2013/14 SESSION of the BERMUDA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT 4 July 2014 Sitting number 26 of the 2013/14 Session (pages 2577-2650) Hon. K. H. Randolph Horton, JP, MP Speaker Disclaimer: The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informational purposes only. The printed version remains the official record. Official Hansard Report 4 July 2014 2577 BERMUDA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT 4 JULY 2014 10:03 AM Sitting Number 26 of the 2013/14 Session [Hon. K. H. Randolph Horton, Speaker, in the Chair] DNDC GRANTS PROGRAMME ANNUAL PER- PRAYERS FORMANCE REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013/14 [Prayers read by Hon. K. H. Randolph Horton, Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker] Mr. Speaker, I have the honour this morning to attach and submit for the information of this Hon- CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES ourable House of Assembly the [DNDC Grants] Pro- gramme Annual Performance Report for [fiscal] year 27 June 2014 2013/14. The Speaker: Honourable Members, the confirmation of the Minutes of the 27th of June will be deferred. The Speaker: Thank you, Premier. Are there any objections to that? [Minutes of 27 June 2014 deferred] There are none. Honourable Premier, you have another paper. MESSAGES FROM THE GOVERNOR Please carry on. PUBLIC ACCESS TO INFORMATION REGULA- The Speaker: There are no messages from the Gov- TIONS 2014 ernor. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Yes, thank you, Mr. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE SPEAKER Speaker. OR MEMBER PRESIDING I also have the honour to attach and submit for the consideration of this Honourable House of As- The Speaker: I would like to announce that Mr. Raoul sembly the Public Access to Information Regulations Ming, who is assisting Mr. Fox today, will fill in for Mr. 2014, proposed to be made by the Premier under the Fox when he will be away next week. provisions of section 59 of the Public Access to Infor- mation Act 2010. Thank you, sir. MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE The Speaker: All right. Thank you, Honourable Pre- The Speaker: There are no messages from the Sen- mier. ate. Any objections to that? There are none. PAPERS AND OTHER We now recognise the Honourable Minister of COMMUNICATIONS TO THE HOUSE Finance, the Deputy Premier. Minister Bob Richards, you have the floor. The Speaker: The Chair will first recognise the Hon- GOVERNMENT FEES AMENDMENT (NO. 3) ourable Premier, the Honourable Michael Dunkley; REGULATIONS 2014 Premier? Hon. E. T. (Bob) Richards: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Good morning, Mr. Mr. Speaker, with the Governor’s recommen- Speaker, and good morning, colleagues. dation and in accordance with section 36(3) of the Bermuda Constitution, I have the honour to attach and The Speaker: One second, please, Premier. One submit for the consideration of the Honourable House second, please. of Assembly the Government Fees Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 2014, proposed to be made by myself [Pause] under provisions of section 2 of the Government Fees The Speaker: Premier? Thank you. Act 1965. Bermuda House of Assembly 2578 4 July 2014 Official Hansard Report Mr. Speaker, both the Act and the regulations The Speaker: Thank you. Thank you. will come into operation on April 1st, 2015. From that Are there any objections to that? date, members of the public will be able to make re- There are none. quests for information under PATI. For a relatively Thank you, Minister. modest cost, they can obtain copies of that informa- tion. However, in accordance with the legislation, not PETITIONS everything is accessible as there are certain kinds of information outlined in the legislation which are ex- The Speaker: There are no petitions. empted from release. Mr. Speaker, during the PATI implementation STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS stage that will take place before the legislation be- AND JUNIOR MINISTERS comes operational, there will be many opportunities for public servants to receive training, and for both members of the public and public servants to seek The Speaker: We now move to Statements by Minis- clarification of procedural or other matters relating to ters and Junior Ministers. PATI. I encourage people to take advantage of this First, I would like to recognise the Honourable invaluable opportunity when it arises. Premier. Premier Dunkley, you have the floor. Mr. Speaker, with the tabling of the Bill and the regulations, I am pleased that I have met the first PUBLIC ACCESS TO INFORMATION LEGISLA- of my commitments to the people of Bermuda and TION have fulfilled my Government’s pledge to progress our goals of operating with transparency and accountabil- Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Mr. Speaker, thank you. ity. Honourable Members and members of the public Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members may recall th can be assured that I intend to meet the promise of that in my National Address on the 9 of June 2014, I PATI being fully operational by April 2015. announced that (and I quote, Mr. Speaker), “Regula- Thank you, Mr. Speaker. tions will be tabled in the House of Assembly this ses- sion to advance Public Access to Information. The The Speaker: All right. Thank you, Honourable Pre- plan is to have a PATI Commissioner in place by the mier. Fall and PATI fully operational by April 2015, enabling The Chair will now recognise the Premier people finally to shine new light on the work of gov- again. Honourable Premier? ernment—asking questions, getting answers, bringing new levels of transparency and accountability to the DNDC GRANT PROGRAMME ANNUAL PER- public sector.” FORMANCE REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2013/14 Consequently, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that the Public Access to Information Regulations 2014 Hon. Michael H. Dunkley: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. was tabled a few moments ago in this Honourable Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have been able Chamber. Later this morning, I will be tabling the Pub- to table earlier this morning the Annual Programme lic Access to Information Amendment Bill 2014. Performance Report for Fiscal Year 2013/14, which Mr. Speaker, the draft regulations are made in highlights community partners that receive grant fund- exercise of the power conferred under section 59 of ing through the Department for National Drug Control the Act and are intended to give effect to the princi- [DNDC]. ples of PATI by detailing and clarifying the practical Mr. Speaker, this Government considers it implementation of the access regime. In particular, Mr. important to provide the people of Bermuda with a Speaker, the regulations make specific provision for clear picture of how their tax dollars are put to use. administrative matters including timelines for delivery The introduction of this report into the legislature is of information and the fees to be charged for the pro- another step along the road to greater transparency duction of records. within Government. In addition to the draft regulations, the Bill Mr. Speaker, the goal of the report is to pro- proposing amendments to the Public Access to Infor- vide information for the Department of National Drug mation Act 2010 is intended to bring further clarity to Control and the Ministry of National Security to evalu- the existing provisions pertaining to notice periods, ate the agencies and their fiscal performance, and to penalties and exemptions from disclosure. The draft allow for input into the overall implementation of the Bill and regulations are significant in that they signal activities outlined in the approved work plans of each the fact that Bermuda is ready to honour the commit- grant recipient agency. ment to transparency and accountability made in 2010 The other goals of this performance evalua- with the passage of the Public Access to Information tion, Mr. Speaker, are to assess achievements, out- Act. comes, and likely impacts, both positive and negative; learn from the implementation so that lessons can be Bermuda House of Assembly Official Hansard Report 4 July 2014 2579 drawn that can be the basis for enhancements or im- funding, all grantees demonstrated efficient use of provements to planning, delivery and management; resources during the fiscal year 2013/14 and pro- and to assess the sustainability of the assistance pro- duced outputs that were consistent, for the most part, vided to the grantees. with the expected results identified in the agreed work The evaluation will also be of interest to the plans. Financial reports were submitted each quarter grantees, as this will be the basis for granting addi- and reflected appropriate expenditures for their re- tional funds in the future. lated programme activities. Mr. Speaker, for decades, the Department of Mr. Speaker, there were some operational National Drug Control has been providing substantial challenges resulting from reduced funding for all grant funding to support the provision of drug preven- agencies. Prevention and treatment agencies strug- tion and drug treatment services through established gled to provide the needed services within the com- charitable organisations such as PRIDE, CADA, FO- munity and have indicated exhaustive efforts to se- CUS, and the Salvation Army’s Harbour Light and cure non-governmental funding, without great suc- Community Life Skills programmes. The DNDC also cess. In addition to the financial challenges, Mr. has provided a grant to the Bermuda Addiction Certifi- Speaker, there were programme challenges and or- cation Board (or BACB). ganisational issues within most agencies. Mr. Speaker, this past financial year, the The fiscal year 2013/14 saw CADA minimally DNDC collaborated with PRIDE by providing funding able to implement the Life Skills programme due to for the implementation of the PRIDE clubs at the pri- reduced funding, and BACB provided a reduced num- mary and middle school levels, with CADA for their ber of addiction-specific trainings during the financial alcohol awareness campaigns.