November 29, 2023

Thank you, Senator Tucker.
While the Senator is getting answers . . .
Sen. Linday Simmons: Madam President, to answer
the first question, last year and this year we will be mail-ing out the parenting tips to households around Ber-muda.

[Pause]
Sen. Linday Simmons: Madam President, this year
there was an increase. That is to answer question number 2.
And question number 3, as I said in my Statement, we do collect valuable data from each entity that
participates. So, we collect the data. I do not have the
data in front of me, but I am sure that they collected
data this year so that we will be able to let you know
what the data are in the near future. Thank you.

The President: Senator Tucker, do you have a supplementary?

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, thank you, Madam President. I do.
I have a question about the response to question 3, but I will leave that one alone for now.
But my question as it relates to—
The President: Supplementary question.

SUPPLEMENTARIES

Sen. Robin Tucker: My supplementary on the answer
for the second question, which the Junior Minister did
say that they have seen an increase. I would be interested to know how they are tracking the data.
Thank you, Madam President.

[Pause]

The President: While the Senator is obtaining the answer to that supplementary question, would any other
Senator care to ask any questions on this Statement?
Senator Robinson —
Sen. Linday Simmons: I can answer that one real fast.
The President: Please do.
Sen. Linday Simmons: The collecting of data from the
participants. So, the participants are to give information. And again, [there] was an increased number of
attendees this year.
40 29 November 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Senator.
You have a second supplemental?

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, Madam President.
The President: Senator Tucker, carry on.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you
to the Junior Minister for answering that question.
I would be interested to know how the increase
is reflected from last year to this year. If she is able to tell us that information, that would be very helpful.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Senator Robinson, do you want to . . .
[Inaudible interjection]
The President: Okay, fine. No, no. Yes, [the Junior Minister] will entertain your question.
QUESTION 1: NURTURING OUR NATION: ANNUAL
PARENTING EXPO
Sen. Dwayne Robinson:
Okay. Thank you, Madam
President , and thank you to the Junior Minister for her
presentation.
I
just have one question really, and it is about
the work –life balance that I find a lot of parents are
struggling with right now. Did this expo yield any poten-tial policy changes from the Government in supporting parents when it comes to parental leave or various things? Because right now, you know, the fathers get five days. And that is not really enough to support your
wife, especially if she is going through post -partem [depression]. And I should not say “wife” —partner if they
are going through post -partem [depression] or whatever.
So, I just wondered if the Government may look
at these data that they have collected revisiting that and
also introducing other policies that may assist parents with being able to balance the increased workload and being active in their children’s lives. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
[Pause]
Sen. Linday Simmons: I just need clarification from
Senator Tucker. Did you mean, What was the increase from last year to this year in reference to the attendees
or the participants?

The President: Senator Tucker.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
It is the number of attendees. Thank you,
Madam President. [Pause]
Sen. Linday Simmons: So , to answer Senator Robinson’s question, the expo is for providing information to the attendees so if they have questions, comments or concerns, we have people from all sectors who are willing to help parents. Thank you.

[Pause]
Sen. Lind say Simmons: And when it comes to the policies, we would get back to you in regard to that as well.
With the increase in attendance, they have
people there who monitor who was there last year and this year so that they do know that it was definitely an increase this year.
The President: Senator Simmons, are you saying that
you will respond to Senator Robinson’s question later? Or was that the answer you were giving?
Sen. Linds ay Simmons: If he needs more clarification, I could get some more information. But I answered
most of his question. But if he needs any more clarification, I could get a response from the Minister.
The President: All right.
Senator Robinson is happy with that.
Thank you very much, Senator Simmons.
Sen. Linds ay Simmons: Thank you.
The President: And thank you, all Senators.
We will now move on to the second Statement
that was read by Minister Darrell. And that is the Project
Management and Procurement Annual Report.
Would any Senator care to ask questions on
that Statement that was given?
Yes, Senator De Couto. You have the floor.

QUESTION 1: OFFICE OF PROJECT
MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT ANNUAL
REPORT 2022

Thank you, Madam President, and I want to thank the Minister for bringing this
Statement to us. I was certainly heartened to see a
strengthening of the project management function. Clearly, anything that is going to improve the efficiency of the people’s money being spent is welcomed by the One Bermuda Alliance.
I do have a question. On page 2 of the Statement it refers to compliance reviews. And I know the report mentions three breaches of the Project Manage-ment Code that came out of those reviews. And if the Minister could tell us what those three breaches were, we would be much appreciative. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.


Bermuda Senate Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
As there is a slight delay, I am just awaiting the
1responses of technical officers as that is a very specific question. And I wish to get the fulsome response
for the Senator.

The President: Would any other Senator —

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: So, if you can bear with
me for one moment while the response is being garnered.

The President: Mm-hmm.
[Pause]
The President: All right. Senator Tucker, I believe you
have a question on this Statement. You can pose your question.

QUESTION 1: OFFICE OF PROJECT
MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT ANNUAL
REPORT 2022
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. Thank you, Madam President.
My question also comes from page 2. I think it
is always a good thing when efficiencies can be real-ised. I am just curious to know if the Minister can tell us
. . . the Statement mentions that there has been a recorded reduction in the number of complaint s. I would
be interested to know what the top two or three complaints were that they have been able to achieve an efficiency on, which contributed to reducing the number.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Just so I understand the
question. So you are asking, due to the reduction, what complaints are we not seeing anymore?

Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President, I would like to
know what . . . because the number of complaints has
been reduced, I am just interested to know the types of complaints, the key maybe one or two types of complaints, what sort of categories they would be in that have cont ributed to this reduction.
I appreciate that a myriad of complaints come
in. I am just wondering if the Minister is able to give us categories of . . . you know, These are the two key
types of complaints. Let us say by way of example somebody may say, Okay, well, the response times

1 See response at page 46. have been very low, and they have been improved. So
that may apply in various different situations.
I am just wondering if he is able to give any information like that so we can get an appreciation of the number of complaints, where they sort of fall, and ap-preciate the reduction a little bit better. I do not know if
that is a little bit clearer.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: All right. I will try to answer that the best I can. I am getting some responses
that are coming through.

[Pause]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, let us
go on to the next set of questions, please, if I may? I will get these back to you. I am getting responses. But
I do not think it will do any justice to the Senators for
me to answer what I have here. So, if you can give them
a few more moments to craft their response, I will deliver it the best I can.

[Crosstalk ]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: But it is not going to give
anyone any justice right now.
The President: Okay . Does that include Senator
De Couto’s questions about the three breaches?
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: It includes that.

The President: Yes. All right.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: As I said, I am getting
responses.

The President: Yes. All right.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: But I have asked for a bit
more clarity for my sake.
The President: Yes.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: So, I can then pass it on
to the Senator.
The President: All right.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I am sure they will appreciate that.

The President: That is fine.
42 29 November 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Would any other Senator care to ask questions
then?
Senator Robinson, you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: OFFICE OF PROJECT
MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT ANNUAL
REPORT 2022

Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President, and thank you to the Minister for his presentation.
Just one question about the revamp and the
organisational chart changing and the job descriptions
also changing. Would there be something additional to
. . . because I know that most of these descriptions are
placed on the government website. But they are not always updated right away. Will there be a place where
folks can view or maybe if a report, that sort of assess-ment report that was done by the consultant team may
be tabled? Or maybe a brief paper tabled about what
new direction and what these new posts are and what
this new particular full -time director was appointed for.
Just to give a bit of backdrop on those specific changes.
Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you. I think those
answers can actually be found in the report. So have a
read of the report, and I think you will find those responses to that as far as the re- org. Remember this
Statement is about the report that was tabled.

[Pause]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Yes, Madam President,
I will undertake to get these back to the Senators shortly. Can I ask that we go to the next Order of Busi-ness? And then I will double back to this.
The President: Certainly we will.
Senators, the Minister has requested that we
come back to this. Therefore, we will continue with our
agenda with the other questions.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President, I beg your pardon.
The President: Yes.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Before you move forward, may I
ask a second question, please?

The President: Certainly you may.

QUESTION 2: OFFICE OF PROJECT
MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT ANNUAL
REPORT 2022
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you. On page 4, it is mentioned that additional recruitment could not be realised due to further constraints. And it also mentions that there will be an additional expansion in the next reporting period. I am just
curious to know, how many additional positions is the
department looking at recruiting? And also, if you can
sort of give the level, because they have just hired a
director. So, what categories do those positions fall in?
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker, Opposi-tion Leader [in the Senate].
The Minister has requested that we move on.
So, we have a series of questions that were asked for oral responses to Parliamentary Questions from Senator Dwayne Robinson. And I will turn over to the Minister with regard to the questions. There are three ques-tions that were asked by Senator Dwayne Robinson.
So, Minister.
And this had to do with the anti -doping initiative.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I will read it and start
there.

The President: Yes. Minister, when you are ready you
can respond.

QUESTIONS: WORLD ANTI -DOPING AGENCY
(WADA) DECLARING BERMUDA
TO BE NON- COMPLIANT
[Not allowed, per Standing Order 65(4)(d) and (k)]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, if I may ask that in response
to these questions, which were posed on November 22
by Senator Dwayne Robinson, I will ask that Standing
Order 65(4)(d) which states that a debate that is currently sitting . . . that that Standing Order be put in place
and adhered to regarding these questions.
Also, there is another Standing Order that I
would like to cite in response to these questions. That
is Standing Order 65(4)(k), which talks about these [an-swers] are already in the public domain and can be referenced in Hansard from a debate that was he ld on
these very topics in another place last week Friday.
So, Madam President, I will request that these
questions not be read, in accordance with those Standing Orders.

The President: Senators, we understand that the Minister has indicated that the questions that were put forward by Senator Dwayne Robinson . . . because we
are going to be debating this Bill, those questions can be asked during the debate of the Bill, which we will do
on Orders of the Day today.


Bermuda Senate And then the second series of questions that
were asked by Senator De Couto, the Minister has indicated that the responses to those questions are in the
public domain.

Sorry. Excuse me. I apologise. I disagree with the Minister’s view on that, and I happen to know that there is quite a large demand from the public for the answer to these questions, such as —

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Whoa! Madam President, first of all, I do not even know
which he is referring to. Are we still on the WADA
[World Anti -Doping Agency] questions?

The President: No. He did not ask questions on that.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Oh, he is talking about
the questions that he sent in.

The President: Questions that he—

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Well, Madam President,
I have not even gotten to that one yet. I was still on the WADA ones. And if we have ruled on the first set of WADA questions, I will go on to the second set of questions, if I may. I have not even gotten there yet.
The President: The ruling on the first set of questions
that were presented by Senator Dwayne Robinson for
oral answers today and that have to do with the World
Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, the Minister has indicated
that we are debating the Bill today. And those questions
or queries can be taken up during the debate on Orders
of the Day when we get to the Orders of the Day. That is a decision that has been given by the Minister, and I
support that decision.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: We will now move on then to the questions that have been submitted for oral answers by Senator Douglas De Couto. And the Minister can now respond to that.

QUESTIONS: CYBER -ATTACKS OR HACKS
ON GOVERNMENT OF BERMUDA

[Not allowed, per Standing Order 65(4)( f)] Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: And thank you, Madam
President.
As the Senator will know, there have been
many statements made [about] this. And he will also know that there is an active investigation that is still cur-rent and active regarding these questions that the Senator has asked. So, I will ask that Standing Or der
65(4)(f), that these matters are secret, be put in place
in regard to these questions, Madam President, as to
not hinder or interfere with any active investigation.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister.
Senator De Couto, the Minister has given his
ruling on that. It is an active investigation.

—would lead people to
infer it must be.

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

The President: There is a point of order.
What is your point of order, Minister?

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I have asked that you,
Madam President, respectfully, rule on the Standing
Order that I stated in regard to these questions. And I
do not think it is appropriate [under] the Standing Orders of the Senate for the Senator to decide that he
would like to launch into a debate on this topic, which
is extremely delicate at this stage, Madam President. I
think it is out of order for him to do such at this time.

The President: Senator De Couto, the Minister has indicated that this is an active investigation, and therefore
the questions will not be . . . Senator De Couto.

Thank you for your indulgence, Madam President.
I would note that the first question refers to any
attacks over the prior three years.

44 29 November 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President.
Madam President, he is going into the questions that I
have respectfully asked that we go to Standing Order
65(4)(f). And he is now going to read out the questions.

I would like to confirm the
Minister’s view on the question. If I may just elaborate,
and then he could confirm my understanding of what
he is saying, Madam President. Would that be permissible?
[Crosstalk ]

The President: Senator De Couto. Senator De Couto,
the Minister has given an indication that this is covered
under a Standing Order. And therefore, you will have no further debate on—

So, I will assume that any
hacks that may have happened in the past three years
are still under prior investigation?
Sen. Lind say Simmons: Point of order, Madam President. Point of order, Madam President.

POINT OF ORDER

Sen. Lind say Simmons: Senator De Couto is still
pretty much reading the questions that the Minister put
Standing Order 65(4)(f) in place. I think we should
move on, Madam President.
The President: Senators, we will move on. There will
be no further discussion on the questions.
Senators, you need to apprise yourself of these
Standing Orders. When a Standing Order is high-lighted, we have to adhere to the Standing Order.
We will now move on to the other set of questions that were presented to Senator Robinson to pro-vide oral responses to Parliamentary Questions from
Senator Tucker.
And who is speaking for —
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I will respond to those,

Minister, you can carry on.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
And the first question from the Opposition Senate Leader, Senator Robin Tucker, was in regard to . . .
and these were posed to my colleague, but I am going
to handle them. QUESTION 1: IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT
COMPLAINTS

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: [Senator Tucker’s question was:] Would the Junior Minister please inform the
Senate as to what area or section within the Immigration Department is responsible for monitoring and investigating hotline complaints?
The answer to that is the Compliance section,
Madam President.

QUESTION 2: IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT
COMPLAINTS

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Question 2 asked: Would
the Junior Minister please inform the Senate as to how many justified and unjustified Immigration complaints were received via the confidential immigration hotline
for each year from 2019 to 2022?
The Department of Immigration can only provide the number of complaints by totals and not by
means in which they are reported —i.e., via the hotline.
So, for the specific question that [the Senator] asked,
the answer is unable to be provided.

QUESTION 3: IMMIGRATION DEPARTMENT
COMPLAINTS

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: And question 3: Would
the Junior Minister please inform the Senate as to what
is the general process and investigation time allocated
for a matter if a complaint is made via the Immigration
hotline?
The answer is, once received, the Immigration
complaints are reviewed and the process is as follows:
1. The complaints are reviewed to ensure that there is sufficient information to proceed.
2. If sufficient information is provided, a case is
created in the compliance investigative matter
system and later assigned to the Senior Immigration Inspector for investigation.
3. Once the investigation is complete, it is forwarded to the Principal Compliance Officer for
review, followed by a final review conducted by
the Compliance manager .
4. Special circumstances often require that a
complaint be forwarded to the Minister for final
decision .
5. In the event of a fine, the review process is escalated to the Chief Immigration Office, who
has the authority under section 71 [A] of the
BIPA [Bermuda Immigration and Protection
Act] 1956 to levy the prerequisite or the requisite penalty.
The time allocated to an investigation can vary
depending on the nature and complexity of the com-plaint, available internal and external resources and
key persons who must be interviewed. The following list


Bermuda Senate identifies the timelines that the Department of Immigration is currently guided by:
• an illegal worker, six to nine months;
• an overstay, one month;
• regularisation employment, one to two
months.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Senator Tucker, you have received the
responses. Do you have any —

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, Madam President.
May I ask that the Minister . . . sorry.

The President: So, which? Which question?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Oh, I beg your pardon. I have a
question for question number 1 first.
The President: You have a question for question number 1?

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. In response to the answer to
question 1.

The President: In response. Yes, number 1. Ask your
question.

SUPPLEMENTARIES

Sen. Robin Tucker: Can the Minister tell us how many
people, the total number of people who make up the
Compliance section, which is where he mentioned that
this is the group who is responsible for investigations?
Can he tell us exactly how many people are in that section who are responsible specifically for monitoring and
investigation complaints and things?

The President: Minister.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I am
unable to provide those answers at this time.

The President: Thank you.
Senator Tucker, do you have another question?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. And my second question is
in response to the response for question number 2, which is can the Minister clarify as to why he is unable to provide the numbers of justified and unjustified Immigration complaints for the periods? It may just be that
I did not understand what he said. It just was not clear
to me. So if he could clarify that, I would be most grateful. Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker, Opposition Leader.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President,
maybe the question was worded wrongly. It asked for
the complaints justified and unjustified via the confidential Immigration hotline. And the answer was that the
Department of Immigration can only provide the num-ber of complaints by total s. So they do not have a number that came in just via the hotline.
The President: Senator Tucker.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
Then if I may ask a second supplementary
question?
The President: Yes.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Can the Minister then tell us the
total number of justified and unjustified Immigration
complaints received during those periods?
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Minister.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I will definitely look into
getting that answer, but at this time I cannot provide
those answers.

The President: Thank you.
Senator Tucker.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you. Since the Minister has indicated he will obtain those answers to those questions
and he will provide them at another date, that completes our Question Period.
We will now move on.
And the first Order of the Day is the second
reading of the Anti -Doping in Sport Act 2023. Senator
Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and
Sport, will present that Bill.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I was
trying to hold for one second—
The President: We will give you time.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: —to see if I can still close
out the matter of the questions, the responses. I just got
indication that they are coming through. So, if you
would just give me one moment to see if I could do this
without holding out the proceedings any further.
The President: Yes.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
would be grateful, and I am sure that the Opposition Senators would welcome these responses in a timely
manner.
46 29 November 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: We will give you time to present those.

[Pause]

QUESTION S: OFFICE OF PROJECT
MANAGEMENT AND PROCUREMENT ANNUAL
REPORT 2022
[Responses to questions posed earlier in Question Period]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: All right. Madam President, the answers are coming through. So, I am going
to go through the questions as they were asked.
To Senator Tucker, I do apologise if the questions you asked may be a little out of order. I am sure
you will remind me as to exactly what you were asking in that.
But the first [answers] I have were in regard to,
What were the three breaches that were reported that were mentioned in the annual report? So, the first one was that departments were asking for retroactive approval to waive the code. And that first breac h is not
allowed in accordance with 6.3 of the Code. So that
was one of the breaches.
The second one is coming.
[Pause]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I will go back to the other
breaches in a moment, but I think I have the [answer]
to your second question, which was, What led to the
reduction in the number of complaints? Or what were
the top two complaints? To be honest, I was not quite sure which way y ou were asking the question.
But the way we understood it is that there were
complaints [about] the management of contracts and the in- tendering process. Those were the top two complaints that we saw. And as we see a reduction of those complaints, I can assume that those types of complaints have been reduced.
Yes, the departments were not managing their
contracts in accordance with the code and financial instructions of the tendering practices of a quango.
As far as the re- organisation question, yes, that
can be viewed on the information sheets that can be
found on gov.bm.
And Madam President, I do apologise. I know
that the responses may be a little broken. But I am attempting the best I can to provide answers to the Sen-ators. If I get any further information, Madam President,
I will properly furnish these answers to Senat or Tucker.
And I will state my apologies for not being able to give
a fulsome, wholesome response this morning.
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Senator Tucker.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President, thank you. If I may, I believe that the Minister answered all
of the questions if I am not mistaken except my one last
question, which is on the staffing number and the positions that they are looking to recruit. So if I am not mistaken, I think that is the final question remaining out-standing.
Thank you, Madam President.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: That brings such clarity
to what I have in front of me. Thank you, Madam Pres-ident. To answer that question, we are looking for four additional staff members, two senior managers and two
officers. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Senator Tucker, I believe that satisfies the answer to your question.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, again
thank you for your understanding and patience as I
sought those answers.

The President: Thank you very much for providing the
answers to the questions that have been presented.
Senators, I did indicate that we will be going on
to the Orders of the Day.

ORDERS OF THE DAY

The President: And that is the second reading of the
Anti-Doping in Sport Act 2023. And that will be presented by Senator the Honourable Owen Darrell, Min-ister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

SENATE VISITORS
The President: But before he presents, I would just like
to acknowledge the following members who are here
with us. And they are Marva- Jean O’Brien, the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport; as well as Jane Brett, Policy Analyst from the
Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport; and Ms. Deborah Hunter, the CEO of the Bermuda Sport Anti -Doping
Authority.
Welcome to all three of you.
And I now hand over to Minister Darrell to present.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Anti -Doping in Sport Act 2023 be now read a second time.

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



Bermuda Senate Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, as the Minister of Tourism,
Culture and Sport, I am pleased to move the Bill entitled
the Anti -Doping in Sport Act 2023. Madam President,
this Bill—

The President: Minister, Standing Order 25. Did you
. . . maybe I have been listening too hard. But you need
to present it under Standing Order 25.

STANDING ORDER 25

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
move that Standing Order 25 . . . so I can proceed with
the second reading.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Carry on.
[Motion carried: Leave granted for the Anti -Doping in
Sport Act 2023 to be read a second time on the same
day as its first reading.]

BILL

SECOND READING

ANTI -DOPING IN SPORT ACT 2023

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, this Bill repeals and replaces the Anti -Doping in Sport Act 2011. Madam President, the reason for the repeal and replacement is due
to the considerable number of amendments that were
required to update the 2011 Act and bring it into com-pliance with the World Anti -Doping Code [the Code]
(also known as WADA) .
Madam President, I remind Senators that the
International Convention Against Doping in Sport of 2005 entered into force with respect to Bermuda on the
1
st of June 2006. And in order to give effect to the convention and provide for the establishment of the Bermuda Sport Anti -Doping Authority, the 2011 legislation
was enacted. Madam President, the Bermuda Sport
Anti-Doping Authority (also known as BSADA) is t he organisation whose function is to prevent doping in sport. BSADA is a quango of the Government, and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport provides annual funds
for its operation.
Madam President, the world anti -doping programme has expanded significantly since the commencement of Bermuda’s Anti -Doping Act in 2011. And
the World Anti -Doping Code, which was never designed to be a static document, has been reviewed
twice since then. The World Anti -Doping Code is a core
document that provides the framework for anti -doping policies, rules and regulations within the sport organisations and public authorities around the world. The
World Anti -Doping Code works in conjunction with the
World Anti-Doping Agency’s eight international standards and BSADA’s anti -doping rules.
Madam President, in 2022 to 2023, the World
Anti-Doping Agency (or WADA as it is currently known)
embarked on a code compliance exercise globally in which they assessed several jurisdictions. Bermuda’s
BSADA underwent a code compliance exercise in 2022
under the auspices of the WADA, and a considerable number of provisions to the 2011 Anti -Doping in Sport
Act were identified as being noncompliant. I will say that
again: A considerable number of provisions in the 2011
Anti-Doping in Sport Act were identified as being noncompliant.
The report from WADA was provided in late
December 2022. It was presented to the then Ministry
of Youth, Culture and Sport. WADA and BSADA
agreed on a number of recommendations relating primarily to two factors —operational activities and the operational i ndependence of the BSADA. And these were
submitted to the Ministry with the request for amendments to the 2011 Act.
Madam President, many of the operational activities which are included within the 2011 Act are also
addressed in the WADA Code, the WADA International
Standards, as well as BSADA’s rules. WADA does not require the Act to contain these operational provisions,
and their continuing presence resulted in duplication
and inconsistencies between the law and the rules of noncompliance. Madam President, operational independence refers to the requirement that a national anti -
doping organisation, and that is BSADA, must remain
operationally independent from the sport and Government in accordance with the Code.
Madam President, the anti -doping industry has
experienced significant challenges to the integrity of
this work in the last few years. And WADA is taking very
strong and substantial steps to ensure that all stakeholders operate in a compliant manner.
Madam President, Bermuda has been deemed
a clean jurisdiction since becoming a signatory to the
convention. And we continue to enjoy the status today. Further, BSADA has never been deemed noncompliant
as a national anti -doping authority. In late December
2022, the Ministry was informed of the comprehensive
legislative changes that were required to come into scope with the WADA Code. The Bermuda Government was given three months to make landmark changes to an Act that had not been amended since its
inception in 2011.
Madam President, at that time WADA’s Compliance Review Committee [CRC] accepted that the comprehensive proposed changes could not occur in
the three- month timeframe. And they were well aware
that the Bermuda Government continued to take the
necessary steps to table the requisite legislation.
48 29 November 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Unfortunately, the timeframes of WADA were
not in synchrony, and the deadline for the WADA executives could not be accommodated, as Bermuda’s Legislature would not reconvene until the fall of 2023.
Madam President, it should be highlighted that the Min-istry and parliamentary counsels continued to work
throughout the cyberattack that lasted for a month and
a half in order to ensure that the drafting of this legislation was not interrupted.
Madam President, with continual collaboration
between the Ministry and the WADA CRC, the WADA Compliance Review Committee revised its recommendation that Bermuda be placed on a watch list and
awarded four months to implement the WADA Code of
legislation. M adam President, if this Bill is passed today, we will be many months ahead of schedule.
Madam President, it is important to note that
WADA had reviewed several drafts of the Bill over
many months in 2023 to ensure that Bermuda remained compliant. WADA has confirmed that this Bill is
in compliance with the Code.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator Robinson, you have the floor.
Sen. Dwayne Robinson: Thank you, Madam President. And thank you, Minister, for that comprehensive
brief.
The One Bermuda Alliance obviously supports
this legislation, and we have no problems with it. Our
concerns are more along the lines of the journey to get
here. So, I acknowledge that the Minister has taken time to answer those questions in that journey. I just
have a few questions [about] just how many drafts of this particular legislation were done. What exactly was the hold- up as far as getting those drafts to where we
are now? And also, if we were on the watch list and WADA basically told us in advance, it seems as though
it was still some sort of disconnect there as far as getting us to the end goal.
I want to also take the time to commend the
civil servants who worked hard to get us here, to make sure that we are in line with international policy. And I
also want to congratulate the Minister here on the floor
as well for ensuring that the flag did fl y at the Pan Am
Games. So with that, my comments, I will yield the floor.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
For starters, I am fully supportive of the legislation. I must say while I was reading through the prior Act and the Bill, I found it difficult to track all of the changes. But certainly the brief just given by the Minis-ter was very helpful, as was the discussion I had with
Ms. Debbie Jones -Hunter. She was very, very helpful
in clarifying for me the need for the new legislation. So, yes, I am fully supportive of the legislation.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Wight.
And Vice President Kiernan Bell, you have the
floor.

Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
I do understand that there is some emergency
in passing this legislation, although I think I heard the Minister correctly. It sounds as if we are a few months
ahead of schedule.
When I read this legislation, understanding the
background for the need for its passing and seeing the
importance of its passing for our athletes, I am in support generally of this legislation. But I do have some
concerns with [clause] 14.
The President: Mm-hmm.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: And those concerns with [clause]
14 in particular relate to the wholesale confidentiality of all of the functions and proceedings and documents of BSADA, which I can foresee will actually create some
problems for BSADA itself in its functions, as well as
going further than I would expect, given the current
modern democratic trend to transparency within public
authorities and quangos.
So if I can, if it assists the Minister, I can explain
these concerns in a little bit more detail before I get to the question.

The President: Certainly.

Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
As currently drafted, [clause] 14 is a blanket
provision which provides that “all information, records
or documents relating to the functions of the BSADA or
the Board . . .” are confidential. And if someone does
not maintain that confidentiality, they commit a statu-tory offence unless that information is provided [at clause 14(4)(a)] “pursuant to an order of the Court;
(b) to an employee of the BSADA or any committee . . .”
(of BSADA) or “(c) where disclosure is permitted under
. . .” another Act. What th at means is that if BSADA today was to put its minutes of its proceedings like other
equivalent authorities do . . . the UK Authority, for example, publishes the minutes of all of its proceedings
on its website. It publishes its accounts [and] it publishes other financial and ad hoc documents. Currently
if the BSADA was to do that, it would actually be com-mitting a statutory offence, which I do not think is intended.
The way that it would avoid committing that
statutory offence is it could itself make a PATI request


Bermuda Senate that it could publish this information on its website, but
that does seem to be unnecessarily inefficient and convoluted, and I question whether it goes further again
than is intended to protect confidential information. And
I would note that the Minister in his comments reflected that the important factor here is that the country and
BSADA comply with the Code, the international code
that applies in these circumstances, which itself makes
provision for confidentiality, as I understand it.
So I would recommend and ask . . . I suppose
the question that I am asking is, Is it intended not to follow the modern approach for public access to information for statutory authorities? Are we intentionally
not committing to transparency and accountabili ty of
the BSADA? I think the answer to that question is no, but I pose it as a question because that is what this Bill
currently does.
If the intention is to continue, as that organisation currently does, under the old Act, it has quite a considerable amount of its information made public. And I
would pause here to say that is important for athletes, for example. And my understanding of t he importance
around confidentiality in particular, so far as anti -doping
is concerned, is to protect the privacy of athletes. And I would observe that this legislation does do that. It al-lows for rules to be created by BSADA to protect the
privacy of athl etes, and that is consistent with legislation, for example in New Zealand which has very similar
language.
What you cannot find in, for example, other legislation like in New Zealand (that I happened to look at), is the similar confidentiality blanket provision which
would essentially make the functions, all of the documents and information relating to the func tion of
BSADA itself, confidential. And following on from that, I
would note there is no whistleblower protection in the legislation. So if there is going to be a blanket confiden-tiality protection like this, there should be whistleblower
protection specif ically carved in, I would suggest. And
is that intentional in this case?
If not, my recommendation or suggestion or request would be to consult with the Information Commis-sioner’s Office on how best to protect information that
it is deemed in the public interest to maintain confiden-tial and how to best preserve the modern democ ratic
approach to transparency and accountability in public
authorities by making all information public that should
be and can be. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator, Vice President
Kiernan Bell.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Hearing none, then we will wait for the Minister
to obtain responses to the questions that have been asked.

[Pause]
Sen. Lind say Simmons: Madam President.

The President: Yes. Senator Lindsay Simmons, you
have the floor.

Sen. Lind say Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, first of all, I want to thank
the Minister for bringing this Bill forward. I want to thank
the technical officers and the team for bringing this forward to the Senate today.
Madam President, this is important. This is
something that the athletes needed to be done. This
Anti-Doping in Sport Act 2023 is an important Bill. And
I thank the Opposition for supporting this Bill, as Sena-tor Robinson said. And thank you to the technic al team
for pushing this through.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons.
Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I also want to lend my
thanks to the athletes of Bermuda who are going and
working hard to get themselves ready for international competitions. I thank the Opposition Senators for indicating their support for this.
But I will get into some of the details of the
questions that were asked by Senator Robinson, the first of which was, he asked how many drafts were
done? And I mean, I would go with the word “several,” but I do not think that that does justice as to how ma ny
times we went back and forth. And speaking along the
lines of what Senator Simmons just said in thanking the
technical officers, there were times that I walked out of
my office in the Ministry, and many lawyers from Chambers were there going over it.
And I will be honest with you. It became a quite
daunting and frustrating task to go back and forth. Because remember, we would submit this to our WADA .
. . understand the process. We have a regional WADA
team that we kind of discuss. And just to put it bluntly
. . . and I am very hesitant as to how I lay this out, but I
am sure you can work your way around what I am saying here. When you are dealing with an organisation as
large as WADA that has so much power and control
over this area, for good reason, you deal with t he officers in your region whom you are comfortable with, you
have a relationship with. You would have known I would
have met them for the first time in January at a WADA
conference.
But then their recommendations which they
have been going back and forth with us on have to then
be passed to a different committee. And the unfortunate part is that that committee does not have a relationship with us. And they do not see the amount of
work that BSADA has been doing in order to come into
50 29 November 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate compliance. And it was a shock even to the WADA regional directors when the recommendations came over
from a meeting held in Shanghai after we had been told
that it looks like our new legislation was going to be on
par with what they asked for.
So it was at that point that we had to go back.
And this may speak to how many drafts. We literally
had to go back and rip up the entire Bill and kind of redo
it. And that is why what you have in front of you is a new
Bill. It is not just amendments here and there. It is a
whole new process because there was so much that we had to do.
And I would say this: We are not alone in this.
Maybe they got to us first, I am not sure. But I have had many calls from counterparts in the Caribbean to share
how they feel about the requests coming from WADA.
So I am really happy that we were able to do it. I cannot give you a clear amount of how many drafts went back
and forth. A lot of times, I mean, if you would consider
a draft would be [where] a word has to be changed
here, a line has to be taken out there. This person’s name has to be switched wit h a different individual. It
was a lot of moving parts on this, and it was a monthly
and then became daily and even hourly back and forth
with multiple ministries like the Ministry of then Youth, Culture and Sport and the Attorney General’s Chambers.
I am not sure about this watch list and the disconnect to our getting to the end goal. The end goal is
that our athletes were able to compete in the Pan Am
Games and the Parapan Games. And going forth in what is an Olympic year coming up, we are happy that
we were able to get this all sorted in the name of the
athletes. So there can be no clouds of remote suspicion around our team sport in Bermuda.
Senator Bell, I just admit that your points are
well noted. And I will ask that BSADA, once this is passed, sit with the compliance and privacy officials,
officers, to take under advisement the confidentiality of
the whistleblower protection and the recom mendations
that have been put on the floor today by Senator Bell. And we will meet in due course with the Information
Commissioner’s Office to see if maybe, once this is
passed, further amendments down the road should be made to bring us into full compliance with privacy while
still adhering to what WADA is looking for.
And that is where the delicate balance, I will be
honest, came with this. Because even under a policy that we have talked about before, which is illicit drugs,
BSADA in this 2011 Act had a whole illicit drug policy that was spoken about. WADA said that they will not
sign off on any Act that required an illicit drug policy. So
what we have had to do is take that out completely and
kind of make it a side document that BSADA has. But
it is not actually in the Bill. We will speak about that another day. But it is nuances like that that were very
tricky for us to navigate around as far as what the Government felt was sufficient oversight on certain areas
and WADA would not sign off on it. So, in the interest of getting us to get our athletes to compete on the world stage, we had to make
some tough decisions as to how we were going to still
adhere to some policies that are required by the everyday Bermudian while still putting or removing st uff in
the Act to make it WADA compliant. And BSADA will
meet with the commissioner to determine whether additional amendments to the Act need to be made.
Madam President, with that, I am not sure if
there is anything further.

The President: Just let me look. Yes. There was a
question from Senator Tucker, Opposition Leader [in
the Senate].
Senator Tucker, you can put your question.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I actually have three questions.

The President: Fine.
Sen. Robin Tucker: I thank the Minister for his response.
As my Senate colleague has already mentioned, obviously we support the legislation.

The President: Mm-hmm.

Sen. Robin Tucker: For me, a concern that I have is
what appears to be administrative holes that have led
us to actually getting on a watch list. And, of course,
that watch list, in my mind, is representative of not only
how Bermuda appears to the world, but also Bermuda’s athletes potentially appear to the world, right? I mean,
we have just come off of the back of Flora Duffy, Conor
White, you know, making marks in the sporting world.
We have someone sitting in this room at this very moment —Ms. Hunter —who has made her mark in international sports. So, being on the watch list is a signifi-cant personal concern of mine.
I would like to just understand a little bit more
deeply how we actually got there. So that is where my
questions are coming from.
So, the first question I have is if the Minister
can tell us, What date did Bermuda actually request the extension to the three months that were given by
WADA?
The second question is, What date was given
for the extension? So, what was that deadline date?
And then the third question is, When did WADA
accept the final version of the legislation? And the reason I ask that question is because the Minister has obviously been unable to tell us exactly how many drafts
were submitted, which, given his explanation, certainly
sounds a bit understandable. But I would like to know when WADA actually accepted the final version of the
legislation, particularly given all of the back and forward
that the Minister has indicated has gone on.


Bermuda Senate So those are my three questions. Thank you,

Thank you, Senator Tucker.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
And while you would know that I love to get extremely political in this Chamber, this is a topic that I will
stay away from making political. And I am disappointed
that Senator Tucker is getting very close to that line, as to turning this into a political matter, and almost taking
shots at public officers and holes in administration.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President, if I may, point
of order, please.

POINT OF ORDER
[Imputing improper motive]

Sen. Robin Tucker: Because the Minister is imputing
improper motive. That is not what I am doing. I did
clearly indicate that my concern is around Bermuda
[and] how we appear to the world by being on a watch
list in the anti -doping arena. So, I would appreciate if
the Minist er would apologise because that is imputing
improper motive.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Senator Tucker, you posed three questions, and the Minister can either respond to the ques-tions or not. It is entirely up to him. So ,we will not have
this back and forth.
Minister, you can respond.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President. And we are about five minutes away from passing this legislation which will put Bermuda athletes and
reiterate to the world that Bermuda athletes are indeed
clean athletes and that Bermuda under much advisement from the World Anti -Doping [Agency] can do what
is needed for their athletes. And I am going to stay on
that wicket, Madam President. I will answer the questions as posed.
But this is a good day for athletes in Bermuda.
Two athletes I did see yesterday evening. I did go down
to the airport and welcome Conor White back. And I
would be remiss if I did not say that [Opposition Senators] seem very, very concerned about athletes in this
House, especially when it comes to this Bill. But not one
was at the airport with me when they returned. Not one,
Madam President. But I will move on to these questions.
We were first notified of the pending changes,
as the brief said, in 2022. You would know that I went
to a WADA meeting in January of 2023. Bermuda asked WADA for an extension in June of 2023. WADA did not give a date for the extension. And WADA accepted the final version of our legislation on the 5
th of
October.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister.
And as there are no other questions or concerns from the Senators, you can move your Bill.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the Bill entitled
the Anti -Doping in Sport Act 2023 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to the second
reading?
No objection.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 26

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
move that [Standing Order] 26 be suspended in respect
of this Bill.

The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
[Motion carried: Standing Order 26 suspended.]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I now
move that the Bill entitled the Anti -Doping in Sport Act
2023 be now read a third time.

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

BILL

THIRD READING

ANTI -DOPING IN SPORT ACT 2023
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
move that the Bill do now pass.
The President: It has been moved that the Bill entitled
the Anti -Doping in Sport Act 2023 do now pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Anti -Doping in Sport Act 2023 was
read a third time and passed.]

The President: Thank you, Minister, and thank you, all
Senators, for passing this Bill. And thank you, members, for your attendance.
52 29 November 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Moving on then. As we have indicated, that is
the only item on the Orders of the Day for today.

MOTIONS

The President: There are none.

CONGRATULATORY AND/OR
OBITUARY SPEECHES
The President: Would any Senator care to speak?
Senator Lindsay Simmons, you have the floor.

Sen. Lind say Simmons: Madam President, first I
would like to give condolences to the Weeks family.
Minister Weeks’s mom passed. She was a loving
mother to her family, her grandchildren and great -
grandchildren, and she is going to be a huge miss. So,
condolences to Minister Weeks and his family on the passing of his mom, Ms. Lois Lorraine Weeks.
Also, Madam President, I would like to give
condolences to the family of Sasha Swann. Sasha was a mother of four, and I had the pleasure of teaching three of her children, Satasia, Jericho and Jordan. She
passed away not too long ago, a couple of days ago.
So, condolences to their family and her partner, Clinton Outerbridge, as well, and their family and friends.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Arianna Hodgson, you have the floor.

Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Thank you, Madam President.
I just wanted to pause to celebrate Ms. Tierrai
Tull, who has just been announced as Bermuda’s 2024
Rhodes Scholar recipient. If any of you have ever met
Tierrai, you will know that this is well deserved. So I
want to say congratulations. It was one of th ose programmes that I wish I would have applied for. And by
the time I went to apply, I was too late. So, I want to
encourage other persons who are considering it to make sure that they know what is required so that they
can take advantage of these types of opportunities.
I also wanted us to stop and pause to celebrate
Marsh McLennan because they made an announcement that there are four young Black Bermudians who
are actually pursuing some international opportunities within the company. So, I just think that is a great example of what other companies can do to support Bermudians in their development.
So those are my two bits today.

The President: Thank you, Senator Hodgson.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Tucker, Opposition Leader in the Senate, you have the floor. Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I will start with condolences. Sadly, I have a
number of them. I would like to first associate myself
with Senator Simmons’ expression of condolence to
Minister Weeks’ family, Joseph and Michelle. Joseph is Minister Weeks’ brother and his wife Michelle, [ both of]
whom I went to Warwick Sec with. And I know, as well,
Michael and Cindy. So, I would like to associate myself
with them.
As well as I would like to associate myself with
the comments that Senator Simmons also gave in re-gard to Sasha Swann. I knew Sasha from church, and
also her family, her Stovell side of the family as well.
Sasha’s mother also recently passed away. And so
again I extend condolences on the passing of Beverly
Davis, as I just mentioned, Sasha’s mother. So it is a
very, very difficult time for the family at the moment.
In addition, I would like to express condolences
to the friends and family of Alex Cottingham, who was
a chef at Mid Ocean [Club] when I was there. [A] Gruff
personality. A lot of people kind of steered away from him. But he really had a heart of gold. He really [did].
His exterior, his bark was worse than his bite. I would
say that would be a good description of Alex.
Then there were three other former Warwick
Sec people who have passed away recently, all of
whom I did know obviously, personally.
Crystal Lightbourne. She has recently passed
away. Condolences were expressed to her [family] in
another place last week. Monique Johansen. (Apologies to her family and friends; I do not know what her married name is.) But she passed away in October.
She w as a very good friend of mine. We just lost contact over the years, but we would certainly have chats
and laugh when we did see each other, which was not
very often.
And then there is George Scott Smith. Many
people will remember Scott (as I knew him; that is what
he was always called in high school). Scott was a very
outspoken advocate. He spoke on a number of issues
that were happening in Bermuda. He relocated overseas. And as I mentioned, he has recently passed
away. But Scott was known for his preaching, for his teaching, for his encouraging. And even while he was sick, Scott was still encouraging people. I mean, our
class, our Warwick Sec class have a group chat. A nd
Scott was always on there putting encouraging words
out and Voice Mate and all of that stuff. So, he will be a
big miss.
I just have two points of congratulations to Jessica Lewis, who has won a Gold Medal at the Parapan Games held in Santiago, Chile. So extreme congratulations to her. I am sure that the Minister will add some
additional comments on Jessica’s success.
And as well as I would like to extend congratulations to the nominees for the 2023 Bermuda Educa-tors Network Outstanding Teacher of the Year Awards.
There were 10 finalists recently announced. And if I
may, I would like to just call their names because I t hink


Bermuda Senate teaching is an absolute calling. I do not have the gift for
teaching, so I do admire those who do. The 10 finalists
were as follows:
• Shunna Muhammad, Southampton Preschool;
• Dionne Tuzo, Northlands Primary;
• Ayesha Vickers -Brown, Paget Primary;
• Wayne DeSilva, Whitney Institute;
• Hewitt Taylor, Berkeley Institute;
• Michael Beckles, Berkeley Institute;
• Lutgarda Lambe, Purvis Primary;
• Makeba Stowe, East End Primary;
• Helen Paynter, Whitney Institute; and
• Richard Lindsay, Cedar Bridge Academy.
So I jus t want to say Best of luck! to everyone.
And Congratulations on your nomination!
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak on congrats and obits?
Senator De Couto, Dr. De Couto.

Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to associate myself with the sending of previous congratulations to Ms. Tull. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
No one else?
Then, Minister Darrell, you have the floor.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
would first like to start with condolences to the family of Mr. Keevin Peets. He was laid to rest yesterday, and I was a classmate of his younger sister, Dr. Ayesha
Peets -Talbot, and also his other sibling, Ms. Annisha
Peets. His father, Sir Kirk Peets, is a good friend of my
parents. I send condolences as well to his mom, his
wife, and his three children for their untimely loss. I
would like condolences to be sent to his family, Madam President.
Also, I want to be associated with the condolences for the passing of Ms. Lois Weeks, the mother
of Minister Michael Weeks. Ms. Weeks, as most people
would know, went to Sunday School at St. Paul AME Church, was a long- serving usher at St. Paul AME, as
well as a Sunday school teacher for many, many years
at St. Paul AME Church. She happened to be my Sun-day school teacher at one point in time. As many of us in the community would have had the experience of being in Ms. Weeks’ Sunday school class, as well as the
Sunday school picnics, always a feature over on Darrell’s Island. So she lived a full life, but even with that
said, it is always hard when you lose someone, especially Minister Weeks’ mother. So I would like to be associated with the condolences to her entire family, not just the Minister, on the loss of their mother, grandmother. Thank you, Madam President. I would like to move to congrats. And I would
like to touch on congrats from all three phases of my
Ministry this morning. I would like to start with congrats
to the Bermuda Cricket Board. On Friday evening, the
Bermuda Cricket Board held their yearly pri ze-giving
awards, and I was invited to attend. I am glad I went
because the title of that was From the Grassroots to the
World Stage. And I mentioned at that time, Madam
President, I started playing cricket at Cleveland County from grassroots. And I was al so a long way from home
in Buenos Aires, Argentina, supporting our team on the
world stage, as well as at the National Stadium. So,
cricket spans the entire spectrum.
And a shout -out to a former student of mine,
also very popular on the world stage of sport, Mr. Malachi Jones, who received an icon award. I will also
highlight another former student of mine, Mr. Derrick Brangman, who, much to the delight of many people
who were in attendance, received the MVP for the
Premier [Division]. Mr. Jermal Proctor, the up- and-coming young cricketer out of Somerset, who received the MVP for the First Division. Coach of the Year, everyone
would know Mr. Jeff Richardson; congrats to him. Mr.
Kamau Leverock won the International team MVP. And a long- service award was given to Mr. Russell Richardson, and congrats to him for all of the work that he has
done in cricket.
And I do not have everyone here, Madam President. But I want to say congratulations to everyone
who was honoured at that event on Friday evening, and
to the Bermuda Cricket Board for taking time to recognise and honour all of their stars for this past year. Also
I was at the Bermuda International Airport yesterday evening to welcome back two of the participants of the
Parapan Games, Ms. Yushae DeSilva- Andrade, who
got a silver medal in the sport of boccia. And Mr. Omar
Hayward, who finished fourth in the s port of boccia.
And I will also be at the airport. I hope to see
others from across the aisle there as well to welcome
Ms. Jessica Lewis home in December when she returns with her gold medal from the Parapan Games,
and I want to be associated with the congrats that were
put forward by the Opposition Senate Leader.
And finally, to my third kind of piece of this puzzle which is my Ministry, I want to congratulate the Ber-muda Tourism Authority for putting on the Bermuda
Tourism Summit yesterday. I did get a chance to go at
the beginning. I went back around lunchtime a nd
stayed for the entire day. So, thank you to their team
for putting on a series of workshops and panel discussions for stakeholders, talking about the entire ecosystem of tourism and how it benefits everyone. So, I want
to congratulate them.
And one final one, Madam President, is from
the Department of Culture, also under our Ministry. And
we want to congratulate the Friends of St. Peter’s
Church for getting their clock restored. And I know (may
she rest in peace) a former Senator who was onc e in
this place would have been hugely excited to see the
54 29 November 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate finished product of this. I am excited because the Department of Culture provided a contribution of support
through apprenticeship programmes for Bermudians to
become clock restorers. So, I want to say thank you
and congrats to the St. Peter’s Church for getting their old clock finally restored.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Oh, I left out one. Can I
do one more?

The President: Yes. Certainly you may.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: I want to do an early congrats. Someone across the aisle would love this one.
For Mr. Dorian Tucker, who is going to be putting on a
workshop on December 2. And I had the pleasure of
listening to a piece of his presentation and the work that
he has done and continues to do when it comes to de-veloping leaders. So he is putting on a workshop for
men. And I encourage as many as possible, if there is
space available left, to attend the workshop. That is tomorrow at the Chamber of Commerce building. And I want to congratulate [him for] all of the work that he has
done, is doing and will continue to do in this very, very
important part of community outreach.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Minister.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Madam President, if I may? Thank
you to the Minister for that shout -out. I just want to say
the workshop is on Saturday.

[Inaudible interjection]

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. Sorry. You said tomorrow.

[Inaudible interjection]

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you.

The President: Thank you for that correction, Senator
Tucker.
I would just like to associate myself with the
condolences then that have been expressed for Ms.
Lois Lorraine Weeks. And not only for the Minister, Michael Weeks, but the entire family.
And congratulations —obviously I will join with
the congrats that have been expressed. I am sure the
entire Senate body would like to congratulate Jessica
Lewis on her achievement. So, I would like to put that
out there, that the entire Senate body really congratulates her on her achievement.
And also, congrats to all of the athletes, and
particularly Bermuda’s cricket teams, as the Minister
has indicated. Finally, I know when you talked about the clock
in St. George’s, I think we all remember the Senator
who was in this Chamber and who really spoke out very
much for the East End. And it was quite an achievement to have the clock, which I have forgotten how
many years it is old. But that was quite an achievement.
And the fact that young people are now being trained
to look after that clock going forward I think speaks volumes for us in Bermuda because of the age of Bermuda, number one, and the age of the St. George’s
Church, which is a beacon for us in Bermuda and for
the rest of the world or anybody who comes. Any visitor
who comes here, they always go to St. Peter’s Church.
So, to know that time has been spent to restore that
clock is wonderful news.
With that said, now we will move on. We have
reached adjournment.
Minister, it is in your hands.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I do now ask that the Senate adjourn to Wednesday, December 13.

ADJOURNMENT

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

APPRECIATING THE FULL TAPESTRY
OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE US

Thank you, Madam President. I am mindful of time, so I will make sure we can
all get to lunch.
The topic on my mind this week has been our
people, Madam President, our people. I would like to talk about that topic. I appreciate your indulgence and
the Chamber’s indulgence. Often we use the word
“our.” Who are we, Madam President? And often it can
be us versus them, our group versus the other groups.
Now, my colleagues and I in the One Bermuda Alliance,
we take the approach that us is a big group. It is a small
Island, but it is a big group. And it includes all of us together.
And I think about the analogy of a ship, Madam
President, or perhaps a smaller Bermuda sloop where
you have different people on the ship, and they have
different backgrounds and different skills. But if not everybody can pull together and if we do not take advantage of all of the skills and backgrounds and unique
characteristics of each person on that ship, the voyage
will not be completed and the crew will be in danger.
So, I guess I would like to encourage anyone
listening to this to think about us in the broadest way
possible on this small Island. We have a decreasing
population, and really we need to expand the concept


Bermuda Senate of us to include as many people as possible who can
contribute and bring their intellectual, social, emotional,
financial, capital to this Island to help with our success.
Now, that does not mean we should not all celebrate the diversity and the tapestry of this country. We
have a broad variety of cultural and social backgrounds
in this country. Some of the stories of those backgrounds are honestly highly regrettable. We have had
people who were brought here against their will. B ut we
have people from the Caribbean. We have people here who came from Africa. We have people here from Eu-rope. We have people here from North America. We
have people here from Asia. And anyone who has gone
to have a curry or a roti can appreciate the div erse impacts of that.
And when we talk about Bermudian culture, we
do need to take stock and recognise and celebrate all
of the components of that culture. And I think it would
be incumbent on all of us to take time to make sure we
appreciate the wide varieties of that culture that we may
not have appreciated. One thing I am personally thank-ful for is that I have been able to gain an appreciation
of things that historically I might not have gained appreciation for. But it does not mean I put aside my own
personal cultures, and i t does not mean I stop there. I
go wider. Perhaps one day I can better understand the
contributions of the Filipino culture to Bermuda. As today we talked about Portuguese Bermudians, I have no
doubt . . . in fact we already should be talking about Filipino Bermudians, to provide an example.
So, I am going back to this concept of us and
our people. And I would urge anybody listening to take
the broadest view possible of what our means, because
we all have to work together. You know, in insurance
we talk about, Oh, you only want to pick good insurance
risks. And the danger of that is you can shrink to greatness, as we would say. And very small businesses are very good risks. And then you go out of business because you are not making enough money. And that is
a little bit of what might be happeni ng on this Island if
we are not careful. We cannot shrink to greatness by turning people away, or gatekeeping, Madam President. We talk about us and them. That is a form of gatekeeping.
Recognise that there are many ways to be Bermudian, many ways to exemplify Bermudian culture.
And everyone has their own comfort zone. So, I know
for some people a comfort zone might be a sports club,
a boat club, a quiet morning on the porch. A long day
fishing perhaps with a friend or perhaps alone. A long
day at a cricket game full of noise and colour and activity. A long day in quiet contemplation at a church. So,
we know that there are many ways that we as Bermudians and residents of Bermuda can enjoy our country,
our culture and each other’s company. So I urge everybody to take the most inclusive way of thinking about that.
And I think I will probably close with one comment. There is a book called Improv that I read once. And the thing I remember about that is that improv is
the art of how -do-you-keep- the-conversation- going,
Madam President, in a constructive way. You can be talking to somebody. The key to doing improv is you
say or s omeone says something; you may not really
understand it. But the challenge for you to keep that
conversation going to get the best result is, you say,
Yes, and. And pick it up and move with it. An d what can
you add to it? Keep that conversation alive and flowing. Even if it was out of your comfort zone or different for
you, different from your history, what can you learn from that?
Because our natural tendency is . . . people
say, No, but. So, we cannot be shutting down, and we
cannot be close- minded about what it means to be us.
This country is too small for that, Madam President. And we need to appreciate the full tapestry.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator John Wight, you have the floor.

BERMUDA HEALTH COUNCIL
ANNUAL REPORTS 2021 AND 2022

Sen. John Wight: Thank you, Madam President.
I will be brief. Earlier today we had received an
announcement on the Bermuda Health Council Annual
Report for the year ends 2022 and 2021. And as we all
know, the Health Council provides a very important
governing role in Bermuda. And just in reviewing t he
annual report, I noticed that the largest source of revenue comes from the Mutual Reinsurance Fund, which
many would know is a prescribed sum of one dollar per
month per insured person that helps to fund our health
services. And in reviewing the financi al statements, it
indicated that we expect to receive from that fund about $1.5 million a year to fund the Health Council. And in
the 2022 year, as in the 2021 and 2020 years, we received roughly a third, or about a half million—so a
shortfall of about $1 million in three straight years.
So, I guess my concern really is that with the
Health Council being such an important body for us that
it continues to achieve its successes through proper funding. And there is a significant shortfall both in the
2022 year and 2021 and 2020, based on the information included in the annual report that was tabled today. So that is my comment/concern, Madam Presi-dent.
Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator John Wight.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Hearing none, then, Senators, the Senate
stands adjourned until December 13. Be well.
[At 11:59 am, the Senate stood adjourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 13 December 2023.]
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