July 26, 2023

Thank you, Madam
President.
Madam President, today it is my pleasure to
provide Members of the Senate with an update on the
Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service Airport Operations
Division and what we are doing to ensure that sufficient
resources are in place to meet the increased airport requirements.
Madam President, Members of the Senate will
recall that the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service operates the Airport Rescue Firefighting Services
section
which provides aircraft rescue and firefighting services for the L. F. Wade International Airport. This is an essential service that enables the airport to serve commercial flights in accordance with international standards.
You will recall, Madam President, that I advised of the increased staffing requirements at the airport in respect of the minimum duty strength and the
need in the short term to bring in overseas firefighters
to meet that revised requirement to ensure that airport
operations continued uninterrupted. Clearly, we could
not afford as a c ountry to jeopa rdise the operation of
the airport, which is an essential component of our economic stability and long- term sustainability.
Madam President , it is important for me to underscore that the Airport Rescue Firefighting Services
is a Retained Government Service as part of the airport
project agreement between Skypor t and the Bermuda
Airport Authority. The Bermuda Airport Authority is responsible for providing the Retained Government Service and have transferred responsibility for the delivery
of the Airport Rescue Firefighting Services to the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service by way of a memorandum of understanding in 2007, with an amendment in 2017. Please note: There is no fee paid by Skyport to
the Bermuda Airport Authority or to the Bermuda Fire
and Rescue Service for this service.
Madam President , I am pleased to report that
we have advertised and recruited a further 24 local recruit firefighters. These new recruits are scheduled to
travel to Newcastle in the UK on the 5th of August 2023
for six weeks to receive specialist training that will cer-tify them as aircra ft rescue firefighters. The Newcastle
International Fire Training Academy is a world- class
aircraft rescue firefighting training facility with highly
qualified instructors. During this training, our firefighters
will be required to demonstrate competence in the following areas:
• saving and preserving endangered life at incidents ;
• extinguishing fires at aircraft incidents ;
• m aintaining operational readiness of resources ;
• site and position v ehicles at an incident location;
• implement action to resolve operational incidents ;
• contain and control spillage or release of hazardous material; and
• recognise airside hazards and minimise risks .
On successful completion of their training,
each recruit will be issued with a certificate of competence in line with C AP 699 ( standards for the competence of rescue and firefighting service personnel developed by the UK Civil Aviation Authority).
Madam President, this recruitment drive represents the last phase of the Bermuda Fire and Rescue
Service’s emergency plan to rapidly expand and build
the extra workforce capacity required to meet the new
minimum staffing levels mandated by the Aerodrome
Regulators. The fire service’s efforts to reach this stage
were extraordinary because of the timings of similar recruitment drives taking place in the wider Ministry.
Mada m President, the Minister of National Security met with the Chief Fire Officer and his m anagement team last week to express the Government’s
pleasure with the progress to date. Barring any unfore-seen problems, the newly trained fire officers will replace the overseas consultant firefighters on the 1
st of
October 2023.
Madam President, not all jurisdictions hire raw
recruits and train them for the fire service . Some will
only hire trained and qualified firefighters. Bermuda,
however, hires raw recruits and trains them to be fire-fighters. It typically takes 24 weeks for the foundation
training , and then there is further specialist training.
With this particular cohort, the intent is to have them
certified as aircraft rescue firefighters and subsequently
deployed at the airport to replace the remaining overseas firefighters by the 1
st of October 2023. Madam
President , we currently have 16 overseas firefighters
remaining in Bermuda who will fulfil their contracts until they are replaced on the 1
st of October 2023.
570 26 July 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate On a related note, I can advise that we are
planning to fill a number of posts in the s ervice resulting
from retirements and recent promotions. This will include the Assistant Chief Fire Officer’s post. Earlier this
month two senior -level management positions were
filled. This is in alignment with the fire service’s succession plan and d epartmental objectives for 2023/24.
Madam President , we are committed to ensuring that there are sufficient resources at the airport to
maintain operations. We are also committed to recruiting and retaining Bermudians in the s ervice in general.
This essential service provides a challenging and rewarding career , and I encourage people to apply to join.
Madam President , in closing, I hasten to remind Members of the Senate of the commitment made
to this c ountry that we would replace the overseas firefighters at the airport with qualified Bermudians. This
recruitment and overseas training of Bermudian firefighter s will achieve that aim. This is another example
of a promise made and promise kept.
Madam President , I would like to express my
gratitude to the women and men throughout the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service for their continued outstanding service to this country , without which our lifeline at the airport would not be able to function and operate. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Emily Dill. I believe
you have a second Statement. You can proceed when
you are ready.

UPGRADE OF THE CCTV NETWORK UPDATE

Thank you, Madam
President.
Madam President, I will provide today Members of the Senate and the public with an update on the
upgrade of the Island’s closed- circuit television (CCTV)
network .
Madam President , Senators may be aware that
in 1999 the first public CCTV system was implemented
in Bermuda. In 2014, the CCTV network was upgraded
to incorporate Island -wide coverage at a cost of
$3,910,737.91, plus a five -year managed maintenance
contract that cost $2,525,600.40. Madam President ,
Senators may also recall in February 2022 this Government committed a $1 million boost to upgrade the I sland’s CCTV network as promised in the 2021 S peech
from the Throne.
Madam President , today I would like to announce that Digicel Bermuda was awarded the contract
to upgrade the CCTV network and provide a managed
maintenance service plan at a total cost of $4,047,440.
Madam President, the cost is broken down into
two par ts: (1) total equipment and installation [valued
at] $1,035,500; and (2) a five-year managed maintenance services plan valued at $602,388 annually , for a
total of $3,011,940. Digicel Bermuda has a 135- year history of doing business in Bermuda dating back to the Bermuda Telephone Company ( BTC).
Madam President, Digicel Bermuda also has
20 years of experience delivering successfully man-aged and deployed CCTV solutions on several different government and emergency services projects in Trinidad, Dominica, Antigua, Curacao, St . Lucia, El Salvador and the Turks and Caicos.
Madam President, I am happy to report that the
agreements were signed on the 5
th of July 2023 and an
initial payment was made on the 7th of July 2023 to secure the equipment for the project. During the negotiations process, Digicel Bermuda commenced the new fibre installation and to date has completed 37 of the 132 site locations. Madam President, the upgrade is expected to take less than 25 weeks. The CCTV network
will have a sof t rollout over the Cup Match holiday and
will be fully operational before the Christmas holiday
period.
Madam President, the new CCTV network will
have the added resilience of running on Digicel’s fibre
and LTE networks. The 247 new cameras include facial
and licence plate recognition, PTZ (or Pan/Tilt/Zoom),
multisensory, and varifocal . Madam President, a single
multisensory camera has four fully functional cameras in one and can cover a larger area whilst maintaining clarity.
Madam President, the new cameras are perfect for video monitoring applications where lots of detail are needed. Additionally, the new CCTV network
will have all of the necessary software to manage the
new cameras and will also include a video management system and brief cam analyt ics.
Madam President, the Command, Control, and
Communications Cent re will be composed of a control
room with monitoring stations and a video wall with a communications cabinet .
Madam President, the new CCTV network offers higher resolution and expanded coverage. It also
gives the Bermuda Police Services (BPS) an opportunity to incorporate state- of-the-art technology to assist in tackling violent crime in Bermuda. The primary
objective of this project is to improve the security and surveillance capabilities of the BPS. This will be achieved by implementing advanced surveillance tech-nology that aims to increase the BPS’s ability to monitor
and respond to potential security threats, as well as enhance our forensic capabilities. Madam President, it is
import ant to note that the new network has the potential
to have software features added onto it that can tackle road traffic offences. As we finali se the next steps for
speed/red light detection, I will provide further updates.
Madam President, I am pleased to advise that
the Ministry of National Security and the BPS worked diligently with the Department of Information and Digital Technologies, the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Office of Project Management and Procurement, and the Ministry of Finance to ensure that this offer


Bermuda Senate achieved best value and also met all of the requirements for the Government and the people of Bermuda.
Madam President , I would like to thank the
team for their work on this phase of the initiative.
Madam President , we have delivere d on the
promise made to upgrade the Island’s CCTV network .
As I stated previously, we will build on the new CCTV
network as a part of our commitment at the Ministry of
National Security to meet our mission of Working together to keep you safe. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: And thank you, Senator Emily Dill, Junior Minister for National Security.

INTRODUCTION OF BILLS
The President: There are none.

FIRST READING OF PUBLIC BILLS

BILL

FIRST READING

INVESTMENT FUNDS AMENDMENT ACT 2023
The President: The following public Bill has been received from the Honourable House of Assembly and is now read for the first time: Its title is the Investment
Funds Amendment Act 2023. And this Bill will be taken
up on our Orders of the Day.

FIRST READING OF PRIVATE BILLS
The President: There are none.

QUESTION PERIOD
The President: Senators, we will entertain questions
on the Statements that have been presented this morn-ing. The first one is in the name of Minister Darrell about
Cup Match 2023.
Would any Senator care to ask?
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: CUP MATCH 2023

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
And good morning again to my Senate colleagues and
the listening audience.
Just a general question to the Minister. And
that would be, How many companies submitted bids for
the assessment of the scaffolding project? If the Minister can sort of give some information around that. I just
want to know if it was a bidding process, if they had just
gone out and selected somebody, what that process involved. Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions?
No. Then it is over to you, Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
The Government, other than ensuring that this
was funded, was not involved in the process of selecting the engineer. That is all taken care of and organised by the club. And the Government funded the club who
then gave the fundin g to the engineer. So the Government was not involved in the procurement process of
the engineer.

The President: Thank you, Minister.
Senator Tucker, do you have a second question or a supplemental?
Sen. Robin Tucker: A supplemental question, please.
The President: Mm-hmm.

SUPPLEMENT ARIES

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you to the Minister for
providing that information. That is very helpful.
I am just curious to know whether there was, in
the Government providing the funding, was that part of
the $50,000 c ontribution that was made? Or was that
in addition to the $50,000 contribution that was made?
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: In addition to that,

Senator Tucker.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. Thank you, Madam President.
Can the Minister provide us with that number,
please? Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Minister Darrell.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: [It was] $14,375.32.
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
[There are] no other questions from anybody
else.
We will move on then to the next Statement,
and that was given by Senator Emily Dill on the Airport Fire Rescue [sic].
Would any Senator care to ask questions on
that Statement?
Senator Tucker , over to you

572 26 July 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate QUESTION 1: UPGRADE OF THE CCTV NETWORK
UPDATE

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. Thank you, Madam President.
Can the Junior Minister let us know whether
there were additional entities that bid for the CCTV con-tract? I would like to know if there were others other
than Digicel ( who was named obviously as the winner ).
But were there others competing for the business as
well? Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to ask questions
while she is . . .
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: UPGRADE OF THE CCTV NETWORK
UPDATE

Thank you, Madam President.
While we are covering questions on the CCTV,
I note that we talked about a facial recognition and the number plates recognition. I think another word for that
might be the ANPR, which you will hear about in many
other jurisdictions (or automatic number plate recognition). So my questions are related to those two fea-tures.
Number one is, Would we expect to see automatic ticket generation for speeders, which you can get in many jurisdictions? They see that you are speeding,
the camera sees your licence plate and they just send
you a ticket in the mail. That is my first question,
Madam President. Should I pause or go with my related
questions?
The President: Senator Dill.

Good morning. Okay,
thank you. Thank you, Senator.
With regard to the question by Senator
De Couto, it is my understanding that the new system
will have the capability to do the features that you have mentioned this morning in terms of the facial recognition. But they have the capacity to do that. However,
that will be introduced gradually. If that will make sense
to you.

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

As I stated, t hat is
something that will be added gradually. So yes, the an-swer will be yes. Eventually we will have the full gamut
of the capabilities in operation.

The President: Senator Tucker’s question?

Sen. Robin Tucker: Excuse me, Madam President. I
actually have a couple more, two more questions. If you prefer that I just ask them all at once or just wait for the response to the other questions.

The President: Are they supplementary questions or —
Sen. Robin Tucker: They are separate questions.

The President: They are separate questions.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes.

The President: Well, you can ask all three of them
then.

QUESTION 2: UPGRADE OF THE CCTV NETWORK
UPDATE
Sen. Robin Tucker: Okay. Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to know if the Junior Minister can
provide a breakdown of exactly what is covered, just a
basic understanding so we know what is covered by the
managed maintenance plan that is totalled $3 million,
$3,011,940? So, if she can just give us an idea of, basically, what are we paying for? What is this large amount . . . what is that covering?

QUESTION 3: UPGRADE OF THE CCTV NETWORK
UPDATE

Sen. Robin Tucker: And also, I would like to know if
she can give us an idea of when phase 2 of this proj ect
will be rolling out. And that is the traffic portion. Because what was clear in the Statement, Madam President, was that this initial phase is not about traffic at all.
And I stand to be corrected, but this is about, as this
Statement does say, the pri mary objective of this project is about improving the security and surveillance capabilities of the BPS and that the new technology has
the potential to have software features added to it so it
can tackle road traffic.
So as the Junior Minister just menti oned, that
is a phase 2 project. So, if she can give us some idea


Bermuda Senate of when we can expect phase 2 to roll out, because obviously with all of the road traffic incidences that we
have going on that we are faced with in this country, it
would be wonderful to know when that will be a priority.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker, and those
are your three questions.
Senator De Couto, you have a second question?

QUESTION 2: UPGRADE OF THE CCTV NETWORK
UPDATE

Yes. Thank you, Madam
President.
My second question is related to the facial
recognition and also the automated number plate
recognition. And I want to just preface the question by
saying that this system, we support. It is a valuable and
important tool for public safety that frankly I think most people on the Island have been really waiting for.
We have to appreciate that when we create
these tools they have consequences and implications that we need to carefully understand and manage. And that is the context for this question. So how would PIPA
relate to the data and information captured and produced by this system? So, for example, we see in the movies these systems in play, and they can track an
individual all around the city and pop it up on a computer and store it for years and months.
And I think we could say, you know, if I had
someone with a camera following me on a bike, videotaping my every move on the road, I do not think any-body in Bermuda would like that. So how would PIPA
cover this? And what are the policies that the Govern-ment will put in place to protect privacy and control ac-cess to this very sensitive personal data, such as data
retention policies?
And I am specifically concerned with the facial
recognition. You know, my understanding is that this is
an important tool, but it has a lot of problems with false positives. And my understanding is it is especially the
case with people of colour or women. So just to repeat my question, What would be the policies for control and
access to these data, and data retention and relation to
PIPA? Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Senator Dill.

Thank you, Madam
President.
With regard to Senator Tucker’s question and
the procurement process, yes, we did go through the
regulated bidding process with regard to the choosing of the company that would provide the service.
With regard to the questions regarding exactly
what the maintenance consists of, I have reached out to the technical officers for the outlining of exactly what
that consists of.
And certainly, Senator De Couto, you have certainly highlighted the reason why the Government has
not implemented all of those more advanced technolo-gies initially. We will be working assiduously to ensure
that proper policies are in place and that we do all that
is necessary to ensure that our people are protected as
we go forward.
The President: Senator Tucker.

SUPPLEMENTARIES
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. Thank you, Mad am President. Thank you to the Junior Minister for responding to my question. I have a supplementary.
If [the Junior Minister] can just let me know, let
us know . . . She mentioned that there were other entities. Is she able to tell us how many other enti ties competed for the business?

The President: Senator Dill.

Yes. Senator, there
were 13 bids.
And with regard to the maintenance management plan, it covers repairs and the upkeep of the system, the ongoing upkeep.

The President: Senator Tucker, you have a supplemental?
Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, Madam President.

The President: This is your second.

Sen. Robin Tucker: The second supplemental that I
do have as it relates to the bidding, of the other entities, the Junior Minister mentioned that there were 13. Is she
able to tell us what was the basis for selecting Digicel
over the others?
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.

Senator Tucker, as
outlined in the Statement that I provided, Digicel has a
135-year history as well as 20 years of experience with
regard to managing and deploying CCTV solutions in
several different localities. And as such, we felt that
they were the most experienced and qualified to provide the service that was necessary at this time for the
Island of Bermuda.
The President: Senator De Couto.

SUPPLEMENTARY

574 26 July 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Dr. Douglas De Co uto: Thank you, Madam President. I have a supplemental with respect to my questions on policies referring to data.
Would the Senator be able to provide an indication of the timelines by which these policies would be developed, and we would see these more advanced
features put into play? Would it be, for example, 6
months, 12 months, 18 months and so forth? Thank
you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.

I am not able to provide that timeline with regard to the advanced features.

The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.
Senator Tucker, you had a third supplemental
or a third question?

Sen. Robin Tucker: This is the second supplementary
on the question I asked about the maintenance contract.

The President: Yes.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Can the Junior Minister tell us
whether monitoring is also covered as part of that managed service contract? Thank you.

Yes, it is.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Third supplementary, please?

The President: Senator Tucker, you can ask your third
supplementary.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Okay. Thank you.
If the Junior Minister can tell us how the monitoring aspect will go? Because based on the press conference I saw last evening, I believe that the Police
Commissioner mentioned that the 911 rooms, operators may be participating in this monitoring aspect. So if she could provide some clarity around that? I may
have misunderstood, but I believe that was said. That
would be appreciated. Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Senator Dill.

Senator De Couto, I
have been advised that during the next calendar year, 2024, is when they will begin that process and outline
the policies that will be related to its implementation.
With regard to the system monitoring, not only
will we have the monitoring by the 911 staff, et cetera,
but the system of course records, and thereby monitors
. . . provides an ongoing record of everything that has
taken place.
The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.

[Crosstalk]
The President: I am going to ask that, but . . .

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, sorry, Madam President. I
have not received an answer to my third question yet.

The President: Can you repeat the third question?

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. So the third question was
[about] an anticipated rollout for phase 2 of this particular projec t, which includes the traffic monitoring and
processing. Thank you.

I believe I just shared
that it would be during calendar year 2024.

The President: Thank you, Senator Dill, and thank
you, Senators. But I will ask if Senators have a question
on the first Statement that Senator Dill gave. And that
is on the Airport Fire Rescue Services.
Does any Senator wish to ask questions on
that Statement?
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.

QUESTION 1: AIRPORT FIRE RESCUE SERVICES

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I think this is wonderful. Obviously being able
to provide appropriate fire service personnel is of critical importance for all of the reasons that have already
been publicised.
I would like to know if the Junior Minister can
tell us how many firefighter positions are still needed to
be filled within the Central, East and West stations to
bring them to full capacity?
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.



Bermuda Senate Sen. Rev. Dr. Emil ygail A. Dill: Certainly, as you can
certainly celebrate with us that they have a mammoth
job in terms of getting out and getting the recruits that
are necessary. And I am waiting for the exact numbers
because you have asked us to specify. So, I am just waiting for those exact numbers so I can share those
with you.
The President: T hank you, Senator Dill.
Senator Tucker, you have your second question?

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, Madam President. I have two
questions if I can put them both out?

The President: Yes, you can.

QUESTION 2: AIRPORT FIRE RESCUE SERVICES
Sen. Robin Tucker: Okay, perfect.
So, the second question is, the Statement
makes mention of wider recruitment drives going on in
the Ministry. So, I would like to know if the Junior Minister can tell us, give us an update on the recruitment
efforts taking place in the wider Ministry. That would be very helpful.

QUESTION 3: AIRPORT FIRE RESCUE SERVICES

Sen. Robi n Tucker: And then my third question is if
the Junior Minister can tell us, What training have the
new recruits completed to prepare them to participate
to receive the specialist training for certification as aircraft rescue firefighters? Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.

With regard to their
training, I believe that the Statement clearly outlined that they will be travelling overseas beginning on the 5
th
of August. And during this training, they will receive
specialist training that will certify them as aircraft rescue firefighters. They will have competence in saving
and preserving endangered lives at incidents, extinguishing fires at aircraft incidents, maintaining operational readines s of resources, site and position vehicles
at incident locations, implement action to resolve operational incidents, contain and control spillage or release
of hazardous material, and being able to recognise air-side hazards and minimise risks.
On successf ul completion of their training,
each recruit will be issued with a certificate of competence in line with the CAP 699, which are the standards
which were developed by the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
The President: Senator Tucker, do you have a supplementary?
SUPPLEMENTARIES

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes, I do.
So, the supplemental question is this: The
Statement mentions that the 24 local firefighters are go-ing off to do their specialist training. It also mentions
that it typically takes 24 weeks for the foundation training that they need to be done. So, if the Junior Minister
can confirm that these 24 firefighter recruits were actu-ally hired in March? Because it would be somewhere in
March where that would allow that 24 weeks for them to do the foundation training in preparation for the specialist training that the y are going off to do in August.
So, if she can just clarify that, that would be helpful.
Thank you. Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.

I believe that what the
Statement said was that in some jurisdictions they require 24 weeks. But we are working within the constraints of the current needs in Bermuda, and they have been working with these recruits. And I can assure you
that they will be fully trained and ready to operate by
the date that is outlined, which is the 1
st of October
2023.

The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.
Senator Tucker, is there a supplemental?

Sen. Robin Tucker: Yes. Thank you, Madam President.
Having been on the N ewcastle firefighters’
website and having seen the prerequisites for this training, the specialist training that they are going to be doing, one of them is being a breathing apparatus wearer. So apparently that is some kind of certification. So as
part of the foundation training, if the Junior Minister can
tell us, of the 24 weeks that were mentioned in the
Statement for the foundation training, how long was the
training that they actually received, and was part of that
this breathing apparatus wearer —
The President: Included.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Did it include it, yes, because that
is a prerequisite that I saw on the website. So if [the
Junior Minister] can provide that information.
Thank you, Madam President.

Okay. With regard to
your earlier question, the Bermuda Fire and Rescue
Service will require an additional 15 firefighters to bring
the structural operation to full capacity.

Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
May I ask a supplemental?

The President: You may.
576 26 July 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate Sen. Robin Tucker: Can the Junior Minister give a
breakdown of how that spreads across the three different entities? So, the Central, East and West?
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
[Pause]

I think in the interest
of time we should perhaps move on. I would love to be able to tell you that I could rattle off those numbers off
of the top of my head. But I cannot. But I will certainly
provide that information to you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Dill, for giving the
Senator an indication that you would obtain that infor-mation for her in due course.
That being the end—
Oh, Senator Tucker.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Sorry, Madam President. Again,
could I ask the Junior Minister if she can provide the
response about the wider efforts that are going on in
the Ministry to complete the recruitment and exercises? Thank you. It would be great to have an update on that. Just generally it is mentioned here that “The Fire Services efforts to reach this stage was extraordinary because of the timings of similar recruitment drives taking
place in the wider Ministry.” So if she can give us an
update on where we are with the recruitment generally in the department, that would be helpful. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.

[Pause]

If you would be kind
enough to outline all of those questions, and I will pro-vide them to you in writing. Thank you.
The President: Thank you, Senator Dill. And thank
you, Senator Tucker, for your questions. And as Senator Dill has indicated, she will receive your questions and she will respond in due course.
Senators, this is the end of our Question Period
on the Statements that have been given this morning.

ORDERS OF THE DAY
The President: The first Order of the Day is consideration of the draft Order entitled Contributory Pensions (Amendment of Benefits) (No. 2) Order 2023. And I believe Minister Owen Darrell, you will take that on for
Senator Hodgson, who is abroad. You have the floor. SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 71(2)
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President, I shall do so.
Madam President, I move that Standing Order
71(2) be suspended so that Senate may now take under consideration the Contributory Pensions (Amendment of Benefits) (No. 2) Order 2023.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

[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 draft Order entitled Contributory Pensions (Amend-ment of Benefits) (No. 2) Order 2023.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
Minister, you can carry on.

DRAFT ORDER

CONTRIBUTORY PENSIONS (AMENDMENT OF
BENEFITS) (NO. 2) ORDER 2023

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you.
Madam President, I am pleased to present the
Order entitled the Contributory Pensions (Amendment
of Benefits) (No. 2) Order 2023 . The purpose of this Order is to increase pensions and other benefits as described in the Contributory Pensions Act 1970 by a rate
of 4.10 per cent. This rate will have an effective date of
August 16, 2023.
Madam President, the Contributory Pensions
(Amendment of Benefits) Order 2023 tabled on July 14,
2023, is a reflection of Government’s commitment to improving the quality of life of our senior citizens.
Madam President, the Government’s 2020 election
platform declared that this Government will put our sen-iors first and implement an annual cost of living in-crease for social insurance pensions that will be linked to the rate of inflation to help lessen the hardships that too many of our seniors now endure.
Madam President, like most other countries,
Bermuda currently provides retired individuals with a social insurance benefit from the Contributory Pensions Fund [CPF] and an occupational pension from their em-ployer. Through no fault of their own, currently a number of retired persons are not receiving an occupational
pension and are therefore relying on the social insur-ance benefit as their sole source of income.
Madam President, this is not an ideal situation,
and the Government continues to do its utmost to en-sure that seniors who rely heavily on their social insurance benefits are cared for suitably.


Bermuda Senate Madam President, notwithstanding the aforementioned, the CPF benefit conti nues to provide an important base retirement income for many. Currently, the
maximum pension paid under the CPF remains about
26 per cent of the median annual gross earnings for
Bermudians as indicated in the Bermuda Job Market
Employment brief produced by the Department of Statistics. This compares closely to the UK where the full
basic state pension as a percentage of average earnings is around 24 per cent.
Madam President, as mentioned, the purpose
of this Order is to increase pensions and other benefit s
under the Contributory Pensions Act 1970 by 4.10 per
cent as of August 16 this year. This is when increases
are typically made to the benefits. Per the Government Actuary, the 4.10 [per cent] increase in benefit would
represent a small negative impact on the overall development of the fund.
Madam President, there are currently five
types of benefits payable under the Contributory Pensions Act 1970. All of the pensions and allowances will be increased by 4.10 per cent. These pensions and allowances are the Contributory Old Age Pension, the
Contributory Widows and Widower Allowance, the
Contributory Disability Benefit, the Non- Contributory
Old Age Pension and the Non- Contributory Disability
Benefit.
Madam President, the basic contributory pension is $1,106 per month. The maximum contributory
pension currently payable, which includes additional in-crements, is approximately $1,610 per month. Alto-gether, some 14,766 individuals currently are receiving
benefits under the Act. The proposed 4.10 per cent increase with the additional increments will raise the
basic contributory pension to $1,152 per month and the
maximum benefit to approximately $1,673 per month.
The increase in pension payments will be included in the September 15, 2023, payment. Thereafter, benef iciaries should expect to see their 4.10 [per cent] increase in their regular monthly payment on the 15
th of
each month.
Madam President, the 4.10 per cent increase
marks the 15th pension increase that the Progressive
Labour Party Government has put throu gh in its time in
Government. Since taking office in November 1998,
and then again in July 2017, this Government has put
through 14 increases prior to this one. Madam President, in every case the benefit increase has either exceeded the prevailing rate of inflation or has been in
line with the [underlying] trend rate, thereby placing seniors’ pensions under the Consumer Price Index
[CPI] in good stead.
Madam President, Honourable Senators are
advised that based on the CPI, the cost of living has increased by a further 4.10 per cent since the last increase was granted. Therefore, this proposed benefit
increase fully covers the prevailing rate of inflation.
Madam President, I would like to remind the Senate
that the 2023 increase in benefits would normally be accompanied by a corresponding increase in contributions by the recommended rate of 6.60 per cent, which
is above the benefits rate. Madam President, it should
also be noted that contributions were last increased in
August 2018 by 4.20 per cent.
Senators will recall that in the 2018 Throne
Speech Government announced that Bermuda’s social
insurance system will be changed from a fixed rate contribution to one based on a percentage of income.
Therefore, it is proposed that contribution increases will be incorporated into the proposed changes in the framework.
Madam President, in that regard I would like to
note that during the tabling of the 2020 actuari al report
on February 4, 2022, important work continued to be
done by the Pension Reform Committee. This commit-tee includes officials from the Ministry of Finance, the PFIC (the Public Funds Investment Committee), assisted by consultants McKinsey & Company and LifeWorks (formerly Morneau Shepell), which have been
assisting the current state of the PSSF (which is the Public Service Superannuation Fund) and the CPF
while evaluating the options to address the Government Pension Fund.
Madam President, the work by the Pension Reform Committee consisted of developing a common set
of facts around each fund’s status, developing a prelim-inary set of recommendations and engaging key stakeholders. Legal analysis of the various options is ongoing. These discussions wil l likely result in changes to
address the critical issues in relation to funding and result in a more progressive framework for contributions.
Once we finalise that work, increases to pension contribution levels will form part of the reform.
Madam Preside nt, contribution rates increased
once over a period [by] 4.2 per cent effective in 2018.
Considering the relatively strong position of the fund, it
is anticipated that the fund can withstand another
year’s delay in the contribution increases. However, it is critical at this juncture that any future increases in
contributions come into force in August 2024.
Madam President, as at March 31 of this year
the fund has net assets of over $1.9 billion representing approximately 10 times the value of benefits paid in this
fiscal year of 2022/23. If the CPF received no further contributions, it could still continue to pay out pensions
at the prevailing rate for almost 12 years. However, the
reality is that contributions will continue through that
time and will be increased from time to time. Consequently, prudent investment of the pension fund assets
is an important factor in the fund’s financial position. In
this regard, Government’s investment strategy for pension fund assets is achieving good results. As mentioned previously, by March 31, 2023, the Contributory
Pension Fund stood at $1.9 billion. Nominal rate of re-turn for the 10 years preceding March 2023 has been 5.4 per cent.
Madam President, as evidenced by the 2020
actuarial report tabled in another place on February 4,
578 26 July 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate 2022, the viability of the fund in the short - to mediumterm is good with the fund being positive for the next 21
years until 2044. However, recognising the long- term
challenges to pensions generally, the Ministry will con-tinue to closely monit or the performance of the fund. It
should also be noted that the funding policy for the fund
is not based on full actuarial funding but based on sustainable funding. That is, contributions plus investment
income should cover benefits and administrative expenses on an annual basis while the fund builds up sufficient reserves to cover several years of benefits and
expenses to withstand future adverse circumstances.
Madam President, despite the encouraging
short - to medium- term outlook on the fund, which is
clearly evident from the latest actuarial review, Bermuda like most of the developed world is faced with challenges associated with the growth of an ageing population. This increase in our seniors will obviously
place a greater strain on the country’s pensi on system.
It is therefore essential that Government continues to
closely monitor the performance of the fund and our overall pension arrangements to ensure the long- term
sustainability of the fund. However, taking care of our
seniors is also a priority fo r us. We remain confident,
Madam President, that we will continue to strike the
right balance between social and fiscal responsibility.
Madam President, in closing I wish to again assure Senators, and more importantly current and future pensioners, that t he Government is sensitive to the
challenges facing pension plans of this nature. We will therefore endeavour to take the appropriate steps to enhance the benefits paid from the National Pension
Plan, as well as ensure that the fund has the ongoing
ability to pay for such benefits. As such, I am proposing
that this Order be passed into law.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Would any Senator care to speak on this [Order]?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you very much,
Madam President, and thank you, Minister, for that fulsome presentation.
A pension is a promise. We have heard a lot
about promises recently. And I just want to do a recap of the different kinds of pensions to really set the table
for my discussion on this, Madam President. The Min-ister did briefly allude to it. Pensions are promises. Most if not all private pensions that we have now are what
we called “ defined contribution, ” and I think that would
be what most people would have as their occupational
pension, or the pension you get at your job. The prom-ise there is, If you give us your money —your money —
we’ll take care of it, we will invest it safely, and we’ll give
it back to you later. It is your mon ey, no one else’s. If
you want more money later, you have to put more money in now. The upside is you are going to get your
money back.
The social insurance, or the CPF (Contributory
Pension Fund), as the Minister mentioned, is like many
other government pensions around the world and is a
defined benefit fund. The promise that is made by that
fund is, We promise exactly what you will get out. And
that is great from the perspective of the recipient of
those funds. You can plan, you have fixed amounts that
you know that you get if you are on a fixed income. But
as we heard in the Statement, it becomes quite a quandary for the people putting the pension in place, the
Government.
The payments, the way these work is the payments that the pensioners get out are typically covered
by investment income on the assets in the fund and
payments into the fund by people currently making con-tributions —that is, people working, not retired yet. This
means that money in the fund that you put in is not really yours. In fact, t ypically the money you put in now is
supporting the payments to the people receiving the pensions now. So, what you have is not your money.
All you have is the promise of payments in the future.
And I know that this Government is keen about
its promises t o seniors, and we support that. We appreciate what it is like for the people who are living on
smaller, fixed incomes, and we support this promise of 4.1 per cent. How could we not?
But the ability of this fund, this Government, to
keep that promise is what I want to talk about, Madam President, because it is easy to make promises, very
easy, very easy. Will the fund have the appropriate pension performance? Get the right investments, get the right income? We know that with the economy it can
sometimes get tricky. It does not always work. Will you
get enough people paying into the fund going forward?
And historically these kinds of funds have worked be-cause they have been in growth environments. More
people, more jobs, and people paying into the funds are
supporting the people who receive the current pension
payments.
If those two things go out of whack, Madam
President, then things get very tricky with respect to these promises. And in fact, that is why there is essentially no such thing as a private pensi on anymore with
a defined benefit, Madam President. Essentially it turns
out to be impossible once one of those variables goes
sideways.
So, we are pleased to support this for our current seniors. But I am looking around this room, and I am thinking about myself. We know that the current situation is going to run out around the mid- 2040s without
any changes. And without getting into ages, I think this
is going to probably overlap several people in this room
and many people working today. And I guess people
should think very carefully about, What is the value of
that promise? Because we have heard that there will
not be any increases to contributions at this time, but


Bermuda Senate we have been promised further increases. We look forward to seeing that. It will be importa nt for the stability
of this fund. Unfortunately, I feel like the can is being kicked down the road here.
I have got two other areas I want to address
around how we should feel about this pension fund and
the value of this promise to myself, to my children, to
their children and the future generations of our Island.
This fund has not had audited accounts since 2012,
Madam President. If it was a private fund with the BMA
[Bermuda Monetary Authority] in charge (but we will probably talk a little bit about that later), that would not
be allowed. There would be fines and the accounts
would have to get done.
If you go to the most recent auditor’s repor t,
which covers the financials of government, she has
listed this Contributory Pension Fund under a section labelled “Matters of Special Importance.” That does not
sound incredibly dramatic. But I think we can agree that
auditors are not the most expressive people. So, I am
going to translate that here. A matter of special importance, when you hear that from an auditor, I think
that is what we would call a raging dumpster fire ,
Madam President.
I want to note that the civil service and the parliamentarians have their own separate pension funds. Now, one distinction between those funds and the social insurance fund, those funds can pull from the general government expenses should there be a shortfall.
So, if there is something wrong with those funds, it gets
backed up. [For] the social insurance fund, that is not
the case, Madam President. There is none of that backstop, we would say.
The previous auditor to the current auditor also
referred to “serious deficiencies in accounting records”
of the Contributory Pension Fund, or the social insurance. The current auditor says, “It is inexcusable that the CPF has not produced financial statements since
2012.” If this was a business, Madam President, no one
would touch it with a 10- foot pole. But this is the people’s money, and this is what people are relying on for the future. And all we currently have is a promise. So
what I want people who may hear this or think about
this to evaluate is, Can I believe that promise? Will the
Government truly come through on that promise?
I next want to turn to the actuarial review,
Madam President. Now, it is a little unfortunate because the most recent one we have is as of the 2020
position. I believe we are expecting one later this year of the fund’s current position. Some of the highlights from that report, because I did not read it and take away
a positive message, Madam President. In fact, as
someone who would include this pension as part of my
own retirement planning, I am a little concerned. You
know, obviously we had COVID -19. We talked about
one of the levers that supports the fund’s payments is
the current working person’s payments into it. And those were paused during COVID -19, and we understand and appreciate that. But of course, it affected the performance of the fund.
The asset -to-expenditure ratio, or the number
of years that the fund assets could cover payments if everythin g just stopped today, decreased over the
three years prior to 2020 from 11.8 to 10.5 years. So
the amount of time that that fund could cover decreased
by 10 per cent. And I think I heard in the brief from the
Minister in fact it has further decreased again.
The number of contributors to the fund decreased, 35,889 people down to 34,629 people over
that three- year period, or minus -3.6 per cent. Why is
that important? That is the number of people paying
into the fund, and that is a critical support of the payments going out of the fund. The old- age ratio support,
that is the number of people who are of working age,
called under -65s, versus the number of people over 65.
So again, it is a measure of the number of people paying into the fund versus the number of people being
supported by or taking payments out of the fund. That
decreased from 3.1 [per cent] to 2.6 [per cent], or minus-16 per cent.
So again, all of these indicators are showing
basically a decline in the position of the fund. Now
again, I know that these indicators are out of date. But
I believe most people agree that the general situation
now in Bermuda is we have even more older people
versus working- age people. That is from the Government’s own report. We know the working population
has decreased. A gain, recently the Government was
talking about how the unemployment rate had gone down but was not talking about that the total number of jobs on the Island had also gone down by over 300
jobs.
So, under the actuary’s best estimates scenario, this fund w ill exhaust in 2044. Again, I mentioned
I am looking around at my future. People in this room,
anyone of working age right now should be incredibly
concerned. And I am glad to hear about the Government’s plans. I want to know . . . we all want to know
what they are going to do to fix this fund.
Some of the statistics I gave, Madam President, are about the number of older people versus the
number of working- age people. We also heard from the
Government that we need to have 8,000 people added
to the working population. That is a major, major driver
and leader of this fund’s success and health. So again,
we do not just want to hear about how they are going to increase contributions from working people into the
fund; we want to hear about how the Government is
going to grow the economy, grow the working population. That is a critical lever for the support of this fund.
Unfortunately, we know that this is currently not
happening. We know that younger generations are
leaving. We know that the population is shrink ing and
ageing. So, while I am glad to hear the Government talk
about its plans and consultations, we look forward to
580 26 July 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate seeing specific, achievable actions about how the finances of this critical fund can be brought under control
and how the sustainability o f our future generations can
be ensured. Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
[Order]?
Yes, Senator Kiernan Bell, Vice President, you
have the floor.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
I do not want to be too repetitive, and I know
that Senator John Wight in the last session commented on the delay since 2012 in auditing. I just wanted to flag
that I too share that concern. And while I am encouraged by Minister D arrell’s indication of the reform and
in addition the report that was in the House on Friday
on the reform that is going on, I query how it is possible
to really do an informed reform assessment without audited financials of the pension fund, which are now expanding for over a decade. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Kiernan Bell.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
[Order]?
Senator Robinson, you have the floor.

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
I stand in support of the [Order]. And I want to
just address a few comments that have been made al-ready. First of all, I think the listening public need to go
back and reassess what the Minister said, the fact that
right now the value of the pension is $1.9 billion. I think it is important that at this moment we focus on that
amount and the fact that it is about 10 times more than the benefits, meaning that we could for the next 10 years [and] still be able to pay out based on what we
are paying now. I think it is important that we focus on
that. That right now is what the situation is, $1.9 billion.
Now, to talk about some of the other items as
far as, for example, we need more people to be working because we are in . . . And as the Minister said, it is not
just Bermuda. A gain, I want to make the listening public
understand that the situation that we are in is not just a Bermuda situation. This is a global situation where we
have more persons retiring than persons in the workforce. This is what has happened. You know, we have
the baby boomers retiring. So as a result, yes, there are
going to be more people retiring.
Now, our Government is quite aware of that.
And that is why we have put out our Economic Development Strategy. And it is important for people to understand that . It is not like we are doing things in the
absence of other things. We are actually thinking about the bigger picture. So when, whether it be Senator De Couto or others who say, Well, what are we doing about
trying to increase employment?, et cetera, we t urn to the Economic Development Strategy. So it is not in iso-lation that, yes, the Economic Development Strategy is
to get more people here to be working, but also those
persons who are working can be putting into making
the contributions to the pension fund so that it contin-ues.
Another thing that the Minister also said was
about being prudent in investing. But the fact that right now we have $1.9 billion in the fund is a testimony to
prudent investing at least up until this point. And we will
continue to be focusing in on that as well. So as much
as I hear about the fact that, you know, we have got the
comments from the Auditor General and everything
else, we must focus on the facts [as they are] right now.
And the fact is that we have $1.9 billion right now in the
fund and that this Government is working to ensure that we continue to increase the number of jobs and per-sons who can contribute for the future.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Leslie Robinson,
the Junior Minister for Economy and Labour.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
[Order]?
Senator Tucker, you have the floor.
Sen. Robin Tucker: Thank you, Madam President.
I just wanted to make a general comment. I
was not planning on saying anything. B ut I would like to
make a comment as it relates to our focusing on where we are right now. I understand fully that we have $1.9
billion to be concerned with. However, I am one of
those people who will be affected within this 10- plus
years period. And there are a lot of others who will be
concerned within this 10- plus years period. And so I
think that for those of us who will be affected within 10
years, we also know that 10 years will go very, very
quickly.
So, will there be pension monies? I get that the
Government is trying to do what they can to make sure
that there are pension monies. However, I would be
more encouraged if I saw a sense of urgency around
immigration, sorting that out; and around again getting
the working population, the working residents here and
engaged. We heard again that 8,400- plus people [is
what] we need, and the aim was to do it within a five -
year period. When I am talking about the sense of urgency, when does that five- year period, when does that
start? Because we do not know. At least I do not know.
I do not know if anybody in this room knows. So, we
need to have that.
I am worried as a person who, as I said, in that
10-year period may not have with all of the contributions I have made over the years, if there are not suffi-cient [numbers of] people pouring into and making contributions [to the fund], will there be sufficient monies
for me? And that is a big concern. I see my Government
colleagues [nodding] their heads yes. But where is the
assurance? I know that there are plans, and I am not


Bermuda Senate saying in any way that they are not working. I am not
saying that. I am just saying, I am looking for the sense
of urgency to ensure. Because I cannot in 10 years’
time, 12 years’ time , whatever i t is when I retire and
others retire, we cannot live on a hope and a prayer.
We need to make sure that we have solid . . . and we
have confidence in the fact that there will be sufficient
pension funds in the kitty for us to draw from. Thank
you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Tucker.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
[Order]?
Hearing none, then it is over to you, Senator
Darrell.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
So just to sum up what I said earli er, and I do
not want to get too controversial with this. But I started with giving an eight -page brief on all of the things that
the Government is doing to ensure that our seniors are
taken care of. I also went through in my eight -page
[brief] in great detail what we have done over multiple
Progressive Labour Party Governments to show that we are being prudent and we are being responsible
with taking care of our seniors. And I also gave worst -
case scenarios, how long it will take. And it is not surprising that some Senators in the Chamber today are
only focusing on possible scenarios that are even be-yond worst -worst case.
But to just answer a few questions, the next actuarial review is actually scheduled for this year in 2023. And the technical officers . . . and I would like to tell
them Thank you. They are working very, very hard for
the people of this country, working very hard to get ready for this review in 2023. So, Madam President, while I do hear the comments, and you know, one of
my phrases is the doom and gloom comments coming
from the other side, I am confident and Bermuda should
be confident that the technical officers who are working
on managing these funds are doing a great deal to
make sure that we do not get anywhere close to the
doom and gloom possibilities or —

The “doom and gloom” —
you know, some of the things that I quoted were from
the actuarial report and were described as the best -estimate scenario—
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: He asked for a point of
order, Madam President. This is not a point of order.
[Crosstalk]

The President: Senator De Couto, that is not a point of
order.

Inadvertently misleading
the Senate, Madam President.
The President: Minister Darrell, continue.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you very much.
And as we did say in the [brief] that we are
dealing with these reforms. And we will continue to be
prudent with the investments that we are making in regard to this fund.
So, Madam President, I think that despite
some of what we have heard today, I think I am confi-dent and the public and seniors should be confident
that we will continue to be on the right track and not get
anywhere close to the doom and gloom that we heard.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Minister Darrell, you can move your
[Order].

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
move that the Senate do now take under consideration
the draft Order entitled Contributory Pensions (Amendment of Benefits) (No. 2) Order 2023.

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

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I
move that the said draft Order be approved and that the
following message be sent to Her Excellency the Gov-ernor :
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
You are going to do the motion now; sorry.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: May it please you , Your
Excellency, the Senate having had under consideration a draft Order entitled the Contributory Pensions (Amendment of Benefits) (No. 2) Order 2023 proposed
to be made by the Minister of Finance under the provisions of section 37 of the Contributory P ensions Act
1970 has the honour to inform Your Excellency that the
Senate has approved the said draft Order.
The President: Is there any objection to the message
being sent?
No objection.
The message will be sent.

[Motion carried: the Contributory Pens ions (Amendment of Benefits) (No. 2) Order 2023 was approved.]

582 26 July 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell, and thank
you, all Senators who participated.
We will now move on to the next item on our
Orders of the Day, and it is the second reading of the Investment Funds Amendment Act 2023. That also will
be taken on by Minister Darrell.
When you are ready, Minister Darrell, you can
continue.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President. Just give me one second.

The President: Yes, indeed. You have just had that
Order. We will give you time.

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Moving from one to the
other.

[Pause]

The President: You are helping out the Junior Minister
of Finance who is attending her conference.

[Inaudible interjec tion]

The President: Yes.
[Pause]

The President: Standing Order 25.

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDER 25

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I move that the provisions of
Standing Order 25 be granted so that Senate may now proceed with the second reading of the Public Bill enti-tled Investment Funds Amendment Act 2023.

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

[Motion carried: Leave granted for the Investment Funds Amendment Act 202 3 to be read a second time
on the same day as its first reading.]
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I now
move that the Bill entitled the Investment Funds Amendment Act 2023 be now read a second time.
The President: Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.

BILL

SECOND READING
INVESTMENT FUNDS AMENDMENT ACT 2023
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I am
pleased to present the Bill entitled the
Investment
Funds Amendment Act 2023 . The purpose of this Bill is
to amend the Investment Funds Act 2006 to provide for
the following:
• to clarify the obligations of operators of an investment fund;
• to extend the use of late fees for noncompliance by operators of an investment fund with
certain strict requirements of the Act or asso-ciated rules;
• to provide for extensions to certain filings that
may be made by the investment fund in li ne
with the manner in which the other financial
sectors are regulated for such matters; and
• to extend the range of directions the Authority
may issue a relevant circumstance to require
appointed auditors to communicate certain
matters to the Authority and to introduce
housekeeping updates.
Madam President, the Bermuda financial sector is subject to the regulation and supervision of the Bermuda Monetary Authority [the BMA or the Author-ity]. The Authority was established in 1969 under the
Bermuda Monetary Authority Act 1969. The Authority is
authorised to act as the advisor to the Minister of Fi-nance on policy matters related to any financial institu-tion. Accordingly, the Authority proposes laws where it can do so appropriately and consistently with its func-tion under the BMA Act. Additionally, the Act provides
the Authority with substantive licensing, supervision and intervention powers to regulate the Investment Funds Authority in Bermuda.
Madam President, the Senate would be aware
that the Authority is a member of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (or the IOSCO).
Madam President, for members of the public who may not be aware, the IOSCO is an association of organisa-tions that regulate the world’s securities and futures markets, and the IOSCO’s core principles underpin the funds regime here in Bermuda. Madam President, core
principle 11, setting expectations for enforcement of securities regulation, prescribes that regulators should have comprehensive enforcement powers. This core princ iple suggests that enforcement powers should be
broad enough to cover the range of regulatory breaches that may occur. The enforcement powers that
are currently stated in the Act tend to prioritise severe
breaches such as those that would likely cause the Au-thority to petition the courts to wind up the noncompli-ant fund.
However, as previously stated, the enhanced
supervisory powers in the proposed amendment strengthen the Authority’s ability to take targeted cor-rective action that is proportionate to the nature of the breach identified. Such breaches may not, in isolation, be severe enough to warrant winding up, but do require


Bermuda Senate some level of regulatory intervention such as the imposition of a late fee for the insurance of the direction to
facilitate compliance.
Madam President, key highlights of the amendments are as follows:
• The Authority’s powers to issue directions to
an investment fund will be expanded by granting the Authority a power to issue directions to
authorise designated and registered funds similar to the powers that it exercises in relation to the other regulated entities.
• Provision for filing extensions will be included
within the Act to allow a fund to apply for an
extension to the timeframe for filing its annual
certification.
• Late fees will be introduced which will be payable where an operator fails to comply with
the requirements within the timeframe stipulated under certain sections, and the Authority
will be empowered to recover any unpaid late
fees as a civil debt.
• Requirements will be introduced which require
appointed auditors to communicate certain
matters to the Authority similar to the requirements of appointed auditors of other regulated
entities.
Madam President, the amendments outlined in
this Bill are aimed at ensuring that the Authority continues to possess the appropriate range of supervisory powers and can be applied proportionately and effectively, should regulatory considerations warrant. Madam President, in addition to the deterrent benefits
associated with the proposed late fees, expanding the
range of directions the Authority may issue and requir-ing auditors to notify the Authority of certain information
allows the regulator to take swift, targeted action that is commensurate with the nature and scale of the breach,
and e nsures the interest of fund participants are appropriate safeguarded.
Madam President, it should also be noted that
the proposals outlined in this Bill ensure that the Act is
appropriately aligned with the supervisory powers of
the Authority outlined in other local financial regulatory
legislation. Madam President, these enhanced supervisory powers will strengthen the Authority’s ability to
take targeted corrective action when breaches of the regulatory requirements are identified and in so doing
maintain Bermuda’s reputation as a well -regulated jurisdiction for conducting investment fund business.
Madam President, to gather data on the range
of regulatory powers utilised by other investment fund
regulators, research was conducted on the frame work
in comparable jurisdictions. The research identified certain targeted powers that regulators across these jurisdictions may exercise to proactively address fund- related noncompliance issues, many of which already exist across the Authority’s other regulated framework
such as late fees and broader direction- giving powers. Madam President, in addition to maintaining compliance with international standards, Bermuda has remained committed to open communication and dialogue with the tax branch with the Euro pean Union, the
Directorate- General for Taxation [and] Customs Union
(also known as DG TAXUD). To that end, the Authority
engaged DG TAXUD throughout the process of public
consultation and no immediate concerns were raised.
Madam President, it is anticipated that Bermuda’s oversight of its investment funds sector will
shortly be assessed with similar exercises to be con-ducted in other relevant jurisdictions as part of the EU’s
Code of Conduct Group 2023 economic substance
monitoring process related to col lective investment vehicle regimes. The proposed amendments to the Act will only have a beneficial impact on the potential outcomes of this assessment and confirm that Bermudians consistently maintain high standards of our licensed financial sectors.
Mada m President, as of December 31, 2022,
Bermuda’s funds sector consisted of a total of 804
funds with a combined net asset value of approximately
$292 billion, a 33.29 per cent increase from the previous year, which was mainly driven by the increase in professional closed funds registered that year. With recent changes to the funds’ legislation in 2019, which
amongst other things included an expansion of the investment fund definition, there was an increase in the
total number of funds on the register. With t he widening
of the investment fund definition and the various other
changes to the funds legislation, the Authority has increased its outreach in order to promote awareness of
the regulatory framework here in Bermuda. In addition to arranging regular touch points with the industry associations like the Alternative Investment Management
Association [AIMA], the Authority organised a presentation to the industry in the second quarter, and the session was very well attended with 100- plus attendees.
This presentation covered the funds regulatory frame-work, funds application process and matters to be communicated to the Authority.
Madam President, these are just a few examples of the steps that the Authority has taken to enhance its engagement of the sector in res pect to regulatory and supervisory matters. Madam President,
funds determined to be noncompliant are placed under
enhanced monitoring by the Authority’s funds supervision team. Of the total number of funds in Bermuda, 53
funds are currently being monitored for issues of noncompliance. Based on the Authority’s records, most of
the funds that are subject to enhanced monitoring have
late audits and/or other late filings. In some cases, the
issues of noncompliance are directly attributed to the
conduct of the s ervice providers, operators or officers.
These observations have formed the basis of the scope of the amendments that have been proposed in the Bill.
Madam President, when determining the appropriate levels of respective late fees proposed, con584 26 July 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate sideration was given to the fee structure in existing local regulatory framework such as the Investment Business Act 2003 and the Insurance Act of 1978, the fee structures and methodologies used in comparable ju-risdictions and the scale of the funds that make up the Bermuda market. The proposed amendments are on
the lower end of the scale when compared to other local
sectors. However, in analysing the cost of doing similar business, the proposed late fees will land Bermuda in a mid- range when compared to other jurisdictions.
Madam President, according to the Authority’s
normal custom and practice, the relevant consultation
papers and stakeholder response letters were published on the Authority’s website at www. bma.bm , as
follows:
• Consultation Paper: Proposed Enhancements
to Supervisory Powers within the Investment Funds Act 2006, published in April 2023.

• Appendix 1, Investment Fund Act Amendment, Appendix 2, Investment Fund Amendment Rules, Appendix 3, Investment Fund Offering Document Rules ;

• Stakeholder letter was published on the 30th of
June of this year highlighting the substantive
feedback received through the consultation of
the Authority’s response;
Madam President, I wish to express my sincere
thanks to the Authority, the Regulatory Unit within the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the
various investment fund stakeholders, including the Alternative Investment Management Association for their
assistance with developing this Bill.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
Would any Senator care to speak on this Bill?
Senator De Couto, you have the floor.

Thank you, Madam President, and thank you, Minister Darrell, for that fulsome brief. And thank you also to the Monetary Authority for
the work they are doing in this area.
We can definitely support this Bill. It has got
very specific reasons. There are quite a few different
things going on in it, but I will not rehash what the Sen-ator said.
I would like to follow on from some of his comments. He talked about the increased outreach by the BMA and he spoke about enhancing engagement with the sector. Bermuda, Madam President, as you know, used to be a huge operator in this sector. However, cur-rently it is not nearly as much of an operator in this
global sector. And I think it could be an important part
of a diverse further developing economy. And I hope
that the Government will work with the BMA not to just do marketing, but to also address substantive issues that may prevent us from capturing a slice of this eco-nomic activity. And to put that in context, I will just give some
statistics so people can see what is out there and avail-able for us to compete with:
• Cayman [Islands], 29,000 open- or closedended funds and 8,000 hedge funds;
• BVI [British Virgin Islands], 2,400 registered funds;
• Guernsey, 900- odd funds;
• Ireland, 3,200 investment funds, 40 per cent
of the global hedge funds business and $4 tril-lion Euros in assets;
• Luxembourg, 14,000 funds; and
• If my statistics are correct, around 8,000 [sic]
funds or so in Bermuda.
So that gives an idea of the room for growth.
So, this legislation makes us more attractive while
maintaining our standards. That will be a good thing. And like I said, I look forwar d to hearing more about the
specific things the Government will do, above and be-yond just marketing, working with the BMA to help grow this sector of a diverse economy.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator De Couto.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Senator Kiernan Bell, Vice President, you have
the floor.
Sen. Kiernan Bell: Thank you.
Mine is a question which the Minister may be
able to answer. I mean, first of all I support this Bill, so let me start there. And I think that anything which assists the Authority in its supervision and enforcement
powers and protecting the interests of investors in Bermuda- registered funds is a good thing.
With that said, I was particularly interested in
the amending of section 63A, which is the section which puts the responsibility and onus on the approved audi-tor to make certain reports to the Authority. And the
question that I would have is in connection with making
it a criminal offence for any auditor who fails to comply with this section and if that is consistent with approved auditors’ obligations in the insurance legislation as well. I was a little surprised to see that there was a criminal
penalty attached. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Kiernan Bell.
Would any other Senator care to speak on this
Bill?
Senator Leslie Robinson, you have the floor.
Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
Yes, I am in support of this Bill, and I think it is
quite timely for several reasons. Number one, it is mak-ing sure that we continue to be in line with the international standards. And I want to let the public know that
international standards are always changing. Regimes
are always continuing to be enhanced. And as a result, these particular amendments are needed in order for


Bermuda Senate Bermuda to continue to be in line with the ever -changing international standards, whether it be the OECD,
the European Commission with respect to tax, et
cetera.
Also, I guess I want to just comment a bit on
Senator De Couto’s point about the funds sector in general. And I guess I want to broaden it even a little bit
more with respect to the whole sort of asset management and investment sector. I do understand and share
his comments. And I think what we need to understand
is that Bermuda actually is go ing to continue to play
catch -up. And a lot of it is because years ago, and I will
say for many decades, one of the things was that we
only had a couple (or a few) law firms, and they were
Bermuda law firms. And I remember when the Governments, the OBA as well as the PLP Governments, were
going out trying to drum up more business for asset management, investments, funds, et cetera.
And one of the things that we used to, and I
used to at that time . . . and for full disclosure, I was part
of the BMA and we were out with tours with the Government as well as the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA), much of what was said to us at
that time was about the fact that Bermuda only had the
two local law firms, Appleby and Conyers at that time. And because the i nvestment business in general, the
asset management business, the funds business, much of it is procured through lawyers. They were all going . . . international lawyers were all in Cayman and
in other places. And so it took a while for us as a coun-try to accept other law firms. So now we actually have international law firms. And I must remind the public
that even our two Bermuda law firms are international.
So it was very strange why it took so long to accept other international firms when our own two maj or law
firms were global by that time.
But what I am getting at is that because there
was this lack of international law firms in Bermuda, that
is why we missed the boat at the time. And so, we are
playing catch- up. But it is wonderful now to see that we
have got the international law firms here. They are helping to bring in more of the business in that sector. And
then we have the other things like the ILS [insurance -
linked securities] market, et cetera, that is also attracting that sector to the Island.
So yes, I understand, and I appreciate Senator
De Couto’s statistics with the other islands. But just know that much of it is about having to play catch- up
because we did not have that international law firm presence. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Leslie Robinson,
Junior Minister for Economy and Labour.
Senator Dill, you are indicating you want to
speak. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President. I would just like to certainly express my support
of this legislation and my commendation to the Govern-ment for the work that they are doing to expand the financial service offerings here in Bermuda and to diversify our economy. And this is certainly an indication of the forward movement of our Government. And I am
certainly hoping that it will help to allay some of the fear
that my colleagues have expressed as we continue to
grow, to expand, and to do what is necessary to ensure
that we are fully in compliance. And we certainly see a
better Bermud a on the horizon and a more secure future for our people with the introduction of these types
of legislation that help to move us forward. Thank you,

Thank you, Senator Emilygail Dill.
Would any other Senator want to speak on this
Bill?
Hearing none then, it is over to you, Minister
Darrell.
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you. And, Madam
President, I just would like to reiterate and to respond
to everyone the concern that we heard from the Opposition, which also was as ked and reiterated and answered when this was debated in another place. But
when we start talking about other jurisdictions, it is im-portant to remember that Bermuda goes after the quality of the funds that we have and not necessarily quantity. So, we can sit here, and often this is the case, we
heard in another place the rundown of other jurisdictions and how many funds they have. And some of
these funds, to be quite frank, Madam President, in other jurisdictions would not meet Bermuda’s regulations.
Increasing the number of funds coming to Bermuda, as well as fund administrators, is part of the Gov-ernment’s agenda. And meetings are being held with
supportive law firms. And as was mentioned by my colleagues, law firms actually drive a lot of the businesses .
So, Bermuda is a leader in insurance- linked funds.
Also, other regulators have had other issues despite
their numbers when it comes to AML [anti -money laundering] and other issues. And as was also mentioned by my colleague, our priority and the priority of the Ber-muda Monetary Authority is to maintain credibility. And
that is very important when you are dealing in this area,
Madam President.
So, I thank those for their support of this Bill,
Madam President, and I would also like to thank, as I said in my brief, the work that the BMA is doing in this
area. And that is all I have, Madam President.
So, with that said, Madam President, I move
that the Bill entitled the Investment Funds Amendment
Act 2023 be now read the second time.
The President: Is there any o bjection to that motion?
No objection.

586 26 July 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate 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 Investment Funds
Amendment Act 2023 be now read a third time.

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

BILL

THIRD READING

INVESTMENT FUNDS AMENDMENT 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 Investment Funds Amendment Act 2023 do now
pass.
Is there any objection to that motion?
No objection.
The Bill is passed.
[Motion carried: The Investment Funds Amendment Act
2023 was read a third time and passed.]
The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell and all Senators who participat ed.
We will now move on with our agenda.

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. Lindsay Simmons: Thank you, Madam President.
Madam President, I would like to give condolences to [the family of] Christine Busi -DeGiacomo.
She actually lived in New Hampshire, but she was a
long-time visitor to Bermuda. She had been coming
here since she was five, and s he was fifty -six when she passed away. Her death was sudden and was a shock.
Personally, I would like to thank her for her contribution
to Bermuda. I met her about seven years ago when she
came to my establishment and saw that we had an angel tree up on th e tree for Christmas gifts for foster children. And for the past seven years she has been donating and getting her friends to contribute. She always
wanted to be a Bermudian.
So, the only bad thing I could say about her
was that she supported Somerset.

[Laughter]

Sen. Lindsay Simmons: Other than that, she was a
great person. I mean, nobody is perfect. But honestly, she was a lover of Bermuda and an ambassador of Bermuda and loved Bermuda through and through and wished that she could live here full -time. But I would like
to send my condolences to her family abroad, her
daughter, Alexis, and also all of her friends in Bermuda,
especially Shari -Lynn Pringle, whom she was very
close with, and her family. So condolences to her [family]. And I pray peace on al l of her friends because of
the horrific way that she passed. So thank you, Madam
President.

The President: Thank you, Senator Lindsay Simmons.
Would any other Senator care to speak at this
time?
Vice President Keirnan Bell, you have the floor.

Sen. Ki ernan Bell: Thank you, Madam President.
I just wanted to acknowledge and congratulate
Dr. Binns on his retirement after a very long and distin-guished career as a public servant. He was very kind to
me every time we had occasion to connect in my former
professional role. And I wish him all the best.

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

Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to associate with the comments
from Senator Bell about Dr. Binns. Thank you for bringing that up.
I would like to congratulate —well, wish luck to
and congratulate on their achievements so far our Bermuda team at the World [Aquatics] Championship for swimming currently in Japan with, in thi s context we will
say Coach Smith, not Senator Smith.
The President: Mm-hmm.

And, Madam President,
I am going to congratulate Somerset in advance for a
successful Cup Match. So, thank you very much.



Bermuda Senate [Laughter]

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

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
I would also like to give remarks to Dr. Binns,
who has a long, very, very long career. So, I also stand
with others who are recognising his retirement. Well
done!
I also want to just . . . I know Minister Darrell
had spoken so eloquently about the upcomi ng Cup
Match. But I also want to congratulate the Eastern County Cricket Association, as well as the Bailey’s Bay
Cricket Club for putting on just a spectacular first round
of the Eastern Counties held just this past Saturday. And I must say the grounds looked beautiful in spite of
the rain. And the fact that we were able to even still play
a great game of cricket even though there was lot of
off-and-on rain all morning, it was just also a beautiful
site to just see so many of the tents.
And well done to B ailey’s Bay Cricket Club and
Eastern Counties because they were able to have more campsites than ever before. They had scaffolding, and they had double- decker campsites. So, it was just
beautiful to see the number of people come out, and again it is just a great time for us to enjoy each other.
Very much like Cup Match, just on a smaller scale with
all of the trimmings of Cup Match. So, I encourage
those who may want to continue to stay in the Cup
Match spirit that even after our Cup Match, you can
come dow n on August 19 to the second round. Flatts
will be playing Bailey’s Bay. And then the third round
[on] September 2, it will be Cleveland County [versus]
the winners of Flatts and Bailey’s Bay. But I know that Bailey’s Bay will probably be still holding the Cup at that
time. Thank you.
[Laughter]
The President: Would any other Senator care to
speak?
I see Senator Dill. You have the floor.

Thank you, Madam
President.
I would like to associate myself with the condolences for the DeGiacomo family, as well as congratulations to Dr. Binns on his retirement.
I would also like to congratulate the First
Church of God in North Shore. On this past Sunday
they had what they called a Special Youth Service that
highlighted some of t he young people in their congregation and certainly celebrated 46 years of their provid-ing financial scholarships to young people in order to pursue higher education. In Sunday’s service they had
a panel discussion which featured four young people
who had just completed their first year of college. It was a very inspiring experience to sit and listen to these
very articulate young people share about their college
experiences, as well as highlighting how their spiritual
foundation helped them to be able to n avigate the challenges that they were experiencing as college students.
Following the panel discussion there was a
very stirring message delivered by the pastor, Bishop Vernon G. Lambe, and he spoke about change, challenge and charge. And I just want to c ongratulate the
First Church of God family for that very innovative ser-vice, which they have their own cable television station which will be aired. They said that they were very intentional about having that particular format in their worship service so t hat young people all over the world
could be inspired by these young people and chal-lenged to pursue excellence in their own lives.
So, this is just a wonderful, wonderful reminder
to us of the wonderful young people whom we have in
Bermuda and the very positive future that is ahead of
us as we continue to support them in their endeavours.
Thank you, Madam President.
The President: Thank you, Senator Dill.
Would any other Senator care to speak?
Minister Darrell, you now have the floor.

Sen. the Hon. Ow en Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
And I would like to be associated with the comments and the congrats to the Eastern Counties Cricket Association that were given by my colleague, Senator
Robinson, who I know unfortunately wears the wrong
colours on these Saturdays. But we will get into that
another day.

[Laughter]

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Congratulations to the
executive of the Eastern Counties. Eastern Counties has long been a staple of the community which I grew
up in, and I know [for] Senator Robinson as well. For
some individuals I can call, Lieutenant Colonel Eddie
Lamb is one who is an ardent supporter of St. David’s
Cricket Club. I know for him County Cup is more important than Cup Match. And there are others.
So, I just want to congratulate a former student
of mine who took home the MVP Award in that game
on Saturday, Mr. Macquille Walker. He took six wickets.
So very impressive! After waiting many hours for the
game to start, to see him perform at that level was very,
very inspiring to see. You know, Mr. Walker, [Senators]
may recall I gave congrats here earlier this year for his
winning a football award. So, he is definitely a two -star
athlete, and it is really, really good to see him performing at that level.
Congratulations to Bailey’s Bay! It ended up
being a draw. I felt that they could have chased down
those runs, but they took the draw, the easy way out.
And they do retain the Cup. So I would like to ensure
588 26 July 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate the President of Bailey’s Bay, as well as my colleague,
if they would shine it up nice, because after Flatts
comes to town on the 19th [when] the boys from Harris
Bay and Cleveland County will storm into Sea Breeze
Oval, and there is no doubt in my mind, Madam Presi-dent, that on final round of the Eastern Counties, we
will take that Cup back to Devil’s Hole in the Harris Bay
area. So, thank you once again, and congrats to t he
members, the executive of the Eastern Counties
Cricket Association.
I also would like to congratulate all of the young
people, and I am not going to sit today, Madam President, and give all of the names. But every time you
open the daily or social medi a you will see individuals
who are receiving scholarships from the different cor-porate entities and even the government in this country.
So, I want to say thank -you to anyone and everyone
who is supporting the continued education of young
people in this country. Congratulations for the work that
you are doing! And congratulations to all of the young
people who are receiving these scholarships.
And with that, I just [want to] say that earlier
this week, Monday, I attended the PHC Foundation
Scholarship Awar ds ceremony. It was supported by
Chubb and a few other companies. They were able to
give away $27,000 this year to seven recipients, who
are associated with the PHC family, to continue their
education. And this is something that has been going on for 19 years. They have given well over a half a million dollars in scholarships that they have given out
over that time. And many of these scholarship recipi-ents whom you may notice on the football field are now
working in corporate Bermuda and other companies
around Bermuda.
So, it is organisations like PHC, corporate entities and anyone who are really taking young people under their wing and investing in the future of these young
people. So, I want to say congratulations in that vein to
anyone and everyone who i s supporting scholarships
and all who have received scholarships.
Thank you, Madam President.

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
I would just like also to associate myself and
the entire Senate body on the retirement of Dr. Binns, the Head of the Public Service, in congratulating him
on his retirement.
I would also like to say congratulations to the
directors and managers of the Future Leaders programme, which is now in its eighth year and which I had
the pleasure of attending the ceremony last week. And
I would like to associate —Minister Darrell and I were
both present. I am very impressed with this organisation because, as I said, they have been in existence for
some eight years now. And they really do work with
young people, and they have as many as (I think it was) 15 last week who graduated. And it was just stirring to
. . . I would like to also acknowledge Mr. Ryan Robinson Perinchief, who started this programme. And he is helped by Assistant Directors, Ms. Mckenzie Kohl -
Tuckett and (by Z oom) Mr. Seon Tatem.
So, several family members were present, and
they gave a round of applause as each student got up
to talk about this three- week training session that they
went through. I was just impressed because I did attend
some earlier sessions. So, to go and find out now that
they are continuing with it and it is now in its eighth
year, I think it is just outstanding. So, I would just like to
commend that organisation and the family members who support their teenagers in this programme.
With tha t said, now we will move on. Minister
Darrell, over to you.

ADJOURNMENT
Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President. (Just one second. Just getting the correct date
here. One second, Madam President.)
I will ask, Madam President, that the Se nate do
now adjourn until Wednesday, September 20, 2023.

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

PLP PROMISES MADE, PROMISES BROKEN

Thank you, Madam President.
I would like to speak today on the topic of promises. We got into a little bit with the pension discussion.
The Government has a line, promises made, promises
kept. But what I am hearing from the general public in
person, by email, on social sources, promi ses made,
promises broken , Madam President. And I am going to
support that with a list of important, critical initiatives for
this country that this Government has promised us that
it has continued to fail to deliver.
And to be frank, this whole thing was prompted
by the recent news that nothing has been signed with
respect to a Fairmont Southampton deal. So last October we heard in all of its variants, The deal is done. And
we have heard many variations on that promise. But
most recently, we have learned that the deal is not
done. So that is promise number one that has been bro-ken, Madam President.
We talked today about the need for immigration reform to support our pensions and many other as-pects of our society. And the Government has promised on numerous times comprehensive immigration
reform. Promise broken, Madam President.
I was walking past the Music Box the other day,
Madam President, and I know that Minister Darrell likes to comment on the Music Box. And next to the Music
Box is the Arbitration Ce ntre site, the former site of the
planned Arbitration Centre. Great press release, press conference, pictures on site, and now we have 10- footBermuda Senate tall casuarinas and a bevy of Mexican peppers in there,
Madam President. Promises made, promises broken,
Madam Pr esident.
Health care reform. I know, Madam President,
you have paid close attention to this topic. And those of us who deal with the health care system, maybe we
have a loved one who is in the midst of care in the hospital or with the private providers. Maybe they are paying the bills, or maybe they are feeling the impact of
what is happening at the hospital. We have yet to see
this health care reform or anything substantive about it. Promises made, promises broken.
Funding for the hospital, Madam President. We
know that the Government cut them short $15 million and then tried to turn it around into a positive story —
Oh, we’ve given them an extra $15 million! That was
not extra. That was the prior promise that had been made and broken by Government.
Educat ion reform. And this one does get complicated. But I think many key stakeholders do not feel the Government is keeping its promise here, Madam President.
And as a final example, so as to not test your
patience, Madam President, FinTech MOUs. I think there must be a filing cabinet full of them somewhere
up there in the government administration offices.
Thousands of jobs we were going to see, a vibrant new
industry. Photo ops, press releases. But what we really have now is an empty building rotting away in Victoria
Hall and a series of articles associating Bermuda with a bevy of bad players. Promises made, promises broken, Madam President.
Now the Government has been keeping some
promises. We talked about some today, some good promises. And we in the OBA do support those as long
as they can actually be delivered sustainably. But I want to talk about what I view and some promises that the PLP Government kept. And I am going to rewind a
little bit back in time. David Burt instructed the civil servants to pay E wart Brown $1.2 million to compensate
him for losses after he emailed Minister Wilson to ask her to politically interfere. That promise was kept. That
clinic got closed anyway.
Eight -hundred thousand dollars was promised
to a record producer —poof! What co uld we do with that
money today?
The Premier’s FinTech advisor got a no- bid
contract through which his company earned millions of dollars, at least $3.6 million, perhaps more. That promise was kept.
The wife of a former FinTech advisor has
earned a $240, 000 per year contract to advise us in the
Middle East. That promise was kept.
The Attorney General hired her husband as a
consultant. I cannot say whether or not a promise was made, but if it was it was kept.
What kind of promises would the OBA make,
Madam President? I can promise you this: We are a
group of people who are passionate about making a better Bermuda for us all. We meet regularly. We debate. We come from diverse backgrounds, no matter
what the PLP will try to paint us as. We have tough conversations. We are not all the same; we do not think the
same. But we are the same in our passion for a better
Bermuda for us and the future generations. That is a
promise. That passion is a promise, the promise to
bring inclusion, to work for all Bermudians, Madam
President.
We promise integrity. Not just promise it; we
will demonstrate it, and you will see it through our fair
and transparent dealings. We will not try to fool you with
misleading numbers and hide the truth such as talking
about, Oh, the decrease in the unemploy ment rate, but
not bother to tell you, The total number of jobs in the
Island has declined.
And we promise we will address social issues
to create a Bermuda where people can prosper. And
this includes bringing our support here to things like the
pensions increase. But we promise that we will prudently manage your money so it will not be an empty promise and that we can deliver our promises. (Let me
just see my notes.)
Madam President, we cannot promise you an
easy path to a better Bermuda. We are not goin g to
stand up here and say, Hey, this one cool trick will magically fix everything for everybody. And we are not going to try to sell you on that. And while the OBA did
suffer some bumps in the road as Government, in our
short time we delivered meaningful projects and jobs
for this country. And that is what we can promise going
forward. And, Madam President, I will take that track
record, proven track record of results over this Govern-ment’s promises any day.

WELL WISHES FOR THE CUP MATCH HOLIDAY

Now, Madam President,
let me turn to a lighter topic, and it is my Cup Match message. And I want to acknowledge the history of this
event in Bermuda. It is important, the roots in Emancipation. But I would urge that whether you are exper iencing the bustle of the game, whether you are taking your chance under the Crown & Anchor tent, enjoying
fish or you are actually watching the action, or maybe you prefer to be out on your boat, even better a friend’s
boat, on the beach or cooling out at home, I want to
wish everybody a fabulous, enjoyable and safe holiday.
Thank you, Madam President.

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

PLP PROMISES KEPT

Sen. Leslie Robinson: Thank you, Madam President.
590 26 July 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate I do not know where to begin only because we
were having such a positive time. And all of a sudden,
we now hear from the OBA about promises not being
kept and to want to leave that with the Bermuda public
while we actually go on break for the summer. To me that is not fair at all. I think we need to look at setting
some of this record straight.
First o f all, Madam President, it has been I
guess just over six years that the new PLP Cabinet was
sworn in after the general election in 2017. And at that
time we did not expect a global pandemic to hit us within two and a half years after that. We did not expect
that at all. Nobody saw the pandemic coming. And the
OBA wants to be able to talk about promises that were
not kept. But the Bermuda public needs to understand
first that this Government has kept promises, and I will
reiterate some of them in a minute. But more important, going through that pandemic, we as a Government had
to put in a series of social protections and assistance to
help our people during that time period. We had to ensure that we had supplies. We had to ensure that our persons were vaccinated, had access to vaccines.
And many times in politics, memories are
short. Sometimes they are short; sometimes they are long. And even the OBA has now even gone back talk-ing about things from way back. But the point is,
Madam President, that this pandemic was unprecedented. But yet we have come through it. And we came through it because of this Government being nimble.
Now, no, we were not perfect with it. But then who has
gone through a pandemic who is alive right now? No one [is alive who] had gone through one in the past.
And so it is important to understand that if there are
some promises that have not been kept, it is because we had to deploy funds, resources, attention to our getting through that pandemic. I want the public to know that. And we did a fantastic job in getting us through, in
getting us at least here today.
I had a client; I was having dinner with him yesterday. He came in from Philadelphia. And he said,
Wow! Just from last year to this year, the number of
persons, people who are oper ating in the city, the traffic, the people whom you see walking, how you walk, go into the restaurants, and the restaurants are full. Not to mention that he was up at Horseshoe Bay and Sinky
Bay yesterday, because he was at Sinky Bay for a bit
and then went down to Horseshoe Bay. But he was
saying, Wow! I can see your economic recovery. This
is one of my clients. [He] comes here year after year, could not come during the pandemic. But [he] noticed last year that things were a bit slower, a lot slower in
some instances, but yet could see the amount of business, the amount of foot traffic and things that are going
on in this community.
And I was like, Wow! Because we forget that.
We just go about our business, and many times we are so busy we do not even step back to look. And when
we look at that, and a tourist can say that, Wow! Business appears to be ramped up. People are here. Then we have to step back and say , Wow! You know, this
Government has really brought us through some of
those harshest times in our history because of this pandemic and the recession that accompanied that.
But now getting back, Madam President, to
promises that actually have been kept. Because I want
people to realise also that there have been promises
that have been kept, and there are going to be other
promises that we are going to be keeping as the time goes on. We cannot do it all. And as I said, monies had
to be deployed in other places because of the reces-sion, because of the pandemic that also then ended up
being, you know, a r ecession.
Now, under the PLP Government, we have
seen a robust economic recovery since the pandemic
with growth exceeding expectations at 5.4 per cent in
2001. And this success is largely due to the implementation of Bermuda’s economic recovery plan which fostered a conducive environment for entrepreneurship and Bermuda growth. But this Government has not
stopped there, Madam President, because we now
have the continued economic plan that was recently issued, and we are going to continue to do what we have
to do for entrepreneurs, for small businesses, and be-ing able to attract more persons to come and to be part
of this workforce. So, the work that we are doing has
not stopped. It is continuing.
Then in a move to make the tax system more
equitable, and I must remind our public about this because those of you who may be listening have benefited from this, the PLP Government has cut taxes for
86 per cent of workers and local businesses, proving
much- needed relief and stimulating economic activity.
If you do not have to spend out as much, pay out as
much in taxes, you have more disposable income to be
able to buy things in the retail shops, to be able to go
out and eat in the restaurants. And this helps to fuel the
economy. So restaurants have to hire more staff, [as
do] retail places selling more goods and things like that.
And that is what makes this economy continue to become strong.
The PLP Government has shown a strong
commitment to ensuring Bermuda’s tax system is fair
and equitable, providing relief for our workers. And as I
said, it has resulted in that disposable income. Also, we
are taking massive strides with other forms of social
welfare. As I mentioned, we talked about how we had
to help people during the pandemic. And now we have
increased child day care eligibility to households with incomes of $130,000 or less. That is major for our people, providing additional support for working families.
Additionally, we have assisted the Bermuda
Housing Corporation providing 66 new affordable housing units, increasing the availability of affordable housing for renters and for first -time homeowners with the
Mortgage Guarantee programme. A commitment to
creating these things continues, Madam President.
So, I do not want to hear about all the negative.
We have to focus on what this Government has done,


Bermuda Senate understanding that we were set back because of the
pandemic.
Also, in Minister Darrell’s area of sports and
recreation, we have invested $1.5 million in 22 local
sporting bodies and provided additional funding for high-performing athletes through the High- Performance Scholarship programme and installed fitness
equipment in public parks. These investments have not
only promoted physical fitness but have also fostered a
sense of community and pride.
I can go on and on, Madam President, but I
think I am going to stop there. Because I want our people to know and understand that Rome was not built in
a day. But that we are chipping away at the promises,
those things that are affecting our people the most and
understand ing that this is all within the backdrop of the
pandemic that we had to deal with and had to come out
of. So I congratulate this Government because promises have been made and promises have been kept.
And we will continue to fight and do for the people of
Bermuda. Thank you.

The President: Thank you, Senator Robinson.
Would any other Senator care to speak on the
motion to adjourn?
Senator Dill, are you raising your hand?

[Inaudible interjections]

The President: Sorry.
Minister Darrell, then it is over to you.

ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN PROGRESS

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Thank you, Madam President.
And, Madam President, I am not going to belabour the points that my colleague so eloquently said in
response to the first speaker whom we heard in this
motion to adjourn.
It was just yesterday, Madam President, that I
had a young man come into my office. And we had a good laugh about one of the mottos that we had when
he was in high school. And the motto that we used to use and talk about a lot was about excuses and how
they are tools of the incompetent used to build bridges
to nowhere, monuments of nothingness . And I found it
interesting that the first speaker will talk about broken
promises and then go on to talk about promises that will
be made. S o there are a lot of hypotheticals. And as my
colleague, Senator Robinson, just went through, I
mean, when we start with the Economic Recovery Plan
and you can bring someone here from last year, and
they can just [clearly] see with their eyes how our Economic Recovery Plan is progressing, that is progress,
Madam President.
When you look at all of the Government Ministers in their ministries and within those ministries the
different government departments and all that we are doing for people in this country , Madam President, that
is progress. And it is a long way from broken promises.
And, Madam President, as we move to this
Cup Match holiday that is coming up, I can tell you that
it is coming rather fast for me. And the reason is be-cause every single day, Madam President, I am up and
down this country congratulating individuals in the areas of whether it be youth, whether it be sports,
whether it be in the areas of recreation and going to
different locations to see all of the amazing things and
how Bermuda has bounced back. I mean, if any of you have gotten the request and the invitations from the
Government Summer Day Camp that has been taking
place over the last four weeks, which I had the opportunity to visit yesterday, Madam President, you will see
that joy on the faces.
And someone said to me the other day, You
know, Minister Darrell, I just want to let you know that
the programme that the Government Summer Day
Camp has is second to none. And I was able to go by,
and I saw the [Camp Girls] to Ladies, an d I went to
Camp Palmetto I think the other day. And there is Camp Chameleon. And to see where we have come since the
pandemic that was still raging even a year ago, to see
where we are going. And to look at all of the investments that the Bermuda Governme nt is making in the
people of this country so that we can get back.
Just earlier today, and not to touch on another
debate, you see the increase that we are giving to seniors so that they can live a little more comfortably,
Madam President. So while I did say that I was not going to touch on what the first speaker from across the aisle there was going to say, I want to finish my motion to adjourn comments on a positive note, of where I
started, Madam President.

WELL WISHES FOR THE CUP MATCH HOLIDAY

Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: And as we know, I said
in my Statement earlier, we have the Cup Match Classic coming up. And my Statement today was all around
the cricket game. It was about going to St. George’s for
the opening ball and watching as the stars who ar e
picked—they will be picked on Saturday night —represent the eastern and western ends of the Island. And everyone who is going to be in their camps celebrating
and sharing.
But there is much more to this Cup Match holiday than that, Madam President. It is also for the families who decide that they want to go out and continue
their tradition of camping, whether it be in parks or overlooking the beautiful scenic views of the Bermuda water, Madam President. Whether it be individuals in our
hospitality industr y (and I want to recognise them) who
may not have the opportunity to take the day off, and they are working to make sure that the scores and hundreds of tourists who come to this Island are well taken
care of.
592 26 July 2023 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda Senate I know personally, Madam President, that I am
looking around and trying to find in my house where I
am going to find space because I have quite a bit of
visitors who are coming in. And they love the atmosphere of what this time of year brings in Bermuda. And it is not just, as I said, the Thursday or Friday of the
event. It is everything that is surrounding it. Even starting this weekend there will be events. There will be
church services.
I was at a golf club yesterday, and they said,
Minister Darrell, you must come back on Sunday morn-ing. I said, Why? They said, It’s Cup Match. I said, Well,
Cup Match is the Thursday and Friday. So even at golf
clubs they have sporting tournaments where it pits, you
know, the Cup Match Somerset golfing supporters versus the St. George’s golfing supporters. So in the leadup to that we will have receptions and parties, and people will go [out on the] boats and [to the] beaches and
everything else. It is just a very festive time of year.
And the fact that we are at this place, considering where we have been over the l ast couple of years,
is a testament to the work that this Government is doing. It is a testament to the workers of this Government.
It is a testament to the community spirit that we have in
Bermuda, Madam President.
So, I would like to wish you, all of th e Senators,
my colleagues and everyone else listening a happy Cup Match! And whatever you decide to do, enjoy it to the fullest. Be safe. Thank you, Madam President.

WELL WISHES FOR THE CUP MATCH HOLIDAY

The President: Thank you, Minister Darrell.
And I would just like also to add my voice to his
comments. And that is to wish everyone a most wonderful Cup Match, however you spend it. This is I suppose, you know, it is a time of year when if you are Ber-mudian it is why you are here, but every family member,
everyone who is Bermudian overseas wants to come
back. This is the time they would like to come back and
spend in Bermuda —Cup Match time.
But we also need to remember the reason for
Cup Match. You know, to celebrate Mary Prince Day
and all the rest of it. So, we have the history, but at the
same time we need to enjoy ourselves, particularly having come through the pandemic.
So, I want to wish each and every one of you,
Senators ––and not only will we have Cup Match and
the celebration and the holiday, but we have an extended period of relief from the Senate when we will not be meeting now until September. So, I want to wish
each and every member of the public an enjoyable Cup
Match, a safe Cup Match. And I want to also wish the
same for the Senators and enjoy the extended period
that you have away from our job here. So be safe and enjoy yourselves.
With that said, Senate stands adjourned until
September 20. Be safe and take care.
[Inaudible interjection and laughter ]
[At 12:33 pm, the Senate stood adj ourned until
10:00 am, Wednesday, 20 September 2023.]