June 12, 2024

With respect to (I believe
it was) Question 3’s answer, the Senator indicated that the Government was exploring options to progress this given the pretty tough situation based on her prior explanations. Would the Senator be able to provide an
overview of the sorts of options the Government is considering to take gaming and the Commission forward?
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
As I began to speak to, we are looking at the
Banks and Deposit Companies Act 1999 being
amended. That would allow restricted banks to be able
to provide banking services to entities licensed by the Gaming Commission. An Order to amend the Act will
also be published in due course. And i f you look actually at the paper entitled “Amendments to the Third
Schedule of the Banks and Deposit Companies Act
1999,” you will see reference to the proposal.
Reference is also made to the stakeholder notice published by the Bermuda Monetary Authority,
which is publicly available on their website.
So at this point, Madam President, I can say
that any other additional information received, any further updates, will be communicated in due course.
472 12 June 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Senator Hodgson.
And that concludes the questions and the supplemental questions on Question 2 that was presented
by Senator Robinson.
Minister, would you . . .
Minister Darrell will now provide oral responses
to the Parliamentary Questions from Senator De Couto.
Senator De Couto, would you like to present
your questions?

I am easy.
Question 1: Given that the Minister of National
Security stated in the House of Assembly that a report on the September 2023 cyberattack on government
systems had been produced, will the Honourable Mi nister please inform the Senate as to when the report
was provided to the Government? Thank you.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, the
final investigative report was received on November 7,
2023.
The President: Thank you, Minister.
Senator De Couto, you have your second
question.

QUESTION 2: REPORT ON SEPTEMBER 2023
CYBERATTACK ON GOVERNMENT

Yes. Thank you, Madam
President. Of course, thank you to the Minister for his
answers.
Will the Honourable Minister please inform the
Senate as to whether any parties outside of gover nment have had access to the report? Thank you.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, those
who prepared the report external to government have
had access to the report.

The President: Thank you, Minister.
And, Senators, remember I did advise that the
questions will be simple and seeking basic answers. And there will be no further supplemental questions on
any of the three questions presented and answered.
We will move on then to the questions that
have been submitted to Senator Lindsay Simmons to
provide oral responses to the Parliament Questions from Senator Tucker, the OBA Leader in the Senate.
Senator Tucker, would you like to present your
first question?

QUESTION 1: PROGRESS REPORT FROM THE
CANINE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. Yes, thank you, Madam
President.
So my first question is, Would the Junior Mi nister please provide the Senate with an update on progress that the Canine Advisory Committee has made
on its recommendations for legislative changes to pro-tect the public from dog attacks?

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Good morning, everybody.
Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Senator
Tucker.
The Canine [Advisory] Committee has held
four meetings in the past year to discuss the issues sur-rounding the management and control of dogs, specifically restricted -breed dogs. The committee recommendations are currently being compiled for internal review
and prioritised. The report will be submitted to the Ministry by the 21
st of June 2024, for the Minister’s consideration.

[Pause]

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you. I will circle back with
a couple of questions. I will just put my three questions out there.

The President: Go ahead.


Bermuda Senate QUESTION 2: GO-LIVE DATE FOR THE DIGITAL
DOG ATTACK REPORTING SYSTEM

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes.
So my second question is, Would the Junior
Minister please inform the Senate of the go- live date for
the digital reporting system announced in 2023 that is supposed to make it easier for the public to r eport dog
attacks?
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you.
The plan implementation date is for September 1, 2024. This will coincide with the filling of the vacant Assistant Animal Warden post, which will bring this section up to full strength. This digital reporting system
has been developed. The system allows a user to file a
report with the Animal Control section on any computer, tablet or smartphone. It should be noted that if the reporter feels the injury is serious enough, they can report
it directly to the Bermuda Police Service for an immediate response.

QUESTION 3: NUMBER OF TICKETS FOR MINOR
DOG INFRACTIONS FOR 2022, 2023 AND FIRST
QUARTER OF 2024
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you to the Junior Minister.
My third question is, Would the Junior Minister
please confirm for the Senate the total number of tickets for minor dog infractions that were issued in each
year 2022, 2023 and for the first quarter of 2024?
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
The Department of Environmental and Natural
Resources has not issued any tickets for minor of-fenses, as the ticketing provisions are not yet in force. The ticketing aspects of the Dog Act 2008 require
amendment to the regulations. These are currently in
process. The format of the ticket has been developed,
and an administrative process for entering the tickets
into the court case management system has been completed.
Minor offences are being managed through the
existing provisions of the Dogs Act. To illustrate, in terms of offences related to minor dog infractions issued for 2024, I can report the following:
1. two cases have led to successful prosecution;
2. two summons are due to be served;
3. one case is with the DPP [Department of Public Prosecutions], and
4. seven cases are being compiled for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, ready to submit to the Department of
Public Prosecutions.
I hope that answers your question.
SUPPLEMENTARIES

Sen. Robin Tucker: It does.
Thank you, Madam President.
So, I just would like to know with regard to
Question 1 if any recommendations [were] agreed
upon that the Canine Advisory Board will be presenting to the Minister. Do any of them address offending dog owner behaviour?
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, that is
premature to answer, as the report has to get to the
Minister first. So it would be not wise that I answer that
question at this time, as the Minister should be the one
to receive the report first.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
Well, one of the questions that I would ask then
is . . . the Canine Advisory Committee is not new. It has
been around for quite some time. And in 2023—

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I think
we are doing questions. Thank you.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President, I am framing
the question so the Junior Minister understands the
question.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, with
respect, point of order.

POINT OF ORDER
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I do not think “framing” is
necessary in this. The framing should come from the
Junior Minister. And the Senate Leader for the One
Bermuda Alliance simply asks the questions, Madam
President. Thank you.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President, is it okay if I
proceed? Or should I just —

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Ask the question.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President. It
is your Chamber, so I am waiting for your response.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: I do not need to be reminded.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you.

The President: You can ask your question.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to know, there were some suggestions made in an article in 2023. All I would like to know is if any of the recommendations that were made then
will possibly be carried forward? Okay?
474 12 June 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you.
Again, Madam President, I think it is too early
for us to report. June 21 is just around the corner. And
the Canine Advisory Committee will be reporting to the
Minister with recommendations. And then the Minister
will be able to let us know where he wants to take this.
So I think it is premature for me to speak on this to the
public without the Minister’s being the first to get this
information.
And I will say . . . I just want to put it out there.
I am the Chairman of the Canine Advisory Committee.
So, I will not be speaking about any specifics because
I have to report to the Minister first. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons,
Junior Minister of Home Affairs.
Senator Tucker, you have the final question.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. It is a supplemental.

The President: It is a supplemental. Yes.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes.
The Junior Minister did mention that the Dogs
Act needs to be amended. You know, is there any urgency around when that is going to happen? And if so,
can she let us know when we can expect to receive that
updated legislation?
Thank you, Madam President.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you.
Again, I would reiterate that the Minister is going to take all of our points. And then he will be able to then formulate his next step. But we do know that this
is an urgent matter and we are pushing forward. So, the Minister will get the information on June 21, and then
from there he will set the timetable out of how we move
forward.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons
and Senator Tucker for your questions.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you.

The President: That completes the questions that
have been presented for responses today.
We will now move on to item number 13, which
is our . . . Sorry?
[Inaudible interjection]
The President: I am running ahead with the agenda
here.
Were there any questions on the Statements
that were presented by Minister Darrell, the first one being on the Bermuda College Graduates —Class of
2024?
Senator Robin Tucker, Opposition Leader in
the Senate, you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: BERMUDA COLLEGE
GRADUATES —CLASS OF 2024
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to say . . . I would like to frame this
and just say congratulations to all of the Bermuda Col-lege graduates. A very proud moment. I have mentioned here before I am a two- time graduate of Bermuda College. So again, congratulations to them all.
I just have one question. And that is, Were
there any sort of unclaimed funds? I just would like to
know whether the number of students who were ac-commodated under the Promise Programme, if it was
fully subscribed, or is there room for more?
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
While I thank the Opposition Senate Leader for
that question and I await to see if I can get the proper
answer on that, it is very interesting (and I will answer like this) that she mentioned this Promise Programme.
Because, again, that is a reminder of the work that this
Government has done to get people into, as the Statement said, higher education to get more individuals in
Bermuda educated at a collegiate level. And this is definitely something that has become the calling card and
the marker of this Progressive Labour Party Government, as we have seen since 2017 that while one Government previously to that may have cut programmes
and cut funding for education, I thank the Senate Leader of the One Bermuda Alliance for putting that
question about the Promise [Programme] to remind us
what the Progressive Labour Party Government has
done so that individuals in the college can go to college.
So while I am very happy with the 25 individuals who did get funding from this Promise Programme, I will answer when I get the responses if we can take on any more. Because surely, as once again has become the history of this Government, Senator Tucker
will have to admit that this Government has done great
things. And what I will also get is the number that we
have supported in the last seven years. So once we
have that number, Madam President, we will supply it so that more people can hear about this great news
about what the Progressive Labour Party Government
is doing and will continue to do for students of this coun-try.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.

B ermuda Senate Would any other Senator care to ask questions
on the Statement?
If not, we will move on to the second Statement. And that was on the National Heroes Weekend.
Would any Senator care to ask questions on
this Statement?
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.
Sen. Robin Tucker: I do. Thank you, Madam President. Sorry. I do not know what is wrong with me today.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.
I do not mean to . . . but I do have the further answer. It
has just come in, yes.
I am happy to report (Madam President, if I
may), that there is no limit to the number of individuals
whom the Government will take on. So in short . . . and
I am sure the One Bermuda Alliance would love to hear
this because it is a stark difference between what their
Government did and what we did. If, Madam President, someone applies for this scholarship, we as the Gov-ernment will pay.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Minister.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Sorry. If they qualify and
apply, we pay.
The President: Would any other Senator care to ask
questions on this Statement?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.
QUESTION 1: NATIONAL HEROES WEEKEND
2024 —CELEBRATING OUR COMMUNITY

Thank you, Madam President.
What time does the sailboat race start, Madam
President? I need to make my plans. Thank you.
The President: Minister, that is a nice question for you.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I believe that I am leaving West End Sailboat Club at 9:00 am to head to St. George’s. And the sailboat race
starts in St. George’s at 10:00 am. Now, you know, it
can take as long as the entire day based on what the winds are saying. And some in here will know more about sailing than [I do]. But, yes, 10:00 am.
The President: Thank you. Thank you, Minister.
We will now move on.
ORDERS OF THE DAY
The President: And there is a procedural change here.
The first consideration for the Orders of the Day is con-sideration of the Court Fees and Expenses Amend-ment and Validation Rules 2024. And that, I believe, Minister Darrell, you were going to undertake.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Yes. Thank you, Madam
President.
I move that Standing Order 71(2) be suspended so that the Senate may now proceed with the consideration of the Court Fees and Expenses Amend-ment and Validation Rules 2024.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[
Motion carried: Standing Order 71(2) suspended.]
The President: Carry on, Minister.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you.
Madam President, I move that the Senate do
now take under consideration the Court Fees and Expenses Amendment and Validation Rules 2024 proposed to be made in exercise of the power conferred by section 2 of the Court Fees and Expenses Act 1971.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Minister.
MOTION
COURT FEES AND EXPENSES AMENDMENT
AND VALIDATION RULES 2024
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I am pleased to present to
this Honourable Senate the Court Fees and Expenses
Amendment and Validation Rules 2024 . The Chief Justice, in exercise of the power conferred by section 2 of the Court Fees and Expenses Act 1971, makes the Amendment and Validation Rules. This presentation is therefore made in collaboration with the Chief Justice in accordance with his power to make these rules.
The amendments being proposed by the Court
Fees and Expenses Amendment and Validation Rules 2024 are to increase the fees to be paid in relation to the performance of any function by a court or any of-ficer. The amendments also increase the fees to be
paid for any matter incidental to the performance of any
such functions. Madam President, in simple language,
the fees that litigants are required to pay into court to commence a new action and/or at certain intervals to continue an action already underway are being increased by these amendments.
As shared by the Honourable Premier in his
2023/24 Budget Speech, I quote: “An assessment has
476 12 June 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate been completed comparing Bermuda’s court fees to
those in other jurisdictions, and Bermuda’s fees were found to be considerably lower than competitor jurisdic-tions . . . A new scale of fees, which will impact matters
being conducted in the Magistrates’ Court, Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal, has been developed. It
is anticipated that these changes will yield an additional
$750,000.”
Madam President, the Supreme Court fees
have been increased; the Court of Appeal fees have been increased; and the Civil Appeal fees have been increased. These Court Fees and Expenses Amendment and Validation Rules [2024] are the last round of
fee increas e amendments. They finalise the necessity
to increase and modernise the existing judicial revenue stream shortfall of fees collected by the courts. Rectifying the shortfall can only be beneficial to the welfare of the entire community for the positive impact it will have
on the administration of justice.
Madam President, during the budget term
2022/23, the Registrar of the Supreme Court and the
Court of Appeal submitted drafting instructions to have
all four sets of court fees —the Rules of the Supreme
Court 1985, the Court Fees and Expenses Rules 1972,
the Civil Appeal Rules 1971 and the Rules of the Court
of Appeal for Bermuda 1965— amended simultaneously so as to comprehensively update the fees in or-der for all sets of fees to be effective from the same
date. For this to happen, the Rules of the Supreme
Court and Court Fees and Expenses Rules must go
through the affirmative resolution procedure.
The amendments to the Civil Appeals Rules
1971 and the amendments to the Rules of the Court of
Appeal for Bermuda 1965 are not subject to parliamentary scrutiny. Madam President, the Magistrates’ Court
administration has been historically charging $10 rat her
than $5 in court fees for the reissuing of an ordinary summons, as well as the reissuing of a judgment summons. The Registrar and the current Senior Magistrate, as well as the former Senior Magistrate, Mr. Juan
Wolffe, were unable to identify the sourc e of this discrepancy as the fee structure was being utilised at the
time that they commenced with the judiciary.
Astonishingly, Madam President, these particular fees of the Magistrates’ Court have not increased in over 60 years. However, contrasted against this
static position is today’s increasing tendency of litigants
to pursue legal action. These litigants are al so increasingly sophisticated. Their cases are more complex.
Higher volume and variation of proceedings are rou-tinely being instituted. These demands increase time
and work expended by administrative staff to process
proceedings.
The increased cost of office supplies is another
cost-incurring factor. Additionally, resources are required to counter ever -changing threats to the safety
and well -being of those connected to the judicial system including litigants, judges, bailiffs, counsel and wit-nesses. Madam President, these amendments are long
overdue and will become even more onerous the
longer they are delayed. Furthermore, Madam President, the Magistrates’ Court has had jurisdiction to adjudicate proceedings for the recovery of money up to $25,000 for decades now. And in tandem, such proceedings are quite common. In this area alone the increase in fees will greatly contribute to the revenue col-lected through the courts. Further, Madam President, it
should come as no surprise that research has shown
that Bermuda’s current fee schedule for payments into
the Magistrates’ Court is remarkably low when compared to other British Overseas Territories. The increase of fees will put this jurisdiction on par with similar jurisdictions such as Cayman.
In closing, I take this opportunity to thank the
Honourable Chief Justice, the Registrar of the Courts, the Senior Magistrate, and all public officers and stakeholders who have contributed to the implementation of
this consequential milestone.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITORS

The President: And before I open the floor to Senators
to respond, I would just like to acknowledge the presence in the Senate Chamber of the following persons:
The first one is Lieutenant -Colonel Edward Lamb, the
Permanent Secretary for National Security.
Welcome to you, sir.
And Ms. Nicole Smith, Assistant Registrar of
the Supreme Court.
As well as Lovette Tannock, the Parliamentary
Counsel for the Attorney General’s Chambers.
And Stuart Daniels, the Chief Information Security Officer for National Security.
Welcome to you all.

[Court Fees and Expenses Amendment and Validation Rules 2024 debate, continuing]

The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
[these Rules] on the court fees?
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Senator Kiernan Bell.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
I just wanted to say I support these changes.
They are, I think as has been acknowledged by the Min-ister, long overdue. And so I fully support this.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you.


Bermuda Senate Senator John Wight, you have the floor.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
Bermuda has seen a bit of inflation over the last
60 years, so I will be in favour of this increase.
Thank you very much, Madam President.
[Laughter]

The President: Thank you.
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President.
We in the OBA also support this increase. As
everybody in Bermuda knows, the cost of doing business increases everywhere. That includes our court system. And we have also been calling for fee increases since 2019, including a graduated fee increase
that could see certain large cases, large commercial
cases and things like that. So [these Rules] are a step in the right direction, and we would like to see even
more steps taken.
You know, we can imagine a world, Madam
President, in which the judiciary is able to appropriately fund itself and acquire the appropriate financial independence for its important functions in our society. So, we support this. We hope to see further developments
in this area from the Government to support this important function, Madam President.
So, thank you very much.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Being there are no other responses, Minister
Darrell, it is over to you. You have full support.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
If I may?

The President: Certainly you may.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I move that the said Draft
Rules be approved and that the following message be
sent to Her Excellency the Governor:
May it please Your Excellency:
The Senate, having under consideration the
Draft Rules entitled Court Fees and Expenses Amendment and Validation Rules 2024 proposed to be made in exercise of the power conferred by section 2 of the Court Fees and Expenses Act 1971, has the honour to
inform Your Excellency that the Senate has approved
the said Draft Rules.
The President: Thank you, Minister. And a suitable
message will be sent.
[Motion carried: The Court Fees and Expenses Amendment and Validation Rules 2024 were approved.] The President: You have full support from the Senate.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you.
We will move on to our second item. And the
second Order of the Day we will be taking under con-sideration is the second reading of the Cybersecurity
Act 2024.
Minister Darrell, are you undertaking this Bill as
well?

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I will. Thank you. (One
second.)
[Pause]

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

The President: You can proceed when you are ready,
sir.
Minister.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I now
move that the Bill entitled the Cybersecurity Act 2024 be now read a second time.

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

BILL

SECOND READING

CYBERSECURITY ACT 2024

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, today I am presenting the
Cybersecurity Act 2024 . This Bill provides the necessary cybersecurity administrative framework to ensure the protection of computer systems that support the
government and other essential services such as energy and water supply, our air and seaports, telecommunications, healt h care, and financial and banking institutions.
Madam President, Senators will recall that cybersecurity featured in the 2021 Speech from the
Throne. Having recognised the importance of ensuring
that Bermuda’s critical national information infrastructures were adequately protected from cyber threats, t he
Government promised to introduce a Cybersecurity Act which would establish the minimum standards for cy-bersecurity for Bermuda’s critical assets.
Madam President, Senators will recall that the
September 2023 cyberattack on the government sys-tems brought several government provider services
478 12 June 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate and processes to a halt. Even with existing protections
in place, restoration and recovery from the attack was a tremendous effort. While the cyberattack was dis-tressing for Bermuda, it served to accelerate and enhance the development of a cybersecurity legislative
framework. This was underscored in the 2023 Throne
Speech, which noted that the Legislature would be invited to consider a cybersecurity Bill, the draft of which would be amended to reflect recommended statutory
strengthening required in the wake of the cyberattack
on the Bermuda Government.
Madam President, the purpose of this Bill is to
1. establish a Cybersecurity Advisory Board, a
public -private partnership to advise the Government on cybersecurity matters and the protection of critical infrastructures against cyber
threats;
2. provide a legislative mandate for the Cybersecurity Unit within the Ministry of National Security to establish and operate a National Cybersecurity Incident Response Team;
3. designate critical national information infrastructure entities and enforcement authorit ies
that will ensure these entities meet minimum
cybersecurity standards; and
4. provide the Minister of National Security with authority to issue policy directions, codes of practice and regulations to ensure cybersecurity of the CNII [critical national information infrastructure] entities.
Madam President, this Bill furthers the Government’s aim of ensuring that Bermuda has adequate
protections in place to thwart the actions of those com-monly referred to in the c yber world as threat actors and
that the recovery protocols of CNII entities will permit a
timely return to normalcy in the event of a significant cybersecurity event.
Madam President, this Bill formally establishes
and renames the existing Cybersecurity Governance Board. The board has been renamed to the Cybersecurity Advisory Board to provide clarity of its role as an
advisory body on cybersecurity -related matters. The
board is made up of the relevant officers within the public service and independent advisors appointed by the
Minister from the private sector having the requisite
qualifications and experience. The primary function of
the board is to provide advice to the Minister, the Cabinet and the Public Service Executive on management
and implementation of Bermuda’s National Cybersecu-rity Strategy and the Government’s cybersecurity pro-gramme. The board will also encourage collaboration
between CNII entities and enfor cement authorities on
cybersecurity matters.
Madam President, in addition to the Cybersecurity Advisory Board, this Bill also establishes the Cybersecurity Unit within National Security as the National Cybersecurity Incident Response Team (or CSIRT).
The Cybersecurity Unit is separate from the Govern-ment’s Information and Digital Technologies Department (IDT). IDT is responsible for implementing, main-taining and protecting the Government’s information
technology systems. The Cybersecurity Unit will be an
additional layer of protections through the provision of oversight of the government’s internal cybersecurity
programme.
The unit will perform centralised security logging and monitoring of the government’s information
and technology systems and environment to support
the detection, analysis, response to and investigation of cybersecurity threats and incidents. The unit will also
conduct an annual national cyber risk assessment of critical national infrastructure sectors in Bermuda and provide a report and recommendations to the Minister
and the board.
Madam President, in its role as the national
CSIRT, the Cybersecurity Unit will lead the detection of
and response to cybersecurity events in Bermuda. The
National CSIRT will assist Bermuda’s cybersecurity ef-forts by providing early warnings and disseminat ion of
information to relevant stakeholders about risks and cy-bersecurity events. By fostering cooperative relationships, critical national information infrastructure entities
in Bermuda and CSIRT in other jurisdictions, the Ber-muda National CSIRT will improve our ability to prepare
for and address cyber threats at the national and international levels.
Madam President, an important aspect of the
Bill being presented today is the designation of critical
national information infrastructure entities and enforcement authorities. Under the Bill, an entity meets the criteria of being a CNII entity if the entit y provides an essential service. The provision of that essential service
relies on computer systems, and the disruption of that
computer system would have significant disruptive effects on the provision of the essential service. The Minister may designate these entities as CNII entities after consulting with the Cybersecurity Advisory Board and
a relevant enforcement authority.
Madam President, enforcement authorities are
the regulatory bodies that are already established and
function to ensure that the entities it regulates are in
compliance with all applicable legislation, rules, regulations and codes of practice. For example, for the purpose of the Cybersecurity Bill, the function of enforcement authorities will be to ensure that the CNII entities
they regulate are in compliance with the requirements of the Bill.
Madam President, it is intended that the Government of Bermuda will be designated as an enforce-ment authority responsible for ensuring that the departments of the government are in compliance with the
Bill. This means that the Cabinet and the Cabinet Cy-bersecurity Subcommittee will be the enforcement authority for the Government. The Bill will require the Gov-ernment to ensure that each of its departments meets the minimum standards of cybersecurity as issued by
the Minister of National Security in consultat ion with the


Bermuda Senate Cybersecurity Advisory Board. The Cybersecurity Unit
will assist government departments in meeting these prescribed standards.
Madam President, Senators will be aware that
there was an on- the-floor amendment to this Bill on its
second reading in a different place. That amendment
removed the designation of the government and private
sector entities from the Bill for the time being. It is intended that the Bill will apply to the government and to
private sector entities that are the owners of CNII. However, these entities will only be designated following consultation with enforcement authorities and the CNII
entities themselves. Removal of these private sector
entities from the Bill will allow for further consultation
with those entities intended to be designated. As is stipulated by the Bill, no designation of a CNII entity will
occur without prior consultation with the Cybersecurit y
Advisory Board and the relevant enforcement authority.
Madam President, the Bill will empower the enforcement authorities to implement and enforce cyber-security legislative requirements, policy directions, codes of practice and standards of performance as provided under the Bill and its regulations. In practic e, enforcement will follow the same process that currently
obtains for the enforcement of legislative requirements
for these regulated sectors. Typically, compliance is
ensured, as the enforcement authorities or regulatory bodies cannot issue operational l icences if the entity is
noncompliant with any legislation to which it is subjected.
Madam President, the protections that this Bill
aims to standardise and implement are the hallmark of
the legislation. The Bill provides the Minister with the authority to issue regulations that require CNII entities
and enforcement authorities to carry out myriad planning and testing activities in the pursuit of good cybersecurity practice. These requirements will be the minimum standards of cybersecurity that a CNII entity must
have in place to be in compliance with the Bill.
Madam President, these requirements are laid
out in regulations, as it is expected that the requirements will need to evolve over time to keep pace with
the ever -increasing cyber threats. In addition, the protections required of the computer systems suppor ting
our electrical power supplies will likely differ somewhat from the protections required for health care entities.
Similarly, threat levels or associated risks are also varied. Given the diverse range of critical infrastructures, it
is intended that th e Minister of National Security will issue regulations that establish the minimum standards of protection.
However, the CNII Enforcement Authority will
be able to exercise their own discretion and judgment with respect to any industry’s specific requirements that
are needed and with respect to how the regulations are
best enforced within their respective sector s.
Madam President, with our increasing reliance
on technology and computer systems, it is critical that
we create and enforce legislation that will safeguard our essential services against cyber threats. This Bill
provides the framework for that protection. It is the Gov-ernment’s intention to ensure that the requirements set
out in this Bill are not overly burdensome for the affected entities, but provide adequate protection and re-covery capabilities in the event of a cyber incident.
This legislation, together with our cybercrimerelated legislation, ensures that Bermuda is cyber safe. I am pleased to commend this Bill to the Senate for debate, Madam President.

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

Thank you, Madam President. And thank you to the Minister for that presentation, and thank you to the Government for bringing this
Bill.
It is a pretty complex Bill, Madam President,
and it creates many layers of organisation and accountability. And there are some things in here that are hard
to argue against. But I think we can all agree communications, power supply, health care, critical transport
links would have to operate. And this concept of im-portant national infrastructure is a key concept .
It is hard for us to assess if this Bill has all the
right bits in total, though, Madam President. And I am
going to be a little careful here, but I know that there
was going to be this Joint Select Committee, and I know
there is this report out there. And I feel that those processes would create a lot of outputs, create a lot of information that would perhaps allow us to bring a more
informed judgment of this Bill, Madam President. And I hope you can appreciate that. And let me leave it at
that. Because one might say that this cart has been put
before the horse without anybody understanding what
lessons have been learned.
But let me walk through some comments on
some of the other details of the substance in the Bill.
We hear about the Cybersecurity Board, Madam President, the National Cybersecurity Unit, the Cybersecu-rity Incident Response Team, the various enforcement
authorities have all been laid out in this Bill. And where
I am struggling with this, Madam President, is that it sort
of makes sense on paper. But ultimately this comes
down to, do you have the right people doing the right
things? And if you do not have the right people in these organisations, it will not matter that you have set up the
organisations. It will not matter what it says on the paper. Without the right people doing the right things, you will not get the right outcomes.
So let me start with the Cybersecurity Board.
And I note the Minister’s comments that the primary function is to provide advice to the Government, and I
think that is very good. But we note that there are nine
people on this board, of which six are already essen-tially government or quango, government -affiliated employees. Only three are private sector. And the Minister
480 12 June 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate used the words “a public -private partnership.” To me I
would have liked to see more private sector individuals
on that board to provide a balance of some opinion, perhaps bring in some outside expertise from the relevant industries and experts working on t he Island, or
even overseas if that is what it requires. Because one
might take the view, Madam President, if you have all
of these individuals, the government and its staff named on this board already working, it is not clear to
me why we need to create a board to say, Hey, you lot
get together and work this out.
So let me give a little bit of a counter -example,
Madam President. Do we have to create a law that specifies how the police service shall organise itself to
combat crime? Do we have to create a law to organise
how the fire service shall organise its units and where
to put its office rs and how to structure its own management and carrying out of its mission? They have a mission and we know what they need to do.
So again, while we like this concept of bringing
in collaboration of partnership and providing advice to
the Minister, I am struggling with the fact that we have
to create a law that seems to be intended to get government staff, who I know are working inc redibly hard,
to get them to collaborate and work together and provide advice to the Minister. Because I think one might
assume that they were already providing the appropri-ate advice up through their various employment structures and management chains and so forth. And if they
were not, I am not sure this law is going to fix that. And
we would probably have to create a lot of laws about
how government shall be structured internally.
I believe that some other Government Members probably had some similar concerns about the bal-ance of the public -private sector in this Cybersecurity
Board.
Two more comments on that Cybersecurity
Board, Madam President. We heard about collaboration. And to be frank, Madam President, this Govern-ment’s approach to collaboration and consultation on
this area has been disingenuous and highly lacking, in
my person al view. And I do not see that legislation is
going to change that.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, point
of order.

That is my opinion,
Madam President. And I believe I am entitled to it.
Thank you.

The President: Minister, what is your point of order?

POINT OF ORDER
[Unparliamentary language]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: The Senator is using derogatory language, Madam President. I do not think it
is appropriate to speak about public officers in that manner. I mean, he has already said a lot about the
right people. And I just do not think it is right for this
place, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Minister.
Senator De Couto, I would just alert you to the
comment that has been made. And please make your comments less inflammatory.

I am very, very aware of
that. I am going to come to that actually, Madam President.
We hear about the report to the Minister,
Madam President. It is our view that these ought to be
disseminated and shared with key stakeholders to get
the benefit of this information and collaboration. And I
did not see that that was indicated in the Bill, that these
reports would be shared, even in some sort of redacted
or appropriately adjusted manner. Because this is an
area . . . and I work in the insurance industry. Cyber is
a hot topic, Madam President. And information about
sharing about cyber is ver y important. It is a fast- moving area. Things change month to month, day to day.
And one of the things that creates success in responding to and preventing cyber attacks is the sharing of information and best practices, Madam President. So
where this board is producing information like that, we
would have liked to see something in the Bill that gets
that shared outward, Madam President.
Let me now turn to the Cybersecurity Unit,
Madam President. I believe this Bill referred to this unit
shall continue. And I note that in June last year, you
remember that the Minister made a statement about
setting up this Cybersecurity Unit. So I do have a specific question here, which is, When was that unit actu-ally commencing operations? That would be a specific
questi on that I have here. You know, otherwise it does
make sense. Some of the functions of it to me seem
actually rather technical. And again it was not clear to
me, and I refer to my comment that we would need a specific law to set that up. You could imagine that in a few years it might be the case that how that unit is structured might need to change to respond appropriately to
the changing world of cyber threats. But here we are.
The Cybersecurity Incident Response Team,
that seemed, again, quite sensible. But, again my comment that how we respond, what they do, what that means . . . I am not sure legislation is the right place to
encode that, Madam President.
Now, let me turn to the Critical National Information Infrastructure enforcement authorities, Madam
President. I do have a specific question here. I believe


Bermuda Senate Part 3, clause 9 of the Bill refers to policies and codes
that need to be issued by them. And my specific ques-tion I have here is . . . Now, I did not see this in the Bill,
but would there be specific timelines so they could be
held accountable to producing those within a reasonable time?
Then the Bill further requires various reports
and accountability. I think consultation is important here, Madam President. I think I have addressed that,
so let me move on there.
Clause 15, Madam President, refers to a report
from the Minister. And I guess I have a very specific
question here. If this Bill had been in effect, let us say,
a year ago today, would it have required the Government to have issued a specific report and shared that
externally with respect to the attack in October [sic]? So
that will help people understand what this Bill would have done, given what happened. That would be my
third specific question.
And, Madam President, moving on to the regulations, I note that it was $100,000 fine, maximum fine
noted there. And I am struggling to understand whom
that fine would apply to. So let us say for example you
had a government employee who . . . perhaps this specific employee did not do a good job, and this happens.
And they failed to create the adequate disaster recovery plan. Would that specific employee be liable for a fine under this? Or how would that fine be applied to
the relevant unit for failing to c arry out its responsibilities under this Bill, Madam President?
Then I guess my last comment, Madam President, would be there are some detailed rules about
board members. “No member . . . shall take part . . . relating to any . . . business in which he or his spouse is
a member or shareholder or has any private interest,
direct or indirect . . . .” I think that is good. We are glad
to see that. I would like to see more of that throughout
this regulation in the government, frankly. However, we
are a small world, so I wonder how that will impact get-ting the right people with the right experience on board.
Because again, if you are not working in this area, if
you are not directly involved, it can be quite hard to
have the relevant expertise.
So to conclude, Madam President, we are glad
to see this Bill. As you heard, there are aspects of it that we think are good and important such as the designation of the critical infrastructure. And there are aspects
of it that, frankly, we are not convinc ed about. On balance, Madam President, we will reluctantly support this
Bill, but would love to hear the answers to those four questions I posed.
Thank you for the time, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator —
Senator Kiernan Bell, Vice President, you have
the floor.

Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President. I do have one specific question on [clause] 6.
And if I can frame the question in context because I
think it will be helpful.
The Act, as was set out, already sets out what
the functions of the Cybersecurity Advisory Board are. And that is the public -private (if I can put it that way)
advisory board that is stood up. Its function is to advise, and it is limited to providing advic e in the Act. So
[clause] 6, which is the [clause] that I have the question
about, provides for the board to make a report to the
Minister every six months. In addition, that board has a statutory responsibility where a significant cybersecurity event has occurred to provide a report of the event
to the Minister as directed by the Minister.
My question concerns whether or not it is appropriate for the PPP [public -private partnership] advisory board to be tasked under statute with providing a report on a cybersecurity event when it has no operational oversight or responsibility to respond to any cybersecurity events as they unfold. And the way the [Bill]
is structured, that responsibility may fall within the National Cybersecurity Unit and I think certainly falls on
the National Cybersecurity Incident Response Team,
which are both created in t his legislation.
So my question is, Would it not be better to
have the statutory obligation to provide a report to the
Minister on a cybersecurity event to be with either the
National Cybersecurity Unit or the National Cybersecu-rity Incident Response Team?
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Kiernan Bell.
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
In principle I support this Bill. Being involved
both as a retired CEO and Director of a few public com-panies of some size, I have some experience with the expense and effort involved in designing a fit and
proper cybersecurity programme. As we all know, there
is no 100 per cent guarantee against a cyberattack. It
is often a balance between the costs that an organisation is willing to put forward to it and the risks that it is
assuming. This can be a very subjective determination
as to whether an organisation has prepared a fit and proper cybersecurity programme.
We live in a very dangerous cyber world, getting more dangerous day by day. So, Madam Presi-dent, my hope is that the substance of this legislation
be prioritised—i.e., improving cybersecurity controls rather than the letter of a law, which concerns me sli ghtly
if the legislation is taken to its extreme.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senator Kiernan Bell, you have the floor.

482 12 June 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Kiernan Bell: Sorry. Thank you. I did have additional questions with respect to the board and the
makeup of the board, and I suppose the process.
Is it the case that the members of this board
are going to be volunteers, essentially providing their time gratis? And I suspect that the answer to that question is yes, but I just thought it was worth asking that
question. It does tie in with the obligat ion to provide reports, because that question then falls in, How are they
going to be in a position thus to produce those reports
on such a regular basis?
And the second is, Generally, what is the
budget for standing up these three different or three
new units (if I can put it that way) under this Bill? I did
not see anything when we were debating the budget
specifically dealing with this, and I just wonder ed if that
answer was now available.
And secondarily, flowing from that, Is the effective date for this legislation, which will be by notice, go-ing to be once the relevant units have been stood up
and essentially have the necessary funding to perform their statutory functions? Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Kiernan Bell, Vice
President.
There are no other questions. Then we will
move over to the Minister, who is seeking responses
from his technical team who are here, including the Permanent Secretary.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you very much,
Madam President. And I thank the Opposition Senator for his submission, which was very detailed, as we do know that he has some expertise in that area.
I am going to attempt to go through this and
kind of answer. So please forgive me if some of my an-swers may be out of the order in which they were
asked. I mean, I know that there were some questions
and stuff intertwined in comments and debate. So I will
work my way through it as best I can. And then I will
also try to answer the specific questions that were put
forth by Senator Bell.
So on the first one, it was a bold question from
Senator De Couto who basically asked, Are we putting
the cart before the horse? And my answer will be just
as bold: No, we are not. We are definitely [not] . . . and
the public officers . . . and I think they are the right people, Madam President, to be doing this type of work as
they are experts in their field as well. So the way I will answer that is that this Bill seeks to ensure good cyber-security practices ar e being followed. And those practices have not changed as a result of the attack on the
government.
And I know some would like to try to take the
debate and focus on one particular incident. But as we
know, good practices and protocols should always be followed regardless of one particular incident.
There was another question that was part of
Senator De Couto’s discussion as to, Do we have the right people doing the right things? And I will let that pass right now as to how that was presented, and I will answer the question, because I think I understand
where Senator De Couto was going. But as we have
seen in other places, sometimes we do have p eople
who are part of another party that tend to take swipes
at public officers —

The Senator is implying
improper motive. And I am not having it, Madam President.
I would like him to retract it, please, Madam
President.

The President: Senator De Couto—
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: It is on record, Madam
President.
The President: Minister, carry on.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: So I will answer his question. I mean, Senator De Couto did say “right people.”
So maybe Senator De Couto, if he would like to get a
proper point across, he should use better language. But
I will answer the question, Madam President.

The President: Minister, please do.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Yes.
We do have proper structures and functions for
the Cybersecurity Advisory Board and Unit. And they
were developed in collaboration with an international
telecommunications union. So, yes, although some would like to think that they are the only experts who
can speak on this type of stuff, I am happy, Madam
President, that as you can see with us today we have
public officers and other experts whom they can lean
on to give proper advice and put proper structures in
place for the government and this type of l egislation.
So, thank you.
Another point that Senator De Couto made
was, Is it the case that the members of the board will be volunteers? I think that was a similar question asked
by Senator Bell. No. Members on the board will function
. . . sorry. A member will be on the board as a function
of their post. Private sector members will be paid in accordance with the normal processes of government
boards. So they will be paid positions. The public offic-ers, I think that means, will sit on as part of their substantial posts.


Bermuda Senate The Cybersecurity Advisory Board includes
two private sector cybersecurity advisors to advise independent of the public officers, who, Madam Presi-dent, I believe are the right people in the room. I have
to keep pointing that out.
There was a question on clause 6 that was put
forward by Senator Bell. The board will be the best
place to provide the report after it has considered input of the unit and the team.
Senator De Couto asked a question, Should
there be more private sector members on the board? Clause 4(2)(f) provides for representatives from the
Bermuda Hospitals Board. It is open to the Minister under clause 4(2)(g) to appoint two persons from the private sector to the board.
There was another question from Senator De
Couto about, How is the information shared being facil-itated? The Bill provides a mandate for the board and
the unit to facilitate the information- sharing.
There was also a question from Senator De
Couto on cybersecurity and the starting of their operation. A chief information security officer was formally
appointed in June of 2023 to head up the Cybersecurity
Unit in the Ministry of National Security.
Madam President, I think I have answered
many. I am sure if I have missed one or two, I will be
reminded.

The President: Senator Bell.

Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President. I do
have a follow -up question.
When one looks at the functions of the Cybersecurity Advisory Board, none of the functions concern
investigating a cybersecurity event. So with that, I
would repeat the question and say, If the Cybersecurity
[Advisory] Board is to be statutorily mandated to report
to the Minister on a cybersecurity event, should we be
adding to its functions so that it does in fact have the power to investigate and report on a cybersecurity
event? As matters currently stand, its only statutory
function is to provide advice. And so I am just confused
as to what t he purpose of an advisory board is in providing a report to the Minister on a cybersecurity event
when it actually has no investigatory powers of its own.

The President: Mm-hmm. Thank you, Senator Bell.
Senator De Couto, you had a supplemental
question?

Yes. Thank you, Madam
President. I do have a supplemental, and I have three
outstanding questions which I could remind the Minister
of.
My supplemental is again regarding the Cybersecurity Unit as the entire unit. I appreciated his infor-mation provided about the appointment of the chief information security officer in June of last year. Could he
also provide a comment as to when or if that unit was fully staffed up and operating at its fully intended capacity and organisation? That is my follow -up question,
Madam President.
Would it be okay if I just repeat my three outstanding questions?

The President: You may.

Thank you, Madam President.
I did have a question about the timelines in
clause 9(3) about the issuing of policies and procedures. I think it is important that that stuff is time- bound.
I did have a question about the $100,000 fine.
How would that apply to, say, an employee of an organisation? And I used the example of a government
employee, but you could imagine a BELCO employee or a hospital employee, and so forth, if that would help.
And I would like, and I think the general public
would certainly like to know, If this Bill had been in force a year ago today, would the Government have had to
produce a report by now outlining what had happened
in the hack for the information of the public?
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
And to answer Senator Bell’s question, the
Minister can, if need be, delegate the investigative power to the board.
Senator De Couto asked, When was the unit
established? The unit structure was approved by Cabi-net in 2022.
And, you know, I know Senator De Couto is
walking a fine line, because what he is trying to ask is something that will be discussed later in the Joint Se-lect Committee. So I will leave that question that he was
trying to get at, the last one, for the appr opriate time.
The Minister of National Security, though (for
his question before that), is now in the process of recruiting for the rest of the Cybersecurity Unit.
That is what I have at this point, Madam President. I see one or two more are coming in, so if you would just give me a slight pause, and I will wait for the
final responses to come in, and we will put a ribbon on
this debate.

The President: Certainly, Minister. We will give you
time—

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you. I am just so
grateful —

The President: —to obtain responses from the technical officers.

484 12 June 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: —for the individuals who
are in the room who are helping. Definitely the right
people, Madam President.

[Pause]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Senator De Couto had a
question about the $100,000 fine. Senior management
in the organisation are responsible for ensuring compliance with regulations within the organisation.
There are still a few more, Madam President. I
want to make sure I get the full responses.
There was also a follow -up. And I did say this,
that the Senator was going down a fine line as to talking
about a different incident. But this Bill is distinctive from
the cybersecurity attack report in that this Bill establishes a framework for our CNII, whereas the actual attack was on our system. So [they are] two different conversations, and that is why I said we will keep one
parked.
The Minister is required to give an annual report on cybersecurity events in Bermuda. So had the legislation been in place at the time, the report would
have been part of that annual report.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Can I proceed?

The President: Senator De Couto, you have a question?

Clause 9(3) makes reference to the CNII governing bodies to make policies and
regulations. And my question is, Would it be timebound? Would they have a timeline by which those various policies and regulations had to be produced?
Thank you, Madam President.
[Pause]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
And to that final question, the timelines will be
provided in the regulations.
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell. You may
proceed to move your Bill.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I now move that the Bill entitled the Cybersecurity 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. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I now
move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended in respect to 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 now
move that the Bill entitled the Cybersecurity Act 2024 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

BILL

THIRD READING

CYBERSECURITY ACT 2024

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
I now 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 Cybersecurity Act 2024 was read
a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell. And thank
you to all Senators who participated.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President. And I would like to thank all who were in the room
assisting today and will continue to assist this programme in the work that they do. Thank you.
[Crosstalk]

The President: Indeed.
Thank you all. We will move on with our
agenda.


Bermuda Senate The next item in our Orders of the Day is the
second reading of the Bermuda Health Council Amendment Act 2024. And that is in the name of Senator Ari-anna Hodgson.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President. I would ask that that particular Bill be carried
over, please.

The President: Thank you, Minister.
The Bill will be carried over until next week, or
next sitting.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: The next sitting is in two
weeks.

The President: Two weeks’ time.
With that, we will move on.

MOTIONS
The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES
The President: Would any Senator care to speak?
Senator De Couto, do you want to speak on the
congratulatory and/or obituary speeches?

Yes, I do, Madam President. Thank you very much.
It is unfortunate that the Minister is not able to
be with us at this moment because so many of the great
items I want to comment on are well within his remit. (Oh, perfect. There we go.) I want to actually thank the
Minister for attending the National Museum of Bermuda
opening last week regarding modern Azorean art as part of our celebration of the 175
th anniversary of the
Golden Rule arrival in Bermuda. Unfortunately, I was not able to be there for my professional commitments but was very pleased to see that the Minister was there
and appreciate his acknowledgement of all the work
that the museum staff and those artists have been doing.
I do want to, of course, in advance wish everybody a great National Heroes Day. I have some other
comments on that for later.
And I also want to congratulate all of the fathers
and those who are operating in that capacity. As we
know, there are many ways to be a father to somebody
or a role model and a teacher. So I want to thank those.
And finally . . .no, not finally, Madam President.
I am trying to move quickly; I have a few things.
I would like to congratulate Jessica Lewis. She
has broken America’s record that has stood for 27
years. She continues to impress on the international stage. There is a lot of information on that online, so I
will leave that to that.
I would like to congratulate the team at Dasfete
who have been operating the Birdcage entertainment venue on top of the BTA [Bermuda Tourism Authority]
Visitors Centre. We know that its time has come to an
end. But that is a team that has been bringing ingenuity,
passion and innovation to the tourism event space. And I want to congratulate them and hope that they continue. It can be hard as a small business, Madam President, in this area. But I hope that they continue to bring their love for the Island here.
Finally, Madam President, I also want to thank
the Minister for reading out all of the graduates of the
Bermuda College. For my sins, I spent a long time in
academia. I want to congratulate . . . if I did my math
right, there were 98 graduates. And I know that all of
their friends and family must be bursting with pride at
what they have achieved, Madam President. I want to
wish them all of the greatest success in their future. My father used to say, They can take everything away from
you, but they can never take away your education,
Madam President. And that is something to live by.
Thank you for the time.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on congratulatory and/or obituary speeches?

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I would, Madam President. And I would just like to come behind Senator De
Couto.
And I thoroughly . . . I will say this, I thoroughly
enjoyed my time at the National Museum on Thursday evening last. As you would know that I was an educator, still am an educator, but I taught in the schools for
over 15 years. And this was a topic, Port uguese in Bermuda, that was in the module of Bermuda History. And
it was one that I thoroughly enjoyed myself learning
about. And, you know, all of the contributions and the
cultural connections that the Portuguese and individuals who have Azorean (I hope I said that right) heritage offered to Bermuda. So, you know, many Bermudians
whom we have, successful Bermudians as well, in our
society have been connected to the Azores, Madeira,
Portugal and Cape Verde. As Senator De Couto said,
the origins go back to the Golden Rule in 1849.
So if anyone has not gotten an opportunity to
get up to the museum, this particular exhibit runs until
April 7. As [the Senator] did also mention, 175 years.
The Government did grant a holiday for 170 years. So
like I said, it was really good to be in the company. And
also as I understand, as the outgoing Chair of the Bermuda National Museum, Senator De Couto, I will say on record, Job well done! Because I have been out
there in the last year and a half, and many of the exhib-its have been definitely life- changing for a lot of the individuals who have been up there. I have taken my kids
486 12 June 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate many times. They do a lot of family events. So well
done to them.
Also, I would like to send congratulations in advance to the organisers and party promoters of our Carnival in Bermuda. As you know, this is National Heroes
Weekend, but we also have some other events that are
going on. And this undertaking is not an easy one. I
have met in my capacity as Minister of Culture with many of these promoters and creatives over the past
couple of months. And I want to give them in advance
all the best going forward for success for this weekend.
Also, congratulations to a gentleman who has
become very popular in the world of entertainment in
Bermuda. And that is Mr. Russell Griffith, also known
as RTwoG2, or DJ Rusty G, for the launch of his first
rhythm project called Havoc . It features songs of Bermudian artists, Fire Wayne, Mr. Fotogenik, Ponaflex
and Jamaican super -artists as well. I am sure that if anybody is interested in that music, they can find it wherever they get their music.
Also, congratulations to all of the dance
schools on their successful (what we call) this recital season. I had the opportunity to attend a recital of a
dance school on Saturday evening. I took my daughter,
who is a dance enthusiast. And I have heard great
things of all of the dance schools. And it is a culmination of a lot of the hard work by teachers, choreographers, lighting designers as well as parents. There was a time
when I used to wake up quite early on a Saturday morning to have my daughter over to the United Dance Productions . So to all parents who are so excited to see
their students performing . . .
And finally, Madam President . . . well, two
more. I want to say congratulations to CariGenetics on
the launch of their new home genetic testing products.
And to Dr. Carika Weldon, I want to say good job to her.
They recently pledged a portion of the proceeds of one of their BeforeYou Ancestry Tests to the Bermuda Day
fund. And as you would know, this fund helped crea-tives to offset some of the costs of being in the successful Bermuda Day Parade. So thank you to her and good
luck on her exciting next launch.
Finally, I would end by congratulating the
Nspire Bermuda racket extravaganza team. This is a
new charity, Madam President, led by retired professional athlete, Mr. Gavin Manders. And he is shaping
the future of children and youth through racket sports.
And you notice I am saying “racket sports.” It is on today again at the W. E. R. Joell Tennis Stadium. That is
the government stadium. And I am pleased that over 300 young people—including my son —were able to attend yesterday and today.
And what is really interesting about this is that,
with a lot of the talk in the community, Madam President, about kind of the choice between tennis and pickleball, it is really exciting that Mr. Manders, who for years was the best tennis player in Bermuda, has now
been able to reach out to pickleball as well. And yesterday hundreds of students were there playing tennis. I was able to stop by. And today another hundred different students, or maybe some of the same, will be there to do pickleball today. And I will also stop by once the
Senate finishes.
So I want to say congratulations to Mr. Manders for being able to go back between his first love with
his tennis, and his current love, I think, which is pickleball, and being able to bring the community together.
So, congratulations to all of these individuals
today, Madam President.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have the floor.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
And just really quickly I wanted to congratulate
Perform to Learn Preschool for a really well -organised
and well -delivered Sports Day. And I have to declare
my interest because my son won one of the races there, and it was one of his first Sports Days. And I just
wanted to congratulate all of the preschools and teachers for everything that they do to cultivate our young people. And I look forward to next year.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Lindsay Simmons, you have the floor.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Good morning, Madam President.
I just wanted to congratulate Bermuda Men’s
Soccer Team. Well done to them! They did put the work
in. They worked hard. Unfortunately, we did not win.
But we can see that they are putting in the time and the work. So congratulations to them. I just wanted to take
the opportunity to congratulate our Onions out there.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons.
No other Senator wants to speak at this time.
So I would just like to join the Minister in his congratu-lations to Dr. Carika Weldon on her CariGenetics programme.
With that, we will move on.

The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
the motion to adjourn?

[Inaudible interjection]

The President: Oh, you have not . . . I jumped into it.
You were supposed to —



Bermuda Senate ADJOURNMENT

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, thank you,
Madam President.
I do now ask that the Senate, based on the
schedule that was sent . . . I would like to put that on
record, sent a schedule in, sent it in about two weeks
ago. Based on the schedule that was sent, I do now ask
that the Senate adjourn until Wednesday, June 26.

[Pause]

The President: My understanding is that the . . . was it
received in the office? Yes. That is the date for the next meeting, June 26. (I beg your pardon, Senators.)
Vice President Kiernan Bell, you have a comment.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Just a question whether it is just the
next session, or whether it is the entire schedule?
[Inaudible interjection]

Sen. Kiernan Bell: So could that be circulated to Senators? That would be very helpful. Thank you.

The President: Thank you.
We will ensure that the schedule for the next
meetings will be sent.
Would any Senator care to speak on the motion to adjourn?
Senator Dwayne Robinson, you have the floor.

ONE BERMUDA ALLIANCE OPPOSITION
HOLDING GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE
AGAINST PUNITIVE MEASURES IN BILLS

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Yes. Thank you, Madam
President. And I look forward to receiving that schedule. And I hope that the Minister also upgrades to letting
us know when Bills will be deferred before the actual
session. Just a suggestion; and that one is not in the Royal Gazette.
The President: I will certainly join you [in that].

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you.
So the main point that I wanted to speak about
today was the word “consultation” and the word “listening.” We have just come out of a campaign, a political
campaign where these were some of the buzzwords
used by the current Government. We are a Government that listens. And we are a Government that consults. And what we continue to see is that, as we go
along in the legislative agenda, the One Bermuda Alli-ance’s guardrails that it has placed on this Government
continue to yield fruit for the Bermuda public.
When I say this, I want to bring up the fact that
we were the party to bring forth amendments toward the punitive measures that have been placed in several Bills and several pieces of legislation regarding prison sentences and regarding huge amounts of fines. This particular amendment . . . and I will not rehash the debate happening in another place, but this particular Bill reached another place. And our amendment brought
forth by our team was denied, only for a U -turn of that
amendment to then be included in the Bill.
So what I would like to suggest —

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Point of order, Madam President.
The President: Yes. What is your point of order?

POINT OF ORDER
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: This Bill has not been
brought to the Senate. And we should not be talking about it, Madam President.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I never mentioned the title of
the Bill.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: You did not mention the title
of the Bill, but you are referring to the Bill.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I never mentioned the title of
the Bill.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: You are referring to the Bill.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I never mentioned the title of
the Bill, Madam President.
There are several Bills that fit that description,

He just . . . Madam President.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Never mentioned the name
of the Bill.

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, we all
know what he is talking about.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: And since the Government
was the one to defer that said Bill about letting us know,
I think they should be careful not to mention the Bill.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, this is
totally out of order!
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: It is not out of order. I have
not mentioned the name of a Bill.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: We have a point of order.

488 12 June 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Point of order, Madam President.

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: [The Senator] said that the
Bill was in another House and got deferred. So he is talking about the said Bill that just was deferred today. The Government has a right to defer Bills. The Bill was
deferred, and they have to accept that. This is brought by the Minister and we are going to defer it.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President —

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Well, actually, we are not
even deferring it; we are just carrying it over.
Sen. Robin Tucker: The information is in the public
domain. Is it really an issue to reference here? It is in
the public domain.

The President: Yes. It is in the public domain.

[Inaudible interjections]

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: It is in the public domain. The
amendment was brought forward in another place. It is
public domain that the Minister of the day and her team
decided to vote against said amendment.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam, Madam, Madam
President! Standing Orders! This is fully out of order!
The President: Senator Robinson—

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Just saying this is public domain. And the vote has already carried. I am not speaking about what has happened in the Senate.

The President: Senators!

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, point of
order.

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Madam President, we will
have a time to discuss this in two weeks. This is out of
order, Madam President. We cannot . . . Madam President, this is unacceptable.

The President: Any reference to the Bill at this time —

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Yes. We will have time to debate this Bill. That is what the Senate is for. Thank you.
The President: The decision has been made. There
will be no discussion on the Bill that has been deferred.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: All right, out of respect for
you, Madam President.

The President: Would any Senator care to speak on
the motion to adjourn, other than the deferral of the Bill?

ONE BERM UDA ALLIANCE OPPOSITION
HOLDING GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE FOR
ADDITIONAL TAXES ON VACATION RENTALS
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Yes. So I will just continue
on through my theme of consultation.
So just to raise the point now, we have had a
tax that has been levied onto vacation rental property. And it has been brought to my attention, and to that of
my colleagues, that it has caused many vacation rentals to even delist. And I want to acknowledge that the
Government has made steps to improve the housing
situation of Bermuda, but I believe that it is time for us
to defer to looking at the legislation, the Landlord and Tenant Act, and seeing how we can encourage landlords to relist their properties, encourage landlords to
re-rent their properties out at a reasonable rate.
I believe that taxing them a triple tax, because
they have to pay their fee to be a vacation rental and
they have to pay land tax, and then they also have to
pay the percentage that has been levied recently, that
many have cited in public domains that over 300
Airbnbs were delisted.
So I just wanted to bring this forward to the Minister, because in a previous session it was mentioned that he may meet with the Vacation Rental Association
[of Vacation- Home Owners.] And I just wanted to see if
the Honourable Minister would be willing to give an update on that meeting and how that has progressed, because we have found that we have received information from that association basically refuting the fact
that they are undermining housing stock. And I would like to hear the Government’s response to that only because people are still unable to find adequate rentals.
We all know that there is a housing situation
happening that is very crucial. And I think both sides of
the aisle have spoken on it before. But the reason why
this consultation piece is so important is because we
have seen a theme from this current Govern ment that
continues to say it is listening. But we find that almost
every legislative piece that comes forward that affects
a certain group, that group comes forward with issues after each substantive Minister stands on their feet and
says that they have s poken to the industry, that they
have listened to various industries. We have seen it
with vacation rentals. We have seen it with taxi drivers.
We have seen it with farmers. We are now seeing it with
the medical professionals.
We are seeing it with all of these groups who
are lobbying us, as the Opposition, because they are either unable to speak out publicly about certain things or keep it professional because nobody wants to be


Bermuda Senate seen as the person in the private sector speaking out
against their current sitting Government.
So it is incumbent on us to hold the Government to account to actually consult, because what ends
up happening is we come into each respective Chamber, and we say, There needs to be an amendment.
There needs to be a change. We have heard various
things from the industry that they have concerns. And
those amendments, those suggestions are dismissed
because we have a 30- seat majority in the government
for the Government party. And I just hesitate as to what
we may see down the line of legislation being
amended, being changed, being done that has blatantly been told in advance that it will affect Bermudians
negatively, that it will enforce punitive measures or any
other manner of situations on to the listening public, on
to Bermudians.
And they are given these warnings constantly
from the One Bermuda Alliance. But what we end up
hearing constantly is political rhetoric, catchphrases,
slogans. But that is not translating to the life of the eve-ryday Bermudian. That is not translating to f olks who
are coming together and putting forth their concerns on
various legislative agenda items. And what we have
seen is that this Government is intent on pushing its
agenda through. And at the end of the day, if they are
not careful, the only friend they may have is the insur-ance industry. As a labour Government, I think that is
very concerning.
So I just wanted to make sure that we in this
Chamber speak out about the fact that we have so many pressure groups who are claiming they have not
been listened to, that they have not been properly con-sulted. And we have Ministers on their feet claiming i n
public space and in another place that they have done
consultation. So, I just wanted to bring that dichotomy and let people know that, please keep bringing your
concerns to the Opposition because we will continue to
voice them on your behalf. We will co ntinue to hold this
Government accountable, especially against punitive
measures and thinly veiled additional taxes.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

BERMUDA’S EVERYDAY HEROES

Thank you, Madam President.
As I alluded to in my congrats and obits, we
have a big weekend coming up —Father’s Day, National Heroes Day —and it has created a moment of
contemplation for me, Madam President, and has given me an opportunity to appreciate everybody in Bermuda
who is wor king hard for our Island. Of course, with National Heroes Day coming up, Madam President, we have the movies. We have the cake, the tights, the super-powers, but those are not the real heroes, Madam
President. We have the bold- face names, the well -
known names. And I want to thank Honourable Minister Darrell for outlining them in his prior Statement, you know, people of stature who have made big impacts on
this Island.
But, Madam President, I just want to remark
briefly on what I would call the everyday heroes of this
country. Some days I will be on my scooter going over
Trimingham Hill to work. Actually, most days. This thought normally comes to me around the same plac e
on the road, which is a bit funny if you think about it. But you start thinking about the day ahead and all of the work you have to do. And then I just stop and I reflect.
And I think about everybody driving past today, everybody who will walk past. And I think about, as we learn about what everyone is doing in our community, the
work that people are doing. It could be you in a hospital
and a nurse or doctor or some other professional. They take that extra minute to put you at ease, Madam President, to chat to a family member about a situation.
It could be that person who . . . well, that person. Think about the clubs, the youth sports, the
churches, the feeding programmes, the sports clubs. Think about the hours, the passion, the commitment,
sometimes money, but the time and the love that all of those people put in in making this community better.
Now, obviously, Madam President, some of us
are operating in this more overtly political sphere. We
are talking about finance, we are talking about laws, we
are trying to get in the paper. We are doing that bit. But
I am actually inspired every day by those everyday heroes. And I am grateful to them. That everyday hero, Madam President, they could just be someone who
shows up every day whom a child can look to and say,
I know that here’s a person in my life every day I can
count on. It sounds so simple! But we know it is not to be taken for granted, Madam President.
So for those of you who are out there, and it is
almost everybody in Bermuda. Just think about it. This country is running on their backs. And I want to salute them with National Heroes Day coming up. I want everyone in Bermuda to know that, You’re my hero. Honestly, I am inspired and motivated and incredibly grateful.
So thank you, Madam President, to you and to
all of them. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Seeing none—
Oh, sorry. Senator Robinson.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Senator Leslie Robinson.

490 12 June 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate TAXES ON VACATION RENTALS

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Yes. Thank you.
Just a couple of things, Madam President. I
know that it has been stated today about . . . and I am
going to speak specifically right now about the vacation
rentals.

The President: Mm-hmm.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: In that this Government is not
listening, that this Government is imposing taxes,
et cetera. I want us to remember and to go back in time
because when we think about vacation rentals, we
must think about the fact that how a lot of this came
about. And I am now going to talk about back in the
time when there was segregation on this Island. And Black Bermudians had to establish guest houses and
other vacation rental properties for Black tourists because there was no place. They could not go to any
other White es tablished hotel.
So I want us to remember that because vacation rentals really were started by Black people for
Black people in a time when there was segregation and
there was nowhere else. Just like there is no room in
the inn, there was only a sign saying “Whites only.” So
this Government and our Progressive Labour Party, which has been a party that has been for people to
make sure that there is equity for all, we are not going
to forget about how the vacation rentals started, and
that the majority o f those vacation rental owners for
years and still now are Black people and for fairness and equity.
So I want to say that we listen and we continue
to listen. And I do not want us to leave here today thinking that we are not listening, especially because so many of those vacation rentals now and in the past
were set up and are being set up and continue to be set
up by our Black people because way back then that was the only place for Black tourists.

PROGRESSIVE LABOUR PARTY ’S ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Now, Madam President, I just
also want to mention a few things about this Government. Because again I do not want us to be leaving
here thinking that, you know, the Government is not listening or is not doing things for the people. I want to mention the fact that we do as a Government collaborate on solutions that will improve our economy and the
lives of our people. It continues to be said out there in
social media, et cetera, that we are not doing that. But
we actually are. And I want to mention in particular right
now about our Economic Development Strategy. Because I know that there have been questions raised about, What are we doing? And have things taken
place? We cannot really see any of the end results from
what we are doing. But, you know, our Economic Development
Strategy has five strategic priorities: business expansion and retention; attracting investment; entrepreneurship and small business development; economic recovery plan execution; and investing in our people. The truth is that the Economic Development Strategy is
overseen by our Economic Development Advisory Board, and the meetings are held regularly. There is continuous media out there saying that there are no key
performance indicators, but that is not true either. We
have done a lot of work to ensure progress. And it has
helped to better the lives of our people.
Some things, for example the expansion of the
economic empowerment zone to South East Hamilton to create more construction activity, providing jobs for
Bermudians. Increased funding for affordable housing,
which has seen 70 new affordable units made avail able
for Bermudian families. Also, the Mortgage Guarantee
Programme, which has made dozens of Bermudians
first-time homeowners. Revising Bermuda’s family office framework to attract more businesses to Bermuda
and the creation of a National Workforce Development
Advisory Board to ensure Bermudians are skilled for
jobs of today and tomorrow.
I want to be able to say also, Madam President,
we talk much about the economy. Again, there is a lot
of negativity around here about the economy. But unemployment numbers have gone down to their lowest since the 1980s. It is now at 2.5 per cent. Wages have
increased by 7.1 per cent with increases in take- home
pay seen across our economy at nearly every level due to this PLP Government’s reduction of taxes for our
working people.
Tourism arrivals and spending are up with
nearly 10,000 more air visitors during the third quarter
of 2023 with increased spending up to $111.5 million
from $75.3 million. Our economy grew by 8.3 per cent
when our figures came out for the third quarter of 2023,
the fastest pace of growth in the last two years and the
fourth consecutive quarter of economic growth.
I want to be able to say, Madam President, that
we hear so much negativity. But this Government is doing much for our people. There is still a lot of work to be
done, but there is good work that has been done. And
I did not want us to leave this Chamber w ithout our
commenting on some of the good work that we have
done and that we will continue to do for the people of
Bermuda.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Leslie Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Minister.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President. I will take the opportunity to close this motion to adjourn.



Bermuda Senate The President: Senator Tucker, were you . . . you
were not . . . oh, okay.
Minister, carry on.

TAXES ON VACATION RENTALS —
PROGRESSIVE LABOUR PARTY GOVERNMENT
STRIKING A BALANCE

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you. Thank you,
Madam President.
I would just like to remind the listening public
that this Government, the Progressive Labour Party
Government, is focused on serving the people. You
have heard it many times, Madam President. I know I
sound like a broken record up here. And it is interes ting
to me that I gave my last motion to adjourn comments, and it was about silence that I was hearing from across the aisle. So I am glad that the Senator who is very
popular for his Twitter fingers has decided to join us today and speak up. But unfortunately, Madam President, the Senator who spoke a few people before me is a little misguided. And I would say he was a little misguided because last time I spoke about the silence and
the inability of those on the other side to speak.
But, you know, I would call him the invisible
Senator, because if he was out in the community,
Madam President . . . and I will welcome him. He can
come with me and I could show him what community
engagement looks like. This would be a great weekend
for him to come —

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

The President: Senator Robinson.

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: I understand opinion, but he
is incorrect. I mean . . . and also some of us have day
jobs. He may not know about that, Madam President.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Is there a point of order,
Madam President? Sounds like a point of information
to me, which I am not willing to take at this time.

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: It is a point of order because
he is incorrect, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson. Your
point is made.
Minister, carry on—
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: —without reference —
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
I would ask the Senator to speak to his Senate
colleague, who seems to know numbers a lot better than he does. And if we could do percentages, you would be able to see that community engagement is
not once or twice at a sports day, Madam President. It
is day in and day out. It is going up to—

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Point of order.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, if I
may.
The President: We are not going to have this. A point
of order is not taken if you are referring to his comment.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Okay.
The President: All right?

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

The President: The first time and—

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: —for allowing me to get
into my comments today.
You know, engagement is when you actually
do as we mentioned in a previous speaking point earlier, when you go to cultural events and you speak to
people. And you hear them tell you directly, Thank you
for the work that the Government is doing. And I know
the Senator spoke about vacation rentals, Madam
President. And the reason why I would say he is misguided is because, although he has clearly got some
talking points that someone has come and spoken to
him about vacation rentals, but we as this Government are looking for a balance. Yes, vacation rentals are important. And yes, as the Minister responsible for Tourism sat down and listened. And we will see some adjustments coming soon when it comes to the tourism industry.
But the other balance, and he crossed by it,
Madam President, is about housing in this country. And although it is always interesting that I hear pot -shots
coming from the other side, Madam President, again we see no alternatives that are put forward by t he Opposition. Absolutely none! And this speaks to the point
that my Senate colleague made a moment ago that it
just becomes noise.
You know, at a public meeting that I was at earlier this week put on by the Pembroke Parish Council, which I will say there were representatives from both sides of the aisle there . . . But you listen. And you listen
to what people are asking for. And you can see that this Government then listens to those concerns. We then turn around, and we have tangible action, tangible results, tangible policies to strike a balance in the case of
492 12 June 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate what the Senator was speaking about earlier, which is
the tourism rentals and what is a fair taxation for indi-viduals in that place.
As well as trying to balance the fact that if the
Senator . . . and I do not know if he has, and I do not
know how much he does, but if he would go knocking
on doors he would notice (maybe not in the area that
he intends to run, but he would notice) that t he number -
one concern with many Bermudians is the lack of affordable housing. You can only get that information,
Madam President, by being on the doorstep. I would challenge the Senator on the other side to listen to how
Senator Lindsay Simmons, Madam Pres ident, went up
and down Devonshire and Smith’s North —

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: And point of order, Madam
President.

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Again, my comments are being misrepresented. I clearly acknowledged the housing crisis in Bermuda. I clearly acknowledged Bermudians are struggling to find affordable housing. I also
acknowledged what the Government had done in a
step to remedy that. So if the Minister is going to speak,
he needs to speak correctly and accurately.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President —

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: The Senator has missed
my point completely. Because I started by saying that I
heard no tangible plan from the Opposition on this matter.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Point of order.

POINT OF ORDER
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: That is not true. He said I
glossed over . That is what he said. That is what the
Minister said. I glossed over the housing crisis. That is
what I was referring to in my comments.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Minister, carry on.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
So I just wanted to point that out about the Government listening. This Government, as you can see, and there are tangible pieces of consultation and going
on the doorstep and holding public meetings, Madam
President, to hear the concerns. And some of the policies that you will see that this Government does bring
come exactly from those discussions.
HOLIDAY WISHES

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: So, Madam President, I
would just like to pivot a bit. And I would like to finish my motion to adjourn comments along the lines of where Senator De Couto did go, Madam President.
And, you know, there are not many times that we are
aligned in this Senate, but in this case we are. I do wish all individuals of Bermuda a safe and happy holiday
weekend. To the fathers in this community, I would encourage them to take some time and reflect on the im-portant roles that they have of their own children, but
also as men in society in general, Madam President.
I would like to encourage those of you who may
not know our National Heroes and all that they have
done to do some research in advance of this weekend
and see what these National Heroes have done and how that represents a change in our lives today. And
also go a step further and see how other jurisdictions,
other countries recognise and honour their heroes.
And also, Madam President, I would conclude
these remarks by wishing that everyone be safe over
this holiday weekend. Thank you, Madam President.

HOLIDAY WISHES

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
And I would like to join you and your comments
about fathers and the fact that this weekend I hope all
fathers have a very happy and safe and enjoyable Father’s Day, those who actually have children and those
who are fathers to young people who do not have fathers. Because I think there are quite a number of peo-ple who do and who have not had a father figure in their lives. So any of the men in the community who can
show young people what a father, a true father’s value
is, I think is important. So I wish a ll fathers then a very
happy Father’s Day, and I also want to wish everyone
here in the Senate as well as those in the community to
have a wonderful and safe National Heroes Weekend.
And until we meet again in two weeks’ time, I
wish all Senators a very happy week. And thank you for
everything today.
The Senate stands adjourned until the 26
th of
this month. Thank you.

[At 12:34 pm, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am Wednesday, 26 June 2024.]