March 13, 2024

Thank you, Vice President, Senator
Kiernan Bell.

MESSAGES

The President: Ms. Beale.

The Assistant Clerk: There are no messages, Madam
President .

The President: Thank you, Ms. Beale.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES

The President: There are none.
ANNOUNCEMENTS

APOL OGIES
The President: I have one announcement and that is
that Senator Leslie Robinson will be absent today. She is in the UK attending the CPA conference.
There are other announcements and I call on
. . . Minister, who will be responding? Thank you.
Minister, you have the floor to present for Senator Robinson who is abroad. You have the floor.

BERMUDA HOUSING TRUST
AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FISCAL YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2023

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
Madam President, I hereby present for the information of Senate the Bermuda Housing Trust Audited Financial Statement s for the fiscal year ended 31
March 2023. Senators may access copies of the statement s on their tablets or on the Parliament ’s website,

Thank you, Minister Darrell.
There is a second one that is in the name of
Senator Arianna Hodgson, the Junior Minister for Finance.
Senator Hodgson, you have the floor.

ISSUANCE OF NEW GOVERNMENT
GUARANTEES
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I hereby present for the information of Senate the Issuance of New Government Guarantees in accordance with section 2AA(3 ) of the
Government Loans Act 1978.

Thank you, Senator Hodgson.
There is another one in the name of Senator
Robinson. Minister Owen Darrell, you will present for
her.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
FINTECH 2023 YEAR END REPORT

154 13 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
I hereby present for the information of the Senate the E conoimc Development Department (EDD)
FinTech 2023 Year End Report. Again, Senators may
access copies of the report on their tablets or on the
Parliament ’s website.

The President: Thank you. And there is another one
in—

BERMUDA IMMIGRATION AND PROTECTION
(PROHIBITION OF ENTRY) ORDER 2024
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Yes, Madam President,
I hereby present for the information of Senate the Bermuda Immigration and Protection (Prohibition of Entry) Order 2024 made by the Minister responsible for Immigration in exercise of power conferred by section 26(1) of the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act [1956]. The President: Thank you. And you will present the
next—

BERMUDA FAMILY OFFICE SOLUTIONS —A
FRAMEWORK FOR EMPOWERING YOUR LEGACY
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
hereby present for the information of the Senate, the
Bermuda Family Office Solutions —A Framework for
Empowering Your Legacy. Again, Senators may access copies of the framework on their tablets and on the Parliamentary website.
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
And there is . . . the last one is also in your
name as the spokesperson for the Cabinet Office.
When you are ready, you can present that.

OFFICE OF INFORMATION COMMISSIONER
ANNUAL REPORT 2023
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
hereby present for the information of Senate the Infor-mation Commissioner’s Office Annual Report 2023.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
And I think you have the final one.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: The notice of motion?
The President: In your role as Minister of Culture and
Sport.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: The notice of motion?
Are we on [Item] No. 6?
The President: Oh, sorry. I beg your pardon. Yes, notice of motion, sorry. NOTICE S OF MOTION S

TOURISM INVESTMENT
(AZURA B ERMUDA) ORDER 202 4

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
I hereby present for the consideration of Senate the Tourism Investment (Azura Bermuda) Order
2024 as made by the Minister responsible for Tourism
under section 3 of the Tourism Investment Act 2017 to-gether with written agreement of the Minister of Finance in exercise of the power conferred by section 5
of the Tourism Investment Act 2017.
I give notice that at a later point in th e meeting
I will move that the said Draft Order be approved.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.

PETITIONS

The President: There are none.

STATEMENTS
The President: There are none.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I have one, Madam President .

The President: I beg your pardon. Minister Darrell, you
can proceed when you are ready.

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

42
ND ANNUAL SPORTS AWARDS

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, on
Saturday, 9 March 2024, the Ministry of Tourism, Cul-ture and Sport through the Department of Sport and Recreation, hosted its 42
nd Annual Sports Awards at
the Hamilton Princess Hotel. This year’s Sports Awards recognised the distinguished achievements of the Island’s top Bermudian athletes, officials, and supporters
for their contribution to sports from 2023. The theme of
this year’s ceremony was “Sport Matters .”
Madam President, our National Sports Policy
guides us with a five- year promise to elevate the value
of sport in Bermuda. The 42nd Annual Sports Awards
exemplified the Government’s commitment to this goal. Several awards were presented across various catego-ries.
Madam President, I wish to provide background information on the selection process for the awards. In December of each year, the Department of
Sport and Recreation launches a campaign regarding
the nomination process for the sports awards.


Bermuda Senate Nominations are open to members of the public and the
National Sports Governing Bodies (NSGBs). Once the
deadline passes, the applications are forwarded to a
selection committee for review.
The selection committee, Madam President, is
tasked with receiving nominations across all award categories and determining their approval or denial of
recognition based on the established criteria. This committee is annually appointed by the Minister responsible
for Sport (that is myself) and is responsible for voting
on candidates deserving recognition by the Premier of
the Government of Bermuda within the realm of Sport.
The selection of awardees for all categories is conducted through a ballot overseen by the Awards Committee Chair, taking into account a point system.
The selection committee is comprised of representatives from the following sports areas:
• the Director of Sport and Recreation, acts as
the Chairperson;
• two representatives from the Sports Media
(press, radio or television) ;
• two representatives who are directly related to
Olympic Sports ;
• two individuals from non- Olympic Sports; and
• Senior Sport s Development Officer , who acts
as the Ex officio and Secretary .
The top honour, Athlete of the Year, reserved
for athletes who have demonstrated a consistent level
of excellence throughout the calendar year in sports,
was awarded to the following recipients:
• Female Athlete of the Year : Ms. Jessica Lewis
• Male Athlete of the Year : Mr. Conor White
• Junior Female Athlete of the Year :
Ms. Rachael Betschart
• Junior Male Athlete of the Year : Mr. Sebastian
Kempe
These athletes have once again demonstrated
that sport matters, showcasing an exceptional year of
achievements in their respective sports. What a remarkable accomplishment!
Madam President, as the Minister of Sport I
have the distinct pleasure of selecting and presenting
the awards to athletes of our National Sports , which are
Football and Cricket.
The awardees were:
• Female ( Cricket) , Ms. Chantel Oosthuizen
• Male (Cricket), Mr. Kamau Leverock
• Female (Football), Ms. Jya Ratteray -Smith
• Male (Football), the late Mr. Marco Warren
Awards were also presented in the following
categories:
Senior Achievement Award . This award is for
participation and achievement at a high standard of
performance in international and national competitions.
The female awardees were: Ms. Jessica
Lewis, Ms. Leilanni Nesbeth, Ms. Yushae DeSilva- Andrade and Ms. Emma Harvey. The male awardees were: Mr. Kamau Leverock , Conor White, Tyler Smith
and Mr. Dage Minors .
The Junior Achievement Awards, female, went
to Ms. Rachael Betschart, Fenella Wightman, Ms. Jaeda Grant and Ms. Elanna Fulton. The Junior Achievement Awards for males went to Mr. Sebastian
Kempe, Mr. Oliver Betschart , Cody Rego and Mr. Elijah
Daley .
The Special Achievement Award. This award
is presented to individuals other than athletes who have
made a significant and sustained contribution to sport.
The awardees were : Ms. Leatice Oatley and Ms.
McKeisha Smith, who actually is an athlete in her own
right, Madam President .
Sport Citation. This award is presented to
those who have distinguished themselves in sport both
past and present. The awardees were Mr. Keith Smith ,
for the sport of golf ; Mr. Dexter Basden, for the sport of
Cricket, and of course, Madam President, and a Cleveland County legend in his own right, Mr. Allen Douglas ,
Sr., for cricket.
Special Recognition. This award recogni ses
those athletes who have achieved special status or distinction in sport. The awardees were Mr. Reggie
Lambe, who is now the most capped footballer in Bermuda’s history, as well as the sailing team the SSL
Gold Cup team and the Bermuda Girls 4x100m Relay
Team who won bronze at least year’s C ARIFTA
Games.
This year, for the first time, Madam President,
we have introduced a new category and that is the
Team of the Year. This awar d is presented to a team
from a recogni sed national sport governing body that
has distinguished itself within the calendar year in an
international competition. The awardees were the
Women’s National Football Team and the Bermuda
Men’s National Cricket Team
Madam President, the Ministry was thrilled to
showcase this year's event once again, where we celebrated the best and brightest in our sports community.
The camaraderie and the national pride displayed during the awards were enjoyed by all and we eagerly anticipate another year —an Olympic year, Madam President—of excellence in sport. I extend my gratitude to
the Sports Awards Committee and the staff at the Department of Sport and Recreation for hosting yet another stellar event.
Thank you, Madam President

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS

The President: There are none.

FIRST READING OF PUBLIC BILLS

156 13 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES (ANNUAL
CORPORATE REGULATORY FEES) ACT 2024

REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES (ANNUAL
CORPORATE REGULATORY FEES) (NO. 2)
ACT 2024

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AMENDMENT
ACT 202 4

The President: The following public Bills have been received from the Honourable House of Assembly and
are now read for the first time. Their titles are, respec-tively, the Registrar of Companies (Annual Corporate
Regulatory Fees) Act 2024 (Governor’s recommendation signified) , [and] the Registrar of Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) (No. 2) Act 2024
(Governor’s recommendation signified) , and the third
one is the Economic Development Amendment Act 2024 .

FIRST READING OF PRIVATE BILLS

The President: There are none.

QUESTION PERIOD

The President: Senators, I would like to inform you that
we will be carrying [over] the questions that were asked
by Senator Tucker, the Opposition Leader in the Sen-ate. These questions will be carried over until next week. Item No. 13 then, the Orders of the Day. Oh, I
beg your pardon. I need to do the questions.
Senators, we will now entertain questions from
the Statement that was read this morning by Minster Darrell.
Does any Senator wish to ask questions on this
Statement?
Hearing none . . . Minister , you were most
comprehensive in your Statement, so there are no questions of you.
So we will move then to the Orders of the Day.
The first one is the second reading of the Registrar of Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) Act 2024 and that is in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson, the Junior Minister for Finance.
Senator Hodgson, you have the floor. When
you are ready, you can present, please.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.

STANDING ORDER 25
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, I move
that the provisions of Standing Order 25 be granted s o
that Senate may now proceed with the second readings of the public Bills entitled the Registrar of Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) Act 2024 and the Registrar of Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) (No. 2) Act 2024.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

[Motion carried: Leave granted for the Registrar of
Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) Act 2024 and the Registrar of Companies (Annual Corpo-rate Regulatory Fees) (No. 2) Act 2024 to be read a second time on the same day as their first reading.]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Senator Hodgson, when you are
ready.

[Pause]

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Registrar of Companies (Annual Corporate Regu-latory Fees) Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.

BILL

SECOND READING

REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES (ANNUAL
CORPORATE REGULATORY FEES) ACT 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the Bill before the Senate is the
Registrar of Companies (Annual
Corporate Regulatory Fees) Act 2024 . This Bil l i ntroduces new regulatory fees to be levied on all entities on
Bermuda ’s corporate register in respect of which the
Registrar of Companies has regulatory , supervisory
and compliance oversight.
Madam President, the driving force behind the
introduction of these new regulatory fees is the expansion of the role performed by the Registrar of Compa-nies in recent years which has resulted in the need to hire significant numbers of additional skilled personnel .
The role of the ROC [Registrar of Companies ]
historically was primarily administrative in nature. How-ever, with the changing landscape of the international business arena and the impact of external pressures from a variety of sources, the ROC now has responsibility for the implementation of the economic substance regime, the enhancement of the ROC’s Anti-Money
Laundering and Anti -Terroris m Financing Compliance


Bermuda Senate framework in the real estate and dealers in high value
goods sectors, the maintenance of Bermuda’s beneficial ownership register, with beneficial ownership featuring prominently in both Bermuda’s AML/ATF and
economic substance regimes and the maintenance and
operation of the Treaty Unit, all with increased scrutiny
from global regulatory bodies such as the European
Union, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), the Financial Action Task Force
(FATF), the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force
(CFTAF) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
There is also a need for substantial investments to be
made in technology on an ongoing basis to facilitate
maximum efficiencies and to remain competitive and at
the forefront of developments. Madam President, now that the ROC has regulatory and compliance obligations of every entity on
Bermuda’s corporate register, in respect of economic
substance and corporate governance, as well as supervisory oversight of the real estate and high value goods
sectors, it is important to ensure that the resources are available to enable them to deliver on the disparate demands of all stakeholders and to maintain a regulatory
regime that will stand up to the rigour of international
scrutiny. In order to achieve this, it is necessary for additional revenue to be generated and in 2021 KPMG
was engaged to undertake an independent analysis
which included an assessment of the ROC’s projected
revenues and operating expenditures as well as a jurisdictional comparison which culminated in a determination of the recommended fees.
Madam President, it is proposed that the regulatory fee applicable to exempted companies, exempted limited liability companies, overseas com panies, exempted partnerships, exempted limited partnerships and overseas partnerships be set at BMD $500
payable annually. It is further proposed that the regula-tory fee applicable to local companies, local limited liability companies and limited partnerships which are not
also registered as exempt ed partnerships be set at
BMD $150 payable annually. The introduction of these
regulatory fees is expected to add approximately $6
million to the public purse each year.
Madam President, the introduction of regulatory fees and the rationale for it was discussed with ex-ternal stakeholders, as well various groups representing the international business sector in 2021. This included the Bermuda legal focus group, the Bermuda
Bar Association and corporate service providers. An information paper providing details of the proposed
changes were circulated to all stakeholders in October
2023. While increased fees are seldom welcomed by
industry and this was reflected in the discuss ions, there
is a general understanding of the driving forces behind these additional fees.
Madam President, the Bill under consideration
today is pursuant to the Budget Statement in support
for the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for
2023/24. The Bill c onfer s power on the ROC to provide for annual corporate regulatory fees. Later this session
I will bring forward a subsequent related Bill to the Senate, the Registrar of Companies (Annual Corporate
Regulatory Fees) (No. 2) Act 2024 which will amend
the Companies Act 1981, the Limited Liability Company Act 2016, the Limited Partnership Act 1883, the Exempted Partnerships Act 1992, the Overseas Partnerships Act 1995 and the Government Fees Regulations
1976 in order to detail the manner in which the regula-tory fees are payable.
Madam President, section 2(1) of the Provisional Collection of Revenue Act 1975 provides the
Governor with the power to make a declaration that it is
expedient in the public interest that this Bill should have
statutory effect from its first reading in the House of Assembly. And so the effective date of this Bill will be 9
February 2024.
Madam President, the Bill that we are debating
today will assist in the development of an infrastructure
that will enable the ROC to perform and deliver on its
obligations in a timely and efficient manner thereby continuing to enhance Bermuda ’s position as a leader
in the international business world .
Madam President, with those brief remarks, I
now present the Bill entitled the Registrar of Compa-nies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees ) Act 2024 and
welcome comments from other [Senators] .
Thank you, Madam President .

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

Thank you, Madam President , and thank you, Senator, for that presentation of
the Bill.
Broadly, we do support the Bill. We recognise
the changing and expanding role of the Registrar of Companies in our modern world. We also recognise
that it is important that they are appropriately staffed
and resourced to carry out this role effectively and efficiently for business. And I believe the Senator outlined
in quite some detail all the driving reasons behind it. So
we are glad to hear that.
I do have two questions . . . well, I do have a
comment in that it is a new fee for companies and for
local companies . While it is only $150, that is , indeed,
a new fee that they have to add on to their costs. So I
want to highlight that.
Perhaps the Senator could comment on why it
is retroactive to the 9
th of February, which is not (I think)
particularly normal to have retroactive fees. I think there is a good reason, but I think it would be useful if the
Senator could explain it to the Senate please, Madam
President .
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
158 13 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Senator John Wight, you have the floor.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President .
I am fully supportive of the new fees. As the
Junior Minister explained, the role of the Registrar of Companies has broadened considerably and especially over the past few years. This i s an extremely important role for Bermuda that we must get right. So I
think, you know, we must be able to fund the operation
appropriately. So I am fully in favour of the increase in
fees.
Thank you, Madam President .

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

Thank you, Madam
President .
I just would like to commend the Government
on the intentionality and the continued development of
the infrastructure that would be consistent with the
growth in the business industry. Certainly the fees
would be consistent with the need to be able to cover the cost of the continued expansion of the Registrar of
Companies and the additional staff. So I would like to
commend the Government and support . . .

[No audio]

The President: Senator Hodgson.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes, Madam President, I just
did want to provide a response to Senator De Couto’s
question about the timing. Given that it was something that was mentioned in last year’s B udget Debate, it was
purely a matter of timing. In an effort to have this sorted
before we enter the new fiscal year, this was simply the date that we received the Governor’s assent. [There is]
nothing special about the date in particular.
So if there are no further questions —

The President: There does not appear to be any.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Registrar of
Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) Act
2024 be now read a second time.

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

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President. I move that the Bill entitled the Registrar of
Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) Act 2024 be now read a third time.
The President: Is there any objection to the third reading?
No objection.

BILL

THIRD READING

REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES (ANNUAL
CORPORATE REGULATORY FEES) ACT 2024
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Presi -
dent.
I move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: Is there any objection to the passing
of the Bill?
Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson. The
Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Registrar of Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) Act 2024 was read a third
time and passed.]

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITOR
The President: I would just like to announce that we
do have a representative in the person of Mr. Joel
Boiss on. He is the comptroller from the Registrar of
Companies, and he is here to assist with any questions.
Welcome to you, sir. He is in the foyer.
[Orders of the Day, continuing]
The President: We will now move on to the second
item on our Orders of the Day and that is the Registrar
of Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees)
(No. 2) Act [2024] and that is also in the name of Senator Arianna Hodgson, the Junior Minister of Finance.
Senator Hodgson, when you are ready you can
present your second.
Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Registrar of Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) (No. 2) Act 2024 be now read a second
time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.



Bermuda Senate Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.

BILL

SECOND READING

REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES
(ANNUAL CORPORATE REGULATORY FEES)
(NO. 2) ACT 2024

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Madam President, the Bill before the Senate is the Registrar of Companies (Annual
Corporate Regulatory Fees) (No. 2) Act 2024 . This Bill
follows the recent Registrar of Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) Act 2024 which will be referred to as the “first Bill.”
Madam President, the first Bill confers powers
on the Registrar of Companies to introduce new regulatory fees to be levied on all entities on Bermuda’s cor-porate register in respect of which it has regulatory, su-pervisory and compliance oversight.
The current Bill before the Senate (which I will
refer to as the “second Bill”) amends the Companies Act 1981, the Limited Liability Company Act 2016, the Limited Partnership Act 1883, the Exempted Partner-ships Act 1992, the Overseas Partnerships Act 1995
and the Government Fees Regulations 1976 in order to
detail the manner in which the regulatory fees are payable in accordance with section 3(2) of the first Bill.
Madam President, as a reminder to Honourable [Senators], the driving force behind the introduction of these new regulatory fees is the expansion of the role performed by the Registrar of Companies in recent
years which has resulted in the need to hire significant
numbers of additional skilled personnel and make substantial investment in technology to maximise efficien-cies and remain at the forefront of developments in the global regulatory environment.
Madam President, it is proposed that the regulatory fee of BMD$500 applicable to exempted compa-nies, exempted limited liability companies, overseas
companies, exempted partnerships, exempted limited partnerships and overseas partnerships be payable an-nually on or before the 31
st of January each year, except for this year during which they will be due on or before the 31
st of March.
It is further proposed that the regulatory fee of
$150 applicable to local companies, local limited liabi lity companies and limited partnerships which are not
also registered as exempted partnerships be payable
annually on or before the 31st of March. The introduction of these regulatory fees is expected to add approximately $6 million to the public purse each year.
Madam President, as I outlined in the second
reading of the first Bill, the regulatory fee levels were
determined following an independent analysis by
KPMG and consultation was conducted with external stakeholders. Madam President, in line with the first Bill, this
second Bill will also come into operation on the 9
th of
February 2024. On the 8th of February 2024, the Governor made a declaration pursuant to section 2(1) of the Provisional Collection of Revenue Act 1975 that it is ex-pedient in the public interest that the first Bill should
have statutory effect from the date of its first reading in
the House of Assembly.
Madam President, the Bill that we are debating
today will assist in the ROC in developing the effective infrastructure necessary to deliver on its international obligations in effective manners therefore reinforcing
Bermuda ’s position as a blue- chip jurisdiction.
Madam President, with those brief remarks, I
now present the Bill entitled the Registrar of Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees ) (No. 2) Act
2024 and welcome comments from other Honourable [Senators].
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Arianna Hodgson,
Junior Minister for Finance.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator De Couto, Douglas De Couto, you
have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President , and thank you to the Senator for that presentation.
As we said on the earlier Bill, these two Bills go
together (is my understanding) and this Bill amends various other bits of legislation so that the fees all work together and have all the right bits in all the right places of the legislation. Therefore, of course, we support this Bill as well.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator . . . Senator John
Wight.
Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President . I am
fully supportive of this Bill for the reasons that my col-league just described.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you.
Hearing that, then it is over to you Senator Arianna Hodgson to pass your Bill.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
In light of the support from my colleagues, I
move that the Bill entitled the Registrar of Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) (No. 2) Act 2024 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
160 13 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I move that the Bill entitled the Registrar of
Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) (No.
2) Act 2024 be now read a third time.

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

BILL

THIRD READING

REGISTRAR OF COMPANIES
(ANNUAL CORPORATE REGULATORY FEES)
(NO. 2) ACT 2024

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam Presi -
dent.
I move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill do now
pass. Is there any objection to the passing of the Bill?
There is no objection. The Bill is passed.

[Motion carried: The Registrar of Companies (Annual Corporate Regulatory Fees) (No. 2) Act 2024 was read
a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Senator Hodgson, and
thank you all Senators for your support.
Moving on then with our third item on the
agenda, and that is the second reading of the Economic
Development Amendment Act 2024. Minister Darrell,
you are going to—
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I do
ask that [Item] No. 3 on the Orders of the Day be carried
over to Monday’s Senate session, please.

The President: Thank you. The Bill will be carried over.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you.

The President: Thank you very much.
Item No. 4 then is the consideration of the
Tourism Investment (Azura Bermuda) Order 2024, and
that is in the name of the Minister , the Honourable
Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
Minister Darrell, when you are ready, you can
present your [Order].

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, I move that Standing Order
71(2) be suspended so that the Senate may now proceed with the consideration of the Tourism Investment
(Azura Bermuda) Order 2024.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Minister Darrell.

[Motion carried: Standing Order 71(2) suspended.]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
move that the Senate do now take under consideration
the Tourism Investment ( Azura Bermuda) Order 2024
as made by the Minister responsible for Tourism under section 3 of the Tourism Investment Act 2017 together
with the written agreement of the Minister of Finance in
exercise of power conferred by section 5 of the Tourism
Investment Act 2017.

The President: Are there any objections to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on, Minister Darrell.


DRAFT ORDER

TOURISM INVESTMENT (AZURA BERMUDA)
ORDER 2024

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
Madam President, the purpose of bringing this
Tourism Investment (Azura Bermuda) Order 2024 be-fore the Senate is to enable the grant of tax relief to the
developers investing in the tourism product Azura Bermuda, Clearwater Development Limited, which is in the national ec onomic interest of Bermuda.
Madam President, I am pleased to invite the
Senate to take this under consideration. Clearwater Development Limited, which I will refer to as “CDL,” is
a Bermuda registered company and is presided over by
John Bush III who was the executive vice president of
residential development at Tucker’s Point. John Bush
has extensive knowledge of hotel and residential development in Bermuda including the associated marketing
of these products.
Madam President, in anticipation of purchasing
the hotel property, the former Surf Side Beach Club,
CDL applied for a Hotels Concession Order in February
of 2016. The then Minister of Tourism, with written consent of the Minister of Finance, made the Order —Hotels Concession [Former Surf Side Beach Club Order 2016 ] in July 2016. Madam President, this Order expired on 31 March 2023.
Madam President, the Tourism Investment Act
2017 was amended in 2019 so that it applies to specific
hotel developments presently using a Hotels


Bermuda Senate Concession Order made under the Hotels Concession
Act 2000, and relevant hotel developers are able to apply for a Tourism Investment Order.
Madam President, the former Surf Side Beach
Club (now Azura Bermuda) is one of those aforemen-tioned specific hotel developments. CDL submitted an
application for a Tourism Investment Order for a new
hotel to the Minister of Tourism in October 2023.
Madam President, Azura Bermuda consists of
nine hotel residences, which are 60 units, and is actively operating as an upper mid- to high- quality condominium hotel. The units have been sold by way of a
999-year lease to each end- buyer. Each buyer has
signed a management agreement in the form approved
by the Chief Immigration Officer. This management
agreement provides the details by which an end- buyer
permits a key of the unit to the hotel inventory for a minimum of six months out of the year.
Madam President, in mid -2023, CDL began
work on a new amenity: an interior oceanfront restau-rant. Plans for additional amenities include a new ocean view fitness and wellness facility, an expansion
of the lobby, the conversion of the gym into executive
management offices, a new resort entry and an ocean
pool and beach bar. Madam President, CDL estimates
that the construction of these amenities will be completed by mid- 2024.
Madam President, CDL’s total investment for
the project costs (including acquisition, renovation, professional fees, transaction costs, reserves and working
capital) is approximately $47,005,000.
Madam President, Senators will note that Azura Bermuda has been awarded the full terms of relief
allowed by the legislation.
• Full relief from customs duty for eight years
from the operative date of the Order.
• Full relief from hotel occupancy tax for 15 years from the hotel’s opening date.
• Full relief from the employer’s share of payroll
tax for 15 years from the hotel’s opening date.
• Full exemption from land tax for 10 years
starting from the sixth anniversary of the ho-tel’s opening date.
• Deferral of the landholding charges.
Madam President, Senators will note that exemption from land tax is subject to the hotel confirming in years six through 15 that 70 per cent of the hotel staff
must be Bermudian.
Further, Madam President, exemption from the
employer’s share of payroll tax is subject to a manage-ment training programme for Bermudians verified by
the Department of Workforce Development is in operation at the hotel.
Madam President, upon the completion of the
new resort amenities, the fully open and operating resort will generate significant new hotel and resort employment. Income earning opportunities for service pro-viders including taxis, restaurants, retailers, golf courses and, Madam President, potential summer employment for students.
Madam President, I am pleased to commend
this Order for support of the Senate.
Thank you, Madam President .

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

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President. Good morning to you and to the listening public
and to my colleagues.
The Opposition supports this current [Order].
We also support any investments into tourism and hotel occupancy. We retain reservation with the new norm of the 15- year concessions and, for me, I would hope . . .
or at least ask or inquire as to whether or not the Government has calculated what that additional foregone
tax number is compared to 10 years that we used to do. What is the additional foregone amount? Will that have
long-term effects, as we have seen that done now for
quite a few tourism investment orders?
Also with the 70 per cent Bermudian ratio, we
support this as well. My personal flag would be that, you
know, achieving that is an opportunity for Government
to really reach out to some of our Bermudians who are
overseas to repatriate them. And this is a great way to
do that because we see the 70 per cent being put on
with the Tourism Order that we support, but the concern
is that we have seen a drop in the birth rate [with] Bermudians not producing children or a workforce that is
sustainable. And we have also seen a hole in our already existing workforce. To stipulate 70 per cent is a
good thing; but I think things need to be done to make sure that this is able to be met by the hotel.
I look forward to hearing . . . if the Minister
would not mind, kind of extrapolating on how they may
support the hotels in this regard and also whether or
not that additional foregone tax of five additional years
from the ten that we are used to . . . what impact that is
and whether or not they are tr acking that. But in totality
we support this [Order] and job creation, hotel occupancy and tourism investment.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Dwayne Robinson.
Would any other Senator . . . Senator John
Wight, you have the floor.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President . I am
fully supportive of this relief. I think it is important that,
having given this relief to other hotel facilities that it is
only fair and equitable to provide it to this one. This allows this facility and all others to compete on price and
service. So . . . fully supportive.
Thank you, Madam President .
162 13 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
[Order]?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President . If I just may follow on [with] the comments.
Would the Minister happen to know what the
current percentage number of Bermudian workers is at
this facility, at this property? And I also look forward to the answer to questions from my colleague about plans to help increase that.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Order?
Hearing none, then Minister Darrell, when you
are ready, you can respond.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
And I would just like to speak on the two points
that were made by the Opposition. And I think the ques-tion mixed in with the comment from Senator Robinson was, What are the effects of the 10 to 15 years? And I
know he is looking for a dollar amount, and we can take
some time and we can find those dollar amounts be-cause every time . . . and I would like to give credit to
the Office of the Regulatory Unit which deals with ho-tels, led by Ms. Rhonda Woods -Smith and her team.
They go through these applications with a fine -tooth
comb. And I can tell you every single cent and every single dollar, as well as the Ministry of Finance. So we can get those numbers for you.
But the effect of moving this from 10 to 15
years is to give investors in hotel properties confidence that they are going to invest in a jurisdiction, country
(Bermuda) that is behind them and supports them in
what they are doing to bring investment to thi s country.
Just this morning, yes, I do work before I come
to Senate, Madam President —and I drove there in my
GP car. I would say just this morning, I did meet with a hotel investor, and I can tell you that moving from 10 to 15 years is the very least that we as a Government can
[do to] show that we are behind tourism in Bermuda and
we are looking to take it to the next level.
While I will commit to getting those specific
numbers for the Opposition, I know the Senator who spoke on this was not in the Chamber when we did have this debate a few years ago about this where it
was very clear as to why it was needed and we also
drew c omparisons to other jurisdictions which are in
some cases giving tax relief and other concessions
double to what we are doing. Rather than us sit back
and allow those as the term is called, other jurisdictions, to eat our lunch when it comes to the tourism product,
I think that this is the very least that this Government
can do to show hotel investors that we are serious about investing in tourism and growing tourism in Bermuda .
On to the second point and the second question . . . and I do appreciate that the Opposition did signal their support on this. But to answer the specific question . . . and I pride myself, Madam President, and
you would know as a Minister that gets out into the
community often and I have in four months gotten to every single hotel property on this Island as well as
guest house to speak with the managers, to speak with
the local workers that are on property. And, Madam President, I do apologise but this young lady . . . her
name is going to slip me right now and I am not happy
about it. But in my visit at St. Regis hotel it was the
manager of human resources down there—
[Inaudible interjection]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Meisha Easton, thank
you.
—who as we were doing our tour was setting
up for a job fair. And I asked Ms. Easton, I said, Well,
how many are you expecting today? And she said, Hmmm, anywhere between 20 . . . about 20 people we
are expecting . They had it all set up very nicely. I continued my tour, Madam President, of the St. Regis hotel
and as we came back there was a lot of activity in the
conference room. I said, Wait a second. I want to check
this out . There were in excess of 40, almost 50 individuals in the ballroom and they were eager to work in the hotel industry.
So Bermudians are, Madam President, showing up. They are interested in becoming part of the re-surgence of tourism in this country. And I would like to
just call out a few specifically. I know the Opposition is
not going to let me debate on the tourism . . . in the
Budget Debate. So I will j ust use some time now to
speak to that question and how Ragul Dill who is at the
St. Regis hotel as a bartender, a former student of
mine, has shown up to the hospitality industry.

I believe we are discussing the Azura property. And we have a specific question
with respect to the Azura property —

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, we
are talking about the question about how many locals
are actually in the tourism industry. And I am taking the
opportunity to —in detail —answer the question of Senator De Couto’s Senate colleague. Respectfully, Madam President .
The President: Minister Darrell, carry on.



Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
And to speak more to the 70 per cent of locals
that are in the tourism industry. We have Ms. Alexis
Roberts who for many years has been working up at the Cambridge Beaches. These are real examples of
the 70 per cent of locals who are actually in the touris m
industry.
And there are others . . . oh, I forget her name,
but she is also working up at the Azura property. Another former student of mine, Gayvonne Smith, Ms.
Roydell Neverson who everyone knows who is at the
Hamilton Princess. So this 70 per cent as a benchmark
that may look like a very high benchmark to most, is being met by not only the Azura property (and I am getting that exact number as well) but by tourism properties all over this country.
Madam President, I am happy that the Opposition has signalled their support for this Order and . . .
let me just check to see if I have those numbers . . .
2024, the Azura has . . . by 2024, the Azura has signalled that they will have 60 full -time staff. And I think
we sp oke about projections (going back to question
number one) as to how much money (tax) has been given over the time . . . we only project projections up
to about five years out. Anything beyond five years becomes unreliable. So we will get t hose projections up
to five years for the Opposition. And Azura, rest assured, Madam President, is expected to exceed the
70 per cent requirement by far.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
You will now move your Order.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you.
Madam President, I now move that the said Order be approved and that the following message be sent to Her Excellency the Governor .

The President: Is there any objection to the Order being sent?
No. Carry on, Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: [May it please Your Excellency: ]
The Senate, having had under consideration
the draft Order entitled Tourism Investment ( Azura Bermuda) Order 20 24 as made by the Minister responsible
for Tourism under section 3 of the Tourism Investment
Act 2017 together with the written agreement of the
Minister of Finance in exercise of the power conferred
by section 5 of the Tourism Investment Act 2017, has
the honour to inform Your Excellency that the Senate
has approved the said draft Order.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell. The message will be sent to the Governor . Thank you, Senators, for your support of this
[Order].
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you.

[Motion carried: The Tourism Investment ( Azura Bermuda) Order 20 24 was approved.]

MOTIONS
The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR OBITUARY
SPEECHES

The President: Would any Senator care to . . . yes, we
have Senator Lindsay Simmons. You have the floor.
Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, first I would like to congratulate Ms. Tammy Richardson- Augustus , JP, for being
awarded the Woman of the Year for International
Women’s Day on Friday. I mean, I don’t know many people who are more deserving than her, personally.
Tammy is definitely an amazing person. She is actually
a partner at Appleby and the Deputy Chair of the Bermuda Monetary Authority. She is a mother. And she ac-cepted this award this year to highlight the work that still
needs to be done to address domestic [abuse] awareness. So congratulations to Tammy.
Madam President, I also want to say on Friday
I had the honour of being at CedarBridge Academy and
Ms. Shoa Wolfe actually had an International Women’s
Day assembly led by her and first we had Ms. Olivia
Hamilton sing I am Superwoman, which was very fitting. She did an amazing job. [Shoa Wolfe’s] daughter,
Shia Bean, actually did a dance and that was just phenomenal.
But, Madam President, to highlight Friday there
were some honourees that were honoured. Ms . Kalmar
Richards, was unable to come as she had another engagement, but there were some women there who actually spoke to the students and teachers at the assembly. And they were the Governor Rena Lalgie, the First
Lady Kristin Burt, the US Consulate Karen Grissette. We ha d Ms. Joanne Anderson who is a teacher at CedarBridge Academy. We had Ms. Winifred Simmons [who] is a counsellor at CedarBridge Academy. She also counselled me at the Berkeley Institute. We also
had myself as the Chairman of the Board at CedarBridge Academy and a special guest Arianna Hodgson, Senator. She actually came up and gave a few words
as well.
But, Madam President, what was the biggest
highlight for me was the superwoman that came up and
spoke. And when I saw her name, I did not know her,
but at CedarBridge Academy she is known as a super
164 13 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate mom, a superwoman. Her name is Catherine Fubler.
Catherine Fubler got up on stage and she said she
didn’t know what to say, she didn’t know why she was
being an honouree. But she is a single mother who
raised 10 children who walked the halls of CedarBridge
Academy. Her last child is set to graduate this year and
her story touched us. I think everybody was in awe with
her story of even one of her sons passed in a motorcycle accident. But she just was so grateful for CedarBridge and what they have done for her children.
But we are grateful for her raising her 10 children. So I just want to highlight her because she is phenomenal. She is a superwoman and she is a woman
that we should honour for . . . raising our numbers for
society. Ten children is a lot of children nowadays. And she has done a phenomenal job with 10 of them. So
thank you to Ms. Fubler.
I also want to take the opportunity to congratulate Gold House at the Berkeley Institute for winning
Sports Day this year. And . . . like I said, I am a—

[Inaudible interjection]

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

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: I think my Minister, my Senate Leader, needs to take that point of order back.
So, congratulations to the Berkeley Institute’s
Gold House and Green House for trying again but were
defeated.
As the Chairman, the newly appointment
Chairman at CedarBridge Academy, I want to congrat-ulate all the athletes today that are down at National [Sports Centre]. Go Blue House and Red House. May
the best team win today. I am sure myself, Minister Dar-rell, I kn ow the Minister of Education is stopping by today. So good luck to the students today and let the best
house win.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Tucker, OBA Leader [sic], you have
the floor.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Good morning, Madam President—

The President: Leader in the Senate.

[Laughter]

Sen. Robin Tucker: Senate Leader.
The President: Sorry, let me correct myself.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you.
The President: OBA Leader in the Senate.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Good morning, again to all of the
listening audience and, of course, the Senate col-leagues.
I would like to start my comments with condolences. I would like to express condolences to the family of Althea Simmons. She was 93 years old when she
passed away. I . . . put it this way, she has known me
my entire life. She was very, very good friends w ith my
aunt and she has been around my family for as long as I can remember. I actually called her “ Aunt Althea .” I
just want to express condolences to her [family]. She
was a lovely, lovely woman and of course she will absolutely be missed by her family and friends.
I also would like to express condolences to the
family of the Denise DeShields who I have known most of my life. I have known her as “Pinky .” I saw her not
too long ago, maybe a few weeks ago actually, and one
of the things that has always been sort of a hallmark of
whenever I would see her, she would always say Hello,
lovely! And she was just a beautiful, beautiful person.
So I would like to express, again, condolences to her
entire family, particularly to her mom Norma, her stepdad Peter, her sister Shar on and Wayne and the rest of
the family.
On a lighter note, I have a few congratulations
since we haven’t had an opportunity to get together for
a little while.

The President: Mm-hmm.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Congratulations to Chris Spencer
on becoming the director of the Transport Control Department. Anyone sort of in . . . certainly in my age
group and above will likely have been stopped by Chris
Spencer when he was in the Cycle Squad. Again, I would like t o express congratulations to him.
I would like to express congratulations to the
Honourable Speaker of the other House on his 35 years
of celebration as the Speaker in the House of Assembly
and I believe he celebrated that anniversary last month.
Again, congratulations.
Congratulations to Dr. Terry -Lynne Emery who
was recently celebrated for her outstanding achieve-ments as our first female Bermudian obstetrician and
she has absolutely paved the way for many over her
28-year career. An extra special congratulations to her
from me. She has delivered two of my grandchildren so
that is worth celebrating in itself.
I would like to say congratulations to the principal and the teachers at Northlands [Primary School]. I
recently saw something in the newspaper whereby the
students had increased their reading comprehension
scores from 54 per cent to 85 per cent. And I do think
that is worth noting. Again, congratulations to the teachers that have put in all the hard work and the children who also put in the work . . . and the parents not
to forget them.


Bermuda Senate Congratulations to Genesis Lynea. Genesis, I
have also known from a child, as I was good friends
with her mom. Her mom and I had gone to high school
together and Genesis is a Bermudian born actor and
she lives in the UK and she has starred in a couple of
UK sort of Netflix shows. And most recently she is going
to be starring in the latest season of a worldwide hit TV
show called Dr. Who , which is a UK sci -fi series.
Two more and then I am done.
I would like to say congratulations to Dr. Neletha Butterfield, who is the founder and director of the
C.A.R.E. Learning Centre and she was awarded certification as an Adult Education Retention Specialist last
month. Everybody knows who Dr. Neletha Butterfield
is. She has many, many accolades including being an
author and she was a former PLP MP and Minister of
Public Information Services and Minister of the Environment. So congratulations to her.
I would like to associate with my Senate colleague, Senator Simmons, on her congratulations to Tammy Richardson- Augustus. Tammy is a tireless advocate against domestic abuse and is very deserving
of the International Women’s Day Woman of the Year
award. S o again, congratulations to her.
Thank you, Madam President .

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

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
Madam President, I want to start by sending
condolences to the family of Mr. Charles Daniels. Madam President, Mr. Charles Daniels, as many Bermudians would know, was one of Bermuda’s top archi-tects of his time. Mr. Charles Daniels was very much involved in community service and as many would
know and would have seen that Mr. Daniels was also a
dedicated father to his children. [He was the] father of
Christopher (who many individuals would have always
seen with Mr. Daniels), Margaret and Catherine. I want
to send condolences to his family.
Mr. Daniels and I had a personal connection as
when I returned from university, as most individuals do and they decide that it is time to build a house. Madam
President, the first thing you have to do is (after you get
your finances in order) is figure out who is going to design that house. And I was fortunate enough . . . I will
say that, Madam President, I was fortunate enough to
have Mr. Charles Daniels in my corner as my family’s architect. He offered advice and I was always appreciative every time I saw Charles to let him know and to let
everyone know that he was my architect and he was
the brains behind the beautiful product that you see in
Smith’s Parish.
I was shocked and saddened . . . and I am still
having a hard time understanding and, Madam President, shocked to hear of his passing and I want to
send condolences to his family.
Also, Madam President, the public would be
aware and would have heard, but I want to officially (in this place) send condolences to the family of a Ber-muda icon, a heritage icon, Mr. Leon “Sparky” Place,
who passed away a few weeks ago, Madam President .
His influence on Bermuda ’s cultural heritage cannot be
measured. Madam President, he was one of the oldest
surviving members of the Place’s Gombey Troupe. If you speak to many of the Gombey fraternity, there are splinters of his influence up and down every single
Gombey troupe on this Island.
I will have much more to say about the life of
Mr. Leon “Sparky” Place as his family have asked that
the Department of Culture give a tribute at his funeral
which will be this weekend. So I wanted to send condo-lences from the Senate to the family of Gombey and
cultural icon Mr. Leon “Sparky” Place. Specifically, his
brother Andre, his other siblings and his children.
On a brighter note, Madam President, I want to
congratulate first the National Gallery for the completion of their public art mural programme. This is one
specific programme that they have and this was putting
large murals, three large murals, in the North- East
Hamilton area. You will recall last year I congratulated
them for the idea and the theme and at that time they had not selected the artists. But a year later, the murals
have been completed and I can tell you, Madam President, that as I saw the artists, the creatives —and I will
call th eir names in a minute —actually doing their work
. . . a few times I had the opportunity to stop by and just
congratulate them personally and encourage them and
tell them how I thought it was really, really intriguing to
watch how they started with the sket ch and then they
started with the outline and then the put the colours.
So I want to call the three artists. The first one
is Ms. Selaah Stephenson who painted the mural of
Earl Cameron and that one is on the wall of the Belvin’s
Variety store on Happy Valley Road. A beautiful portrait
of Mr. Cameron.
Also the second artist that I want to highlight is
Ms. DaeNyce ’ Keile Rabain and she painted the mural
just on the bus stop at the Pembroke playground on
Parsons Road and that is another striking mural of our children playing and it is called Outside. And Ms. Rabain, she would tell you, I would like to point out is the
niece actually of Minister Diallo Rabain. Also a former
student of mine. I would stop by many times and just encourage her and say , Wow, this looks amazing .
And the third artist was . . . the name is . . . give
me one second. The third artist is Ms. . . . one second
. . . Alshante Foggo , thank you. Alshante Foggo has a
mural just next to the Pembroke Laundromat and congratulations to her as her mural is entitled “ One Love ”
and that is another very vibrant piece there on Parsons Road.
I want to say thank you to the National Gallery
for coming up with this idea and I want to congratulate
166 13 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate the artists for their three beautiful portraits and murals
that they have and encourage anyone to register for the National Gallery’s run/walk 5K which is coming up soon so they can actually walk through North- East Hamilton
and view the striking murals for themselves.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Kiernan Bell, you have the floor.

Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President .
I just wanted to associate myself with the comments of my fellow Senators as Senator Robin Tucker, Senator Lindsay Simmons, particularly as it references
the recognition of our strong and powerful women in
this community who have been recognised this past
week during the celebrations for International Women’s Day. And a particularly personal congratulations to Tammy Richardson- Augustus who was one of my partners at Appleby and who I worked with for many years. I just wanted to extend my sincere congratulations on her achievements which never fail to amaze me.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you very much,
Madam President .
I of course also would like to associate with the
comments regarding Ms. Richardson and all the women of Bermuda. I will leave it short like that. What
can I add?
I would like to thank Casa dos Aç ores on their
ninth anniversary celebration. I was not able to be there
but I understand that a great time was had by all. And I
just wanted to mark that in this Chamber.
I know we had the statement on all of the athletes and I just want to call out on how struck I was by the breadth and depth of the numerous athletes in there. And there are many of which I have connections
to personally or through the constituency, but I will not
name them out because I think everybody on that list deserves praise. I think that we are such a small coun-try and sometimes people get upset that we don’t have a top- class team in this, we don’t have a top- class team
in that. It is easy to see where we don’t have things. But
when you look at our size and how we perform, I think
the passion and commitment and the work that is put in by all these athletes and, importantly, those supporting them (many of whom were called out in the Senator’s statement) is really important to acknowledge. I think the dynamism of our athletes and sportsmen and sportswomen continues to impress me every single day and I want to congratulate them all.
Thank you, Madam President .
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Senator Dill, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President , and good morning once again to our listening audience.
I would like to associate myself with the condolences offered by Senator Darrell to the family of Mr.
Charles Daniels who was indeed an extraordinary individual. And I would also like to offer some congratula-tions this morning on a lighter note.
I would like to associate myself with the comments earlier regarding all of the different celebrations regarding International Women’s week and, in particular, I would like to highlight and congratulate the Berkeley Institute on their second annual Women of the Fu-ture conference which was held last week in celebra-tion of International Women’s week. It is a brainchild of the Reverend Lashonna Smith who is one of the educational therapists there. And they had a wonderful celebration with an international gues t, Ms. Bria Greene
as their keynote speaker. So I would like to commend
the Berkeley Institute for the work that they are doing in cultivating pride and respect amongst the young women in that institution.
I would also like to take the opportunity to congratulate the African Methodist Episcopal Church here in the Island of Bermuda for a successful 138
th session
of their annual conference. It was truly a glorious event and certainly one of the most well -attended since 2020
and we would like to congratulate our host which was
Reverend Nicholas Genevieve Tweed and the Reverend Dr. Jahkimmo Smith, but we also like to ask for the
Senate to send special commendation along with thanks and farewell to Bishop Julius McAllister who
completed his final session as our presiding prelate,
prior to his retirement which will take place in August
2024. Bishop McAllister has led with compassion and
courage as we have come out of COVID -19 and the
challenges that it presented and we would like to thank him for his service to the Bermuda community in particular and the First Episcopal District of the AME church.
I would also like to offer congratulations to Dr.
Conway Simmons and his wife Evangelist Joan Sim-mons and the Koinonia Training Centre which cele-brated its 10
th anniversary. The Koinonia Training Centre is a Bible school that they started in the Island of
Bermuda which has had numerous graduates and they
offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees and we
would like to commend them for the work that they are doing and congratulations to the students and alumni of that institution.
Thank you, Madam President .

The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.


Bermuda Senate Most Senators have spoken so . . . I would just
like to associate myself with the condolences that have
been expressed by Senator Robin Tucker for the family
of Mrs. Althea Pearl Simmons, who was also a close
family member to myself. Her funeral was yesterday. It was well attended, and I would just like to associate
myself with that, with her.
Also I would like to express condolences to the
family of Mr. Archibald [Herbert] Douglas who was also
funeralised yesterday . He was a very good friend I remember in my school years and that is just . . . but he
did have a very good send off. So condolences to the family , then, of Archibald [Herbert ] Doug las.
I would like to associate myself with the congratulations that have been expressed this morning,
especially to Mrs. Tammy Richardson[ -Augustus] and
you have all spoke to highly of her, and she was more
than well -deserved. So I associate myself with Lindsay
Simmons and all Senators here who have spoken in
support of her.
I would also like to congratulate . . . in fact,
most of the Senators here have spoken of various
women who have been recognised. But I would also
like to associate myself with all the comments that have
been said of all whom you have recognised, but to s ay
that there are many women in Bermuda also, as Vice
President Kiernan Bell has mentioned that, you know, there are many women who probably do not go . . . who
are not always recognised. But from this Senate, I think
I would like to congratulate each one of you for your
work here and all women in Bermuda who may not always be recognised, but they deserve to be acknowledged. I join you all in that.
I would also like to associate myself with Senator Robin Tucker on her recognition of Chris Spencer
and TCD for his work that he does.
Finally, I would like to offer congratulations to
the Prayer Breakfast group who had a luncheon on Sunday in recognition of three Premiers. And that is
Premier . . . former Premiers Alex Scott, Dame Jennifer
Smith and Sir John Swan. It was a fitting ceremony.
With that said, we will now move on to the adjournment.
Minister Darrell.

ADJOURNMENT

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President .
Madam President, I ask that the Senate do now
adjourn until Monday, March 18, 2024.

The President: Thank you.
Would any Senator care to speak on the motion to adjourn?
Hearing none, Senators, the Senate stands adjourned until March 18. Have a wonderful weekend.
[At 11:19 am, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Monday, 18 March 2024]

168 13 March 2024 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate


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