Speeches by Ben Smith, MP

21 Mar 2025 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

595 words

So, most important thing in this education is the student and that needs to be our focus. COVID -19. We do not like to talk about it, but it had an impact on all of our students —public, private, it doesn’t matter. It is the . . . the statistics are telling you that there has been an impact on …

21 Mar 2025 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

43 words

But it does not mean that when things are not going well, because there is protesting that is happening from a certain school in a certain constituency, that you get to change your mind. B ermuda House of Assembly An Hon. Member: Oh!

21 Mar 2025 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

41 words

Because the decision should have been data driv en. If the decision was based off of the information that had been provided and from the consultant that you paid, then you cannot switch. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Point of order.

21 Mar 2025 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

167 words

And it will be wonderful to see how long we are going to continue with them and how much they will continue to get paid considering the amount of interruptions that we have, including what will be happening in September when some of the students who should have been going to senior school have now had to be rerouted. So …

21 Mar 2025 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

9 words

—t hat allows us to know whether we have—

21 Mar 2025 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

35 words

So, Madam Deputy Speaker, it is actually not important that I get those answers. It is important that the population gets those answers. That data is available— Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Point of order.

21 Mar 2025 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

5 words

—and honestly, they don’t —

21 Mar 2025 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

12 words

—understand because they — Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Point of order!

21 Mar 2025 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

6 words

Point of order. Point of order.

21 Mar 2025 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

20 words

Definitely misleading the House. I have listened to this s everal times. A WhatsApp exchange is not an inv itation.

21 Mar 2025 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

32 words

This Minister has said it multiple times, and now I am having to hear it again. This cannot continue. The Minister needs to provide the details of the invitations that we denied.

14 Mar 2025 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

55 words

I, being a Member of this present Assembly, do solemnly and sincerely affirm that I will use and employ my best endeavour therein for the general good without respect to private interest, gain or ad-vantage, and will strive to discharge a good conscience in all equity and integrity during my continuance therein. AFFIRMATION OF ALLEGIANCE

14 Mar 2025 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

30 words

I do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III, His heirs and succes-sors according to law.

6 Dec 2024 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

1,477 words

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for presenting. I think everybody in Bermuda would say that this is a major conversation that needs to be had. There is no one in Bermuda who has not seen what the violent crime in this country has done to our community. And having a strategy in place in order to …

6 Dec 2024 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

12 words

No, thank you. Hon. Michael A. Weeks: No? A point of order?

6 Dec 2024 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

246 words

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think the point that I made was that we are in an emergency. And when the report came out, and I heard the Minister say what he said, and I also heard the Commissioner say what he said, and getting to that force in 2026. We are in 2024. That training is going to take …

6 Dec 2024 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

139 words

So, Mr. Speaker, we have had several shootings in the last year. We have multiple crimes that have gone unsolved. Once again, I understand the Minister thinks that this is a critique on everything that he has done. I am saying we have to give more support! And I am actually giving him that support. I am saying that we …

6 Dec 2024 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

143 words

So, Mr. Speaker, as we go through this, the question will become, How are we going to pay for these things? Now, I am asking it because some of the funding that the Minister is referring to happened in a mid -term budget, not in the original budget. It was an emergency back in January and February. This report did …

6 Dec 2024 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

446 words

I am fully aware. I read the document. Fully aware. So, as we are moving forward, you have to have the details in here in order to make this happen. The Minister said it himself; it is a living document. Yes? We will continue to move forward. But in here it talks about that we need more mental health support. …

6 Dec 2024 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

4 words

It does not matter.