, I just wanted to
give the Minister a chance to kind of address that.
Maybe there might be a bit of an effort made to have
more non- political folk added to these ranks.
And I will say this is a very prestigious position.
But I know that there has been a lot of chat in the community that it is majority politicians, so if [the Honourable Minister] could give some insight into that.
Also, the rationale behind making sure that it is
only for those who have deceased. I personally under-stand the rationale, but I would also like to give the Minister the opportunity to expound on how that decision
was made to be enshrined in legislation j ust so that
people in the community can know.
And also, just along the lines of the rationale
going forward as to if there will be any special circumstances pegged to that, or is it final?
But with that, Madam President, we have no
issues with the Bill.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
Bill?
Yes. Vice President Kiernan Bell, you have the
floor.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
Just to say that I have full -throated support for
this Bill. I think that having the committee codified in the way that is set out in the Bill is a good thing. I think hav-ing National Heroes whom we can recognise, their role
in history and having it clear who should be recognised
in this way helps members of the public and amateur
historians and historians make sure that some names
of Bermudians are not lost to history and are ade-quately recognised.
So full- throated support. Thank you, Madam
President.

The President: Thank you, Vice President Kiernan
Bell.
Would any other Senator . . . Yes. Senator
John Wight, you have the floor.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I am fully supportive of this Bill. I guess the only
one slight issue I would have is just the removal poten-tially of a person who has previously been awarded. I
think that could be potentially very contentious. That is the one item in the Bill that concerns me a little bit. But
overall, I am fully supportive of the Bill.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
Senator Tucker, Opposition Leader [in the
Senate], you have the floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President. I, like everyone else, support the Bill. I do just
have one question, just I guess a point of clarification
for my own self. Is it intended that there will be a new
hero selected every 10 years? So, can we look forward
to that cycle of having a new hero?
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to ask a question on the Bill?

Thank you, Madam
President.
I certainly would like to lend my support to the
passing of this Bill and certainly congratulate the Gov-ernment on their continued efforts to ensure that our
history is maintained in this Island. And certainly, the
National Heroes Act, that this will indeed be the highest
honour that an individual can receive. And I just look
forward to all of the many ways that our young people
will be able to celebrate the history of our people and
certainly walk in the footsteps of those who have gone before.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.
I was waiting to see if any other —
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President. Just give me one second.

[Pause]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: All right. I will attempt to
start just responding to some of the questions. I think
the Senate Leader for the One Bermuda Alliance—

The President: Yes. Senator Tucker, Mm- hmm.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Senator Tucker asked
about if there is no . . . Oh, there could be a possibility
that if the committee meets as the process opens up
every 10 years, the committee may meet and the com-mittee may not come up with someone who meets the standard or is worthy of the rare honour of a National
Hero. So, you are absolutely right. There is a possibility
that in the 10- year cycle there may be no recommendation by the committee. There could be two or three. It just depends on how it opens up to the committee
once that 10- year cycle opens up.
And, Senator Robinson, we do acknowledge,
and I think it was in my brief as well, that it has become,
especially over the last maybe 10 years, a political talking point. It is kind of obvious if you look at the ones


Bermuda Senate who are currently National Heroes, the ones who were
selected by one Government, the ones who were selected by a different Government clearly are slanted
both sides to a political stance (I guess you would say).
So yes, that is the point of doing this, and that
is the point of how codifying how the committee would
be set up, so it takes away those political influences
and moves away from the majority of the National Heroes only having been recognised for their contributions
in a political space. So, we do acknowledge that and do
believe that in this next cycle, which is going to open up in October, you will see a difference.

The President: Minister, can I just interrupt?
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Yes.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER

SENATE VISITOR

The President: Just to acknowledge the presence of
the Director of Culture, Ms. Kim Dismont -Robinson,
who has entered the Chamber as well.
Welcome to you.

[National Heroes Act 2024, second reading debate,
continuing]

The President: Carry on, Minister.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: So again, I answered the
one about why so many politicians. And that is why we
are opening up and we are welcoming the public to add
suggestions.
If you just walk in the street, especially around
National Heroes Day (this is not a shot) but you will notice that there is a lot of conversation on it [and] on so-cial media. And people always would say, Well, I would
recommend this person. Why doesn’t this person become a National Hero? So, what we want is those same
discussions that are happening here to come to the
committee.
And a lot of times, Madam President, but I will
say this and be frank, we put these committees together and the discussions that happen in certain areas, whether they be watercooler talk or whether they
be Cup Match camp talk or whether they be social media talk, do not always make it to these committees and
get in front of the proper decision- making body to go
forward. And that is why we have opened up the scope
as to who is on that board and how they are selected
and where they come from so that we can c apture all
of those suggestions.
Why is this only after death? And that is to allow the ability of the award to be kept as rare and as special as possible and apolitical, right?
What is the rationale for putting in the provision
that it could be revoked? And this, we hope this will never happen. But unfortunately, sometimes things
come to light many, many, many years later. And we
needed that if these special circumstances arose. There will be a criterion that the committee will be able
to focus on as far as morals and contributions. And the
removal, if we had to go that route, would be determined by the Names and Recognition Committee.
However, we acknowledge that this will be un likely that
anyone would need to be removed. And it is mentioned, sure, that no one who has committed a crime and then is found belatedly will just stay without any recourse.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Having answered all of the questions that were
posed, you can now move your Bill.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Mm-hmm.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I do
now move that the Bill entitled the National Heroes Act 2024 be read a second time.

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

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: 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.]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I do
now move that the Bill entitled the National Heroes Act
2024 be now read a third time.

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

BILL

THIRD READING

NATIONAL HEROES ACT 2024

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill entitled
the National Heroes Act 2024 do now pass.
562 17 July 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The National Heroes Act 2024 was
read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell. And thank
you, all Senators.
Moving on with our agenda.

MOTIONS

The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES
The President: Would any Senator care to speak?
Yes. Senator Lindsay Simmons, you have the
floor.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I want to start off on a positive note and wish my daddy, Eugene Simmons, a
happy 70
th birthday today. I want to say Happy Birthday
to my dad and just celebrate him today on July 17.
On a sadder note, Madam President, I want to
give condolences to my Aunt Carol, my cousin Shanika
and the rest of the Parfitt -Simmons family and Trimm
family for the loss of Nicole Parfitt, Drae- E Trimm -Parfitt
and Na- Vii Parfitt -Trimm on that tragic loss . And I just
pray that everybody wraps their arms around this family during this difficult time.
I also want to give condolences to Renee Riley
and her family on the passing of Razi Garland, and also Chrystal -Lynn Robinson on the passing of her son
Amon Robinson. And also, Chrystal -Lynn Robinson on
the passing of her son, Amon Robinson. And I pray as
well that Bermuda wraps her arms around these families as they navigate these difficult times. Thank you,

Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Robinson, you have the floor. Sorry!
Senator Tucker. I’m sorry.

[Laughter]
The President: I beg your pardon. I thought I saw his
hand go up.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Senator Tucker.
Sen. Robin Tucker: As I get started, I would like to associate myself. And I think that I would be safe in saying
that we would like to associate the entire Senate Chamber—

The President: Absolutely.
Sen. Robin Tucker: —with Senator Simmons’s expressions of condolence.
I would like to express condolences to the family of Dr. Dorothy Matthews -Paynter.

The President: Mm-hmm.

Sen. Robin Tucker: I did not know her personally but
through my years of living I have heard about the contributions that she has made, her beauty school and all
the things she has done to, in terms of cosmetology,
and whatnot in Bermuda. So I just want to express condolenc es to her family.
I would like to express condolences to the family of MP Richardson on the passing of his father -in-law,
Mr. Clarence Smith. I also would like to express condolences to the family of Cliftine Lambert, so that would
be Mr. Cliff Lambert, her sister Tinee, and the rest of
their family. I just actually found out about Cliftine this
morning. She was a friend of mine way back in the day
as teenagers. I spent a little bit of time in Flatts and so I knew Cliftine from there.
And also, to express condolences to a constituent, Mrs. Dinah Berkeley, on the passing of her hus-band, Mr. Winston Berkeley. Mr. Berkeley and I had a
really great conversation not too long before he passed away where I was able to learn about his skill as a mas-ter cedar carpenter and some willingness that he had
to teach young people to pass on his craft. He was quite
passionate about doing so. So, I don’t think he got the
opportunity to do so, but he did want to do so. So, with those words I just want to again express condolences
to all of family and friends of those people mentioned.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Dill.

[Crosstalk]

The President: Senator Dill, you have the floor. Senator Emily Dill, Reverand.

Thank you, Madam
President.
I would like to take the opportunity first of all to
express my sincere condolences to all of the families
who have experienced loss since the last time that we met. And in particular some of the more sudden losses
that we have experienced over these past few weeks.


Bermuda Senate But on a very positive note, I would like to take
this opportunity to congratulate the Allen Temple African Methodist Episcopal [AME] Church of Sandys Bermuda who has just finished the one- year celebration of
their 150th anniversary. Certainly, the Allen Temple
[AME] Church family on the first Sunday of this month,
we celebrated the ending of the official celebration. And
some of the people who came out of Allen Temple have
a very, very rich history. The Reverand Charles Vinton
Monk who in the early 1900s was a minister who
started a movement in Bermuda when there was injus-tice in the Dockyard area and he eventually was imprisoned and pardoned in recent years (posthumously) for
the work that he did in terms of fighting for the rights of
the workers in Docky ard, and in particular, the people
of colour.
Bishop Vinton Anderson, who was the first Bermudian to be elected as a bishop in the AME Church
and who later became a president of the World Council
of Churches which represents millions of congregations
throughout the world. He certainly is a part of the history. Several individuals who have served not only in
this Chamber but also in the . . . as Members of Parliament, such as the late Senator Ira Philip, the Honourable Walter Lister, the Honourable Michael Scott, the Honourable Kim Wilson, and certainly myself (now
serving). Allen Temple . . . and so many different individuals as we went through our history, outstanding entrepreneurs like Mrs. Martha Carter who was one of the
first Black women to have her own business. And now
Caesar’s Pharmacy, which is now led by Mrs. Sheryl Caesar Martins.
So, we congratulate the Allen Temple AME
Church. It’s pastor, presiding elder, Reverand Howard Dill, and our entire congregation for the work that they
continue to do. I believe I spoke the other day about the
work that they do with young people in our community. And just this last Sunday my heart was so warmed to
see so many young people in worship leading and con-tinuing to develop their leadership skills. So congratulations Allen Temple and may the next 150 years be
even richer than what we have experienc ed thus far.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Senator Leslie Robinson. You have the
floor.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
I too want to join in with the expressions of condolences to all those who have lost loved ones and in particular these sudden, sudden losses in recent times.
Our hearts go out to all of them, all of the families.
I would like to . . . on a happier note, I would
like to just express congratulations to all athletes. And I am sure the Minister may say some . . . talk about
some of these things. But every time you look in the
paper, you go to the back of the paper, there are athletes being celebrated, being talked about and what
they do. And so, I just want to commend all of our athletes who continue to . . . whether it be individual
sports or team sports representing Bermuda well.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you.
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I too would like to express condolences to the
family of Ronald Bean. Ronald just passed away last
week in his 87
th year. I attended his funeral. His son,
Michael Bean, is a good friend of mine, along with his
wife Kim Richard- Bean. So I just want to express condolences to the family.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
Does any other Senator care to speak?
Minister Darrell, you have the floor.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you. Thank you,
Madam President.
I do want to be associated with two offers of
condolences to families who were mentioned earlier. In specific though I would like to speak about the two
young men who were taken from us far too early.
I went to school, Madam President, with both
of their mothers. Actually, one, Ms. Chrystal -Lynn Robinson, in high school and Ms. Renee Riley in primary
school. So, I have not gotten a chance to see them yet
but I do want to send official condolences and be asso-ciated with as Senator Simmons said and Senator
Tucker with the entire Senate with those c ondolences.
And also, Ms. Dorothy Matthews -Paynter —

The President: Mm-hmm.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: —who, Madam President, had a very successful, as Senator Tucker did say, career in hairdressing. And I had the opportunity to
know and engage with most of her grandchildren (who
are friends of mine). So I want to send condolences to
her family, specifically, her grandchildren. You may
know them, Kenlin, Kanette, and Kandell. Also, Ms. Rebeka Matthews Sousa, Dr. Lou Matthews, and . . . I forget his last name, but I think it is Mark. So, I want to
send condolences to all of her grandchildren as she did
outlive all of her children.
The President: Hmm.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: So condolences to that
family as well, Madam President.
And I would like to finish my obits and congrats
with highlighting some milestones that were made in
the realm of sports. Congratulations to our Paralympian Ms. Yushae DeSilva- Andrade. She won a silver medal
at the Boccia Cup in Portugal, Madam President. And
on her way to the finals, if you read this, she beat the
564 17 July 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate world’s number -one player who was a young lady from
Singapore. We are looking forward to her. She will be
attending the Paralympics in Paris as well and we look
forward to continued success from Yushae DeSilva- Andrade.
Also, in athletics, in his final warm -up before
the Paris Olympics Mr. Jah- Nhai Perinchief won an
elite men’s event in Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday,
11 July. Congrats to Jah- Nhai on his continued road to
the Olympics later this month.
In rugby the Bermuda’s Under -19 rugby team
won a silver medal in the Rugby America’s North
[Men’s] tournament in Querétaro Mexico. So we want
to say thank you to them. And congrats to Chris Naylor
who was the head coach and the entire Under -19 players and staff of that rugby.
In sailing, 18- year-old Rachael Betschart made
history in becoming the first Bermudian to be crowned
in the WASZP Grand Finale. And that is the SailGP -
inspired championship. And this was in San Francisco,
California. So congratulations to Rachael.
Two more in the realm of football. I want to say
congratulations to all of the awardees of the Bermuda
Football Association [BFA] Legends and Scholarships.
• The Mrs. Janice Bucci Scholarship went to
Shavon Nesbitt.
• The Damina Caisey Scholarship went to Evans
Welch.
• The Anthony Toe Dill Scholarship went to Mat-thew Moreno.
• The Albert Dowling Scholarship went Kairo
Lewis; and
• The Mr. Harold Madeiros Scholarship went to
Keyan Webb.
And we wish those award winners and scholarship recipients very well.
And I will save the last one . . . the last congrats
to a good friend of mine. And everyone would know that
this is a really good friend of mine, Mr. Ralph Bean, Jr.,
who if you have been following the news, was recently elected as the North Village Community Club Vice
President. And growi ng up around Ralph and his family, you know, they are legends in the North Village
community. Whether it be his mom, Carol; his father Ralph Bean, Sr.; his sister, Nicole. And they did netball,
obviously. But it is good to see him back in an administrative role at the club that he grew up with, the club that
he played with and the club that he holds dear to his
heart. So congratulations to Ralph Bean, Jr., and I
know he will be very successful in this leadership role
at the North Village Community Club.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
And I would like to associate myself with the
condolences that have been expressed regarding Dr. Dorothy Louise Matthews -Paynter. She died recently,
as has been said by Senator Tucker and also Minister
Darrell. She was a highly regarded and respected professional hairdresser and cosmetologist. A trailblazer who earned her doctorate in cosmetology in
1976. And I got to know her through her daughter,
Yvette Smith, who worked in substance abuse. And I
really admired her greatly. And like has been said, sh e
outlived all her children. She was a brilliant and wonderful person who was very well liked in the community.
I would also like to associate myself with the
comments that have been said about the recent tragic
deaths that we have had on the Island. And so much
has been said about that, and I think we all feel a great sense of tragedy about what has happened in our Island. And I just want to also express that I join you in
your expressions of grief about that happenstance.
With that, we will move on to adjournment. But
before we do, I would just like to ask the Minister
whether or not he has received an answer to the ques-tion that was poised by [Senator] Robin Tucker regarding the additional funds paid to the Somerset Crick et
Club.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
I do. The additional funds that were budgeted
for Cup Match, but an infrastructure cost is an addi-tional $15,000. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, very much, Minister Darrell.
That is the last and we move on to adjournment. Minister Darrell.

ADJOURNMENT

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
I do ask that the Senate adjourn until next
Wednesday, July 24.

The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
the motion to adjourn?
Senator Lindsay Simmons, you have the floor.

TRAGIC EVENTS IN RECENT DAYS

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I know we did speak about
this [during] Congratulatory and/or Obituary Speeches, but I just want to dive a little deeper. This has probably
been one of the hardest few weeks of my life. Actually,
the last 30- plus days have been extremely hard. And I
know that I am speaking for a good bit of Bermuda that
these times are the worst of times. If anybody would
have told me that we would be living these days, I
would not have been able to believe it.
Madam President, Bermuda has had the most
tragic events that I have ever seen over the last 30- plus
days. I am 43 years old, and I cannot say that I have


Bermuda Senate witnessed anything like what we are witnessing now.
We have lost two mothers, two children, and two young
men. Each of these people had bright futures. Madam
President, I knew each one of these people personally.
My heart is shattered for these families. A nd I say to
myself, How do we get through this? And every night
since, I toss and turn and try to imagine how each of
these families are going to be able to pick up the pieces
and move forward.
Madam President, we have five young children
left without their mother. Their mother is never going to see them walk down the aisle, have grandchildren. She
is never going to see what her three young girls are going to be, what her two young sons are going to make
of their lives. They are no longer going to be able to call
out to their mom. We have five young people left without a mother, and I cannot imagine not being raised by my mother. So, I ask that each and every one of us remember these five childre n because this is a huge loss
for them. And it is something that is never going to just
go away. When those special moments come, like even graduating from high school, and one of them graduated from primary school, there mother is not going to
be there.
Madam President, I think of all my aunts who
not only had to bury my cousin, but also her two grandchildren. I saw her last night and gave her a hug and
each time I see her my stomach turns, because she raised a fine young lady. Nicole was the sweetest person you would ever want to meet. She was one of those
people who the glass was always full. Not even half -
way full. She saw the positive in everybody. She raised
her daughter to have such a beautiful outlook and to be
free. Na- Vii loved his mother. I mean, he was always
on Nicole. He was four years old. He had the biggest,
brightest green eyes you would ever want to see. That was his hero, Madam President. And to know that all three have lost their lives is unimaginable and unbearable.
I think of that Sunday and sitting there waiting
to get the news. Walking in and seeing my aunt, everybody was asking, What can I do? What can I do to
help? I was there the other day when the Premier was
holding her hand and she just looked at the Premier and said, I just want my babies back. You know, to think
of one person going, but three? Again, it is unimaginable.
Then I think about Razi Garland and Amon
Robinson. Razi I knew before Amon because I taught
him at Delwood. And you want to talk about a mother
who cried, whether he got high honours or did something positive. Renee poured into her son. She made
sure that he was on the right path. He got $118,000 in
scholarshi ps. He was away in school. He was doing
what he had to do, Madam President.
And Amon, I met Amon a few years ago in
2020 and he was doing positive things. With Razi as
well. Amon and Razi worked very closely every week,
if not a few times a week, with MP Chris Famous. I think about Amon’s mother, Chrystal -Lynn Robinson, who
wanted the best for her children. And those boys made
sure that Devonshire was beautiful.
Now, I had a house up the country [and] they
went up [to] my house. I have pictures of them cutting my grass. They made sure that Bermuda was the Bermuda that they wanted to see. And for their lives to be
cut short is, again, unimaginable, Madam President.
Madam President, if you do not mind, I would
like to read something that Amon’s mom had up on Fa-cebook.

The President: Certainly, you may.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you.
And this is the strength of his mother. She
says:
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but
rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance
is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” And then she says:
“It is out of our hands. I am at peace knowing
that this young man” (her son) “was a warrior, a lion. I
will let God handle the rest.”
Madam President, I . . . I, honestly, I cannot imagine losing a child. But the strength of these families
is something that should not happen in Bermuda. We
should not have to buy our sons young. We should not
have to bury children who . . . one was not even in primary school. One was just in primary school. And a
young mother who poured into her children and made
sure that she did what she [could] to raise children who
were going to be one day probably a mother. One day
probably a son . We will never know as their lives were
cut short.
You know, I saw Drae- E and Nicole Friday before the tragedy. And all she said, Aunt Lindsay, can
you get me a Stanley cup? I wish I would have gone
out on Saturday and gotten her that Stanley cup, but I told her [to] wait until Monday. Monday never came for
her. Madam President, as the weeks and months go
by, we need to keep these families in our prayers.
These tragic deaths w ill forever be stained in the fabric
of our society. I do not think this has ever happened before.
I would like to read another quote that I have
been reading. And I take the words from Dr. Martin Luther King, [Jr.] and continue reading it so hopefully one
day we will see light. Madam President, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
“Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred
confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life;
love illuminates it. ”
“I have decided to stick to love . . . Hate is too
great a burden to bear.”
With that said, I take from that we need to love
our children more. It starts from when they are young,
Madam President. We need to let our people know the
importance of life. We need to let them know if they are
566 17 July 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate not okay, stop stigmatising mental health. We all struggle at some point. We all need an avenue to reach out
to. We all need to let, especially our Black men, know
that it is okay to be weak. Teaching our young men that
we have to be strong all the time is part of the reason
why we are breaking and part of the reason why we see
the tragic situations happening today.
Madam President, it starts from birth. It starts
from raising our children to know that there are better
ways. You know, I heard people say, There is tragedy
all around the world. And this is 100 per cent true. Are
we ever going to stop crimes? Are we ever going to
stop people hurting people? Probably not. But what I
can say, Madam President, this is a time where we pour
into our people and let our people know that we should
value l ife. We should value each other and know that if
we start at a young age, less of this would happen. And
hopefully we will come to a place where the Bermuda I
remember . . . this didn’t really happen. It was so far
and few between.
We need to stop blaming each other as a society and start looking into our homes and figuring [out]
what we can do to help our children. It is okay to get
help. It is okay to reach out for help. There are plenty
of hotlines, whether it is government -relate d, private
sectors that we can reach out to. And sometimes,
Madam President, it might just be that we need a friend.
I know I spoke about this before, about domestic vio-lence. If people are coming to you and saying, I need
to talk. Be that shoulder because you never know. It
could be that day that they really need to speak to somebody, but they did not have an outlet to speak to
somebody.
We have to value our people. The greatest
tragedy in Bermuda is us as people. I am tired of seeing
our Black men and women perishing like this. But it is
a war on ourselves. And I hate to say this, we do not see the other part of this population being targeted like
we are on our own. And it is our own killing our own.
We need to do better. And we need to if we . . . and
especially, Madam President, if we see our people or our children or our family members doing things that
are wrong, we need to stop saying, They will get over
it. They will stop. Because if we do not say anything,
we are going to continue this cycle. No matter what Government puts in place, no matter how much we
pray, if we are not willing to be bold—I will repeat that.
If we are not willing to be bold and put our foot down
and realise that our lives are the most precious things
that we have, then we are going to continue down these destructive paths. Watching people hurt like this is
something I never thought I would see.
I am going to say this, Madam President. I,
Lindsay Simmons, not Senator Lindsay Simmons. I Lindsay, as a Bermudian, will continue to say their
names and remember each and every one of them. Be-cause these were positive people in our community. I
will continue to say the names of Nicole Parfitt, Drae -E
Trimm -Parfitt , Na-Vii Parfitt- Trimm , Amon Robinson and Razi Garland and Diante Trimm as these people lost their lives far too soon.
And I would encourage people to continue to
love on each other. And if you need help, there are
plenty of ways that we could reach out. Senator Hodg-son did an op -ed the other day that encourages people
to reach out to different organisations to get the hel p
that [they] need. I pray that everybody comes together and realises that we need each other. And these families who are going through this grief, remember them.
Like I said, because months and years from now they are still going to be suffering the loss of these innocent
people.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have the floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President. I will keep my comments very brief.

TRAGIC EVENTS IN RECENT DAYS

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I appreciate the motion to
adjourn [speech given by] my colleague
I just wanted to offer a few words of collective
unity in these times during the tragedy and lots of tragedy that the Island is going through. A lot of times we
come to the Chamber and, you know, my Government
colleagues are meant to present their record of government and defend it , and Opposition is meant to scrutinise and offer solutions and all the likes. But in cases
like this where you are dealing with loss of life it [would be] remiss of me as the person who has the responsibility of National Securit y on my side of the room not to
offer not just my condolences, as has been mentioned
by my colleagues in obits and congrats, but also my
acknowledgment that it is bigger than Government.
In moments where we are grieving and scared,
and I mean a lot of Bermudians come up to probably
each and every one of us expressing their worry for the direction that Bermuda is going. I wanted to take this
time to extend my hand to all colleagues to say that collectively we all have a responsibility to ensure that we don’t take the safety that we have in Bermuda for
granted. These tragedies and the grief of these families
are a stark reminder that we in Bermuda have a collective responsibility to ensure th at Bermuda remains a
relatively safe and harmonious jurisdiction.
My colleague mentioned that a lot of people
look overseas and see the atrocities and just think to
themselves w ell, you know, Bermuda is partially removed from a lot of these global atrocities. But we also
have to remember that our safe society doesn’t happen
on its own. All of us have to do little things, whether it
be being the best father we can be, whether it be the
best brother we can be, the best auntie, the best grandmother. Even if you don’t have children, you have a role


Bermuda Senate to play in ensuring that this safety and this network that
we have within our Island is protected.
We are blessed in a sense to have politicians
who are able to knock on doors, no security, no nothing,
go to the grocery stores. That is not something that other countries can say, and we haven’t crossed certain lines yet that I hope we never do. But at the same
time, the tragedies are a reminder that we are not removed. We are not untouched by hardship and incredible, horrible losses and that we should always look to
how we each can do little things in our circles to help mitigate and to help strengthen our community.
I just wanted to speak very briefly to say that
as the Opposition we look forward to not only support-ing Government in this endeavour . . . especially when
the strategic plan and all those things are rolled out to support but also to offer our help and our aid. I think it is very important for us in this Chamber and other
chambers . . . and the other Chamber, other place, to
show that unity to the population because at a time
where divisions are growing, anxiety is growing. We have a responsibility to show folks that this is a collective. No matter which banner you stand under, this is a
priority and the loss is felt regardless of your affiliation.
Regardless of what end of the Island you are
on. Regardless of your political beliefs. And even
deeper than that, as the demographic of people who
are being killed, who have been murdered, who have been lost on the roads, you know, but more specifically
towards these unfortunate losses of life due to murder,
there is a duty upon myself as . . . not just as an appointed official but also as somebody who fits into that
demographic of young, Black men to speak power and
support not only unto my own peers but also unto the mothers and the aunties and the other folks who are
supporting us in our journey.
When we step outside of this Chamber, when
we go grocery shopping or we go to the beach or we
take our children out, we are, in essence, Black men.
That is it. Members of Bermuda . Members of society.
And even in this Chamber there are two of us that fit that description. In this moment now it is incumbent on
us in our positions to not only push forward as much
unity as we can but also to uplift those around us. And I am privileged to be raising a son. I am privileged to
play a role in my little brother’s li fe who has just turned
16 and is now in that age bracket where you have to be a bit more vigilant in the activities that they are doing.
But it is also crucial for us to accept that regardless of the choices made, these are people. They are not just statistics or numbers. They are Bermudians.
And I just wanted to say that we all . . . and I want to
acknowledge the struggles of parents as well in this day
and age. So I don’t want it to come across as though it
is a lecture. I understand that in this day and age we
don’t have a lot of support as parents that past genera-tions had, where I grew up with my grandmother [who]
was always in the house. There was always somebody
home to make sure I got home at a reasonable time. But in these times grandma and grandpa have to work
or have to do part -time things.
Most parents are working. And as we know in
Bermuda everything is going up. There are struggles.
There is mental health. There are a whole lot of things
that are plaguing our Bermudians right now and probably all of us in this Chamber. None of us are removed.
So it is very crucial for us to accept that this is a very
extremely hard time to raise children. An extremely
hard time. And to do what we can as legislators to lift
that burden i n a sense.
But we . . . I don’t want to come across . . . and
I want to make sure for the record that this will never be
a time where it is pointing fingers solely . . . solely at
Government . This is a multifaceted issue which will require all facets of society to come together and find a
solution. And it is not going to be a quick one.
But we also have to remember that as Bermudians we have a lot of positive things and a lot of negative things to address, neither of which particularly de-fine us. But what will define us is our ability to come
together and speak frank and openly about the things
that need to happen and to make sure that we
acknowledge these losses, regardless of where we are.
And to also make sure that we do everything we can to
try and mitigate. Because as my colleague said you will
never stamp out crime.
But it is incumbent that we reassure Bermudians that everything that can be done to mitigate these
future issues and future crimes like this can be done.
And that the Government will not be encumbered. Nobody will be encumbered by division on this. That we are all rowing in the same direction.
With that, Madam President, I will finish my
comments. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Dwayne Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Senator Tucker, Opposition Leader in the Senate, you have the floor.

TRAGIC EVENTS IN RECENT DAYS
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President . I
will not be long. I think that much has already been said
by Senator Simmons and Senator Dwayne Robinson.
I just wanted to add a little bit from . . . much in
the same vein, but from a different sort of perspective. That is, I just want to remind the public that each of the
people who have tragically lost their lives most recently
and in other similar circumst ances in the not too far
past, are people who are people’s family.
As we all know, there has been a lot of sharing
of information, comments on social media, videos circulating around. And while some people who may be
commenting and sharing of information for various reasons may not be doing it for malicious purposes, I j ust
568 17 July 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate want to remind people that no matter what you hear
about people who have passed away and the circumstances around that, that these are still people’s family
members. They are people’s brothers and sons and
daughters and cousins and nephews and nieces and i n
some cases. they are people’s parents. They are loved
by people.
We have to . . . we are such a close- knit community that we have to be very mindful. We have to
think before we share information, or we put our opinions about what we think people are like or what we think the circumstances are. And that is important. And
it is important because if we have any hope of changing
the culture of what is happening here in this country,
then we . . . Senator Simmons talked about we need to
love each other. There are different types of love.
If we are going to truly be that community that
we can be, if we are truly going to be our brother’s
keeper, if we are truly going to be a village . . . we have
pockets of villages. If we are truly going to be that entity,
that Bermuda, that we have been and can continue to
be, we are not too far gone that we can’t keep in the
forefront of our minds that I can look out for people and
love people. And one of the ways we can do that is we
can be respectful of people and their situations and their circumstances.
I think it in incumbent upon us to all remember
that as we pick up the paper or we receive that video or hear that piece of gossip or what have you, that it could
be us. None of us . . . no matter where you come from,
no matter how many dollars you have i n the bank or
what area of the Island you live in, none of us are exempt. None of us are protected from circumstances impacting our households.
I just wanted to take a moment, Madam President, to remind anybody who is listening today to
please think before you post. Think before you send that video around. Because again any person who is
the centre of that sharing is somebody’s family member. Somebody’s child.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Senator Reverend Dill, Emily Dill, you have the
floor.

TRAGIC EVENTS IN RECENT DAYS

Thank you, Madam
President , and I certainly would like to add my voice to
this conversation that we are having this morning as we discuss some of the issues that we have faced and continue to face in this community and the recent incidents
that remind us that the work continues.
In the church a lot of times when the church
mothers will be leading in prayer, one of the things that
I have noticed that some of the older people will say is Lord, as our faces differ so do our needs . So, the question that has been asked over and over again is, What
can we do to stop these tragic occurrences from happening in our community? And there are those who
would like to say it is because of the drugs. It is because of single parents, broken ho mes. One thing that we see
in many instances is that t here are economic disparities
in our community that seem to be a common thread in some of the incidents that take place around us. But I
would have to go back to what the fathers and mothers will say is as their faces differ, so do their needs.
And as we go forward, I would encourage us to
continue to do the work. To continue to do what each
of us can do. Sometimes we see a lot of finger -pointing
This organisation should do this. This person should do this. The government should do this. The churches
should do this. The sports clubs should do this differ-ently. But the longer that I live, I take very seriously the
scripture verse that says Work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling. And when I say this, I encour-age each and every one of us to look at ourselves and
what are the things that we can do to make a difference.
What are the resources that we have available to us
that can make a difference in the life of a young person,
et cetera?
I do want to share a story because prior to coming to serve in these Chambers I worked in education (off and on) for many years. But the bulk of my work
(both in education, in the church and in my own personal pursuits) has been with working with youth wh o
are at -risk. So this morning I am going to share . . . I will
call it a testimony of what can happen if we put our
hands to the plough and continue to work with our young people.
Around about, I think it was like 2016, 2017,
some of you will recall that there was . . . at the beginning of the school year they were using minibuses and
there were fights that were taking place because
whether we believe it or not there is a generation of
young people who actually believe that just because an
individual lives in a different part of the Island than they
do, that that individual is their enemy. No other reason
other than he lives in town or he lives up the country in
Somerset.
It is interesting when you are working with
these young people to see that it is very real because
that is not something that we grew up with. When we
grew up, we had cousins, we had friends from all over
the Island and we were free to go wherever we want ed.
But somehow in these last, it appears, two generations,
we have young people who actually fear for their lives
when they go into other parts of the community.
Let me get back to my testimony. During that
period, at the beginning of the school year there were
fights and bus windows crashed and whatnot. Some of
the individuals who were found to be a part of that were
being removed from the school system. And I wa s
asked if I would lead and supervise these young . . .
they were all young men at that time. And ironically,


Bermuda Senate these young men came from different parts of the Island. So, they could not go to Success Academy because, they call it, they have a beef with each other .
Just because they were living in other parts of the Is-land.
So, we actually had to set up sites at different
parts of the Island in order to service these young men.
I would have to honestly share that it was said to me,
Well they really aren’t doing anything in high school so
it is not our expectation that you will be able to do mir-acles . Or, We aren’t expecting any real level of success
because they aren’t doing anything and, you know,
They really haven’t done anything thus far in their high
schools.
We began the work of supporting these young
men and ironically, we found out that they were brilliant.
We found out that they were multitalented. And we were able to not only see these young men complete
their high school diplomas, but many of them completed their diplomas ahead of their counterparts.
Some completed one or two years in advance. But we
worked hard. We developed partnerships with other individuals who would come in and work with them.
I remember the missionary society of my
church would provide breakfast and snacks so that
when they came in, they had food to eat so they weren’t
stopping on their way to school and getting there late.
The Allen Temple [AME Church], St. Paul [AME Church], Bethel [AME Church] and St. John [AME
Church] all donated their premises, Wi -Fi and whatever
it took to clean up after them, to this programme. But during that period we saw over 90 per cent over the
next few years of those young men graduate and all but one graduated with honours and that one graduated with honourable mention.
But I said all that to say that these were young
men that it was believed could not be saved. Yet, with hard work and each of us putting . . . loving on these
young people, continuing to speak life into them in or-der that they could achieve the goals and dreams that
they had. And originally, they didn’t have any. But as
we began to speak life into them, we saw them adapt.
Now some of them . . . some . . . and the work
did not finish. And I am not going to say that they grad-uated as angels without work that needed to continue
to be done. But it is heartening to see that of those individuals when I see them, some went on . . . a few
went on . . . went overseas to college. Some are working. Some are still trying to find work. But they have
stayed out of the prison system because in some ways when some of these children it ends up being a school -
to-prison pipeline when they fal l through the cracks.
Michael Jackson sang a song when we were
coming along, and it said You and I can’t do great
things. We may not change the world in one day. But
we can change some things in our small way . So I say
to all of us: let us continue to do the work that needs to
be done. Let the incidents of these last few days and
weeks serve as a wakeup call to each of us that the work continues. That we must continue to love on our
young people. We must continue to address the inequities that exist in our society. We must cont inue to
share our resources in order to sow into the lives of the young people who are coming up.
We must continue to be there for the families
that have lost loved ones. We must continue to reach
out to the young people who are processing both their
grief and their anger as they deal with the reality of having lost individuals who are close to them. B ut most importantly, we must continue to pray and ask for God to
give us the strength to be that one who will be there for
another.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Emily Dill.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Leslie Robinson you have the floor.

TRAGIC EVENTS IN RECENT DAYS
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President .
I will not be too long. But I do also want to join in on this
conversation.
Madam President, I am one (like many others)
who may not have had a relationship or may have not
even known the persons or even the family members
of those who have recently lost their lives. However, as
a Bermudian, as a woman, as one who has nurtured
children and continues to nurture children, as one who
is a Christian, as one who went to school here, lives
here, works here, those tragedies really got to me. And
I know have gotten deeply to so many people on this Island.
Madam President, I think about on that Sunday
and having partaking in a great church service on the Sunday only to get the news of what had happened that
same Sunday. And the news . . . and you can only imagine, of course, and Senator Simmons spoke so elo-quently about the actual family members. But even not
being part of the family, so many of us, it was like a knife that cut through your heart to hear about what had
happened.
And then when you hear a few days later about
the others. And even the one before then. It starts to make you . . . it can really turn up the emotional dial of
your whole being and your whole psyche. As I learned
more about the two young men and how they were students at the Berkeley Institute, my alma mater, and so many of us alma maters, and how they were doing well
with their lives. One being a deputy head boy and the
other one . . . both of them . . . one of them receiving
scholarships and the other one awards. And I thought about the fact that as a Berkeleyite and how it was on
those days when it was honours time, awards time. And
even recently where my class of 1984 was recently participating in those awards ceremonies because we had
given a $12,000 s cholarship. Two students were able
to get those scholarships.
570 17 July 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Just hearing about these things, Madam President, and knowing your own life, your own experiences. I am thinking about these things and as I said it
can really crush you. Crush the very inside of you. It
makes you take deep breaths. It makes you want to cry out and scream out and shout out. And so I say to the
Bermudian public, for those of us who may not necessarily have been close to or known the actual family,
family members, persons that have passed, I say it is
okay to cry. It is okay to scream. It is okay to shout. It is
okay to just lament on how you may be feelin g. Mental
illness is something that plagues communities, plagues
families, plagues people and we don’t always want to
talk about it. And sometimes not expressing how we
feel can end up bringing on mental illnesses, mental
conditions.
I say to all of us out there if you want to scream,
scream. If you want to cry, cry. Cry! Shout! It is okay. It
is good for the soul to do that because these are tragedies. And I say go ahead. There are many examples,
Madam President, in the Bible that talk about persons
lamenting and crying. Strong persons! I think of King
David. He cried over many things. His children, his son
dying and . . . you know, having to be chased so much
by Saul. So much.
We even see Jesus crying because of the untimely death of his friend Lazarus. We even see the prophet Jeremiah who wrote the book of Lamentations, and it was his lament for Israel being in bondage and
not being able to be free persons. And so I say it is okay
to grieve. It is okay to cry. It is okay to shout. It is okay to scream. It is okay!
We have young people out there that knew
these kids. Let them cry. Let them scream. Let them shout. It is okay. It is important. It is important for our
psyche. It is important for their mental well -being. And
as Senator Simmons said, men grow up to be st rong,
but you can still be strong and be weak at the same
time. Showing those tears will go a long way with actually strengthening others if they see your tears.
So weep on. Cry on and shout on. Because at
least at some point after pouring out we can go ahead
as Senator Dill said we can then go out and have a
clear head and be mobilised and do the work. So I say, Bermuda, take time out to grieve. Take time out to cry.
There have been so many deaths. Not even just these
ones in recent times but so many deaths. Every family
has had to go that road to the graveyard in recent times.
I say take time out to grieve, to cry, to shout. It is good
for the soul. It is good for our mental well -being and
then we can have clear heads and see how we can
move forward.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Leslie Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak at this
time? Hearing none, then the Senate stands adjourned until next week, July 24. Thank you, Senators,
for your input today.
Keep well.

[At 12:05 pm, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 24 July 2024.]