DOCSLIB.ORG

Official Hansard Report

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Official Hansard Report 2020/2021 SESSION of the BERMUDA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT 26 MARCH 202 1 Virtual Sitting Sitting number 16 of the 2020/2021 Session (pages 1243–1352) Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., 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 26 March 2021 1243 BERMUDA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT VIRTUAL SITTING 26 MARCH 2021 10:00 AM Sitting Number 16 of the 2020/2021 Session [Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair] [No audible response] The Speaker: Good morning, Members. We are The Speaker: Minister of Finance, are you with us about to start the session. this morning? Ms. Beale will lead us in prayer this morning. We will move on and come back. Minister Furbert, are you available to do the PRAYERS matter for the Minister of Sport? [Prayers read by Ms. Kara Beale, Assistant Clerk] Hon. Tinee Furbert: Yes, Mr. Speaker. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES The Speaker: Thank you. Could you table your matter [Minutes of 19 2021] now, present your matter now? The Speaker: Good morning, Members. The House is BERMUDA SPORT ANTI-DOPING AUTHORITY now in session. ANNUAL REPORT 2020 The Minutes from March 19 have been circu- lated. Are there any amendments or corrections re- Hon. Tinee Furbert: Mr. Speaker, I have the honour quired? to attach and submit for the information of the Hon- ourable House of Assembly the Bermuda Sport Anti- None, they are approved as printed. Doping Authority Annual Report 2020. [Minutes of 19 March 2021 confirmed] The Speaker: Thank you, Minister. nd Is the Minister of Finance available? The Speaker: The Minutes of the 22 of March have been deferred. [No audible response] MESSAGES FROM THE GOVERNOR The Speaker: I am looking . Minister of Finance? We will move on. The Speaker: There are none. PETITIONS ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE SPEAKER OR MEMBER PRESIDING The Speaker: There are none. The Speaker: There are none. STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS AND JUNIOR MINISTERS MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE The Speaker: We have three Statements this morn- The Speaker: There are none. ing. The first is in the name of the Minister of Finance. I am assuming he still has not been able to connect. PAPERS AND OTHER So I am going to ask the Minister of Public COMMUNICATIONS TO THE HOUSE Works to do his Statement, and we will come back to the Minister of Finance. The Speaker: This morning there are two such Pa- Minister of Works, would you like to present pers and Communications. The first is in the name of your Statement at this point? the Minister of Finance. Minister of Finance. Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch: Yes, Mr. Speaker. Good morning. Bermuda House of Assembly 1244 26 March 2021 Official Hansard Report The Speaker: Good morning, Minister. Go right received and processed with an award due early next ahead. week. Several other sites have been put out for quotes, including the following: STIMULUS PROGRAMME—FURTHER UPDATE • Artemis Building A fitout work; • Artemis Building B fitout work; Lt. Col. Hon. David A. Burch: I am pleased to pro- • Highways fencing repair works; vide another update on the short-term stimulus pro- • Elbow Beach access stairs replacement gramme that was launched on December 17, 2020, to works; and a maximum value of BMD [$13,385,000] where small • New Plant Inspection Building at the Botanical to medium-sized contractors were invited to partici- Gardens construction work. pate. Additionally, Mr. Speaker, the Department of Mr. Speaker, the programme was launched as Workforce Development have come on board with there is an urgent need to provide stimulus to the local their Apprenticeship/Training Programme to present economy in order to retain and boost employment opportunities for Bermudians to gain valuable experi- numbers in the wake of the economic downturn ence and training, which is critical in strengthening the sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the country’s economic and social development. Ministry of Public Works compiled a list of shovel- Mr. Speaker, the Department of Workforce ready projects that are executable almost immediate- Development provides training and development pro- ly. These projects are mostly infrastructure improve- grammes and initiatives in a broad range of occupa- ments and will not add further burden to government tions and sectors across multiple disciplines in the operational expenses. The project’s selection princi- workforce. They will adapt the current framework of ples are to maximise the employment of the private Apprenticeship/Training agreement contracts to be fit sector while providing much-needed refreshing of ne- for purpose to encourage contractors to engage indi- glected infrastructure. viduals to participate in various jobs and potentially Mr. Speaker, to ensure allocation of the stimu- provide opportunities for part-time and/or full-time lus funding across the participating businesses, the short- and long-term employment. Ministry will maintain a register of approved contrac- In summary, Mr. Speaker, Workforce Devel- tors and awarded contracts to ensure that no one opment can provide financial assistance in the form of company monopolises the project list. Once a compa- payment and oversight as an incentive and benefit to ny obtains a project, they will be rotated to the bottom contractors to hire a Bermudian for each of their re- of the list to allow other companies an opportunity for spective companies at no cost to them. In return the work. The guiding principle is to prioritise all compa- Bermudians gains entry-level skills and/or upgrades nies that provide the most employment benefit per their existing skill set, utilises their transferable skills dollar spent while spreading the work among Bermu- and become gainfully employed as contributing indi- dian owned and operated businesses. Many of these viduals to society on the path to the economic recov- small to medium-sized businesses have never worked ery of the country. for government before, and oftentimes the challenge The department’s Training and Assessment is cash flow. In light of this we have arranged with the Officer will provide oversight and supervision for the Accountant General’s Department to accelerate the individual/employee as the liaison between the em- payment schedule to every two weeks, noting that ployee and the employer. The Government believes those who owe government money must engage in a this is a win-win construct and return on investment payment plan in order to secure the work. for all parties involved as a cross-Ministry initiative. Mr. Speaker, we have received a total of 98 We are very pleased with the response to the stimulus submissions by the deadline of February 15. Re- programme from contractors and likely employees, all sponses to the RFSQ [request for statement of qualifi- of whom want to get to work and help the economy cations] continue to be evaluated. To date, 67 compa- improve. This template of bundling projects together is nies have been approved and are prequalified to work proving to be quite efficient, and we shall look to using with the Government. Several of these have been this concept in the future. asked for quotes for various jobs. The Evaluation Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Team has been working flat-out to evaluate those re- maining applications. The Bermuda Economic Devel- The Speaker: Thank you, Minister. opment Corporation assisted a total of 74 contractors The next Statement this morning is in the with completing their submission packages for the name of the Minister of Education. request for statement of qualifications. Minister of Education. Mr. Speaker, as the RFSQ phase is now over, companies have received requests for quotes for vari- [No audible response] ous stimulus projects and are submitting their re- sponses. Responses to the Darrell’s Wharf repair pro- The Speaker: Minister of Education. ject and the Flatt’s Bridge handrail project have been Bermuda House of Assembly Official Hansard Report 26 March 2021 1245 [No audible response] the view of the Ministry of Finance, does not cause the audited financial statements to be misleading. The Speaker: I do note that the Minister of Finance is Mr. Speaker, under the Audit Act 1990, sec- present at the moment. tion 6(1)(b), the Auditor General is able to include in Minister of Finance, would you like to do your her report any comments she considers appropriate. Statement? And then after we finish the three State- Accordingly, the Auditor General has for the 10th con- ments, we will seek the indulgence of the House so secutive year included an Other Information section you can table the communication that should have on matters she deems appropriate. For the 2020 re- been done earlier. port she has also included an “Emphasis on Matter” section. The Other Information relates to the following: Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. • Public Debt and Guarantees. The Auditor Apologies for the technical problems that we had this General has highlighted that while the Gov- morning. ernment is within the legislated debt limit of $2.9 billion, there is a further $952 million in CONSOLIDATED FUND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS guarantees to various lenders by the Consoli- YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2020 dated Fund; • Increasing Net Debt. The Auditor General has Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Mr. Speaker, I rise today noted that net debt, as calculated on the to advise Honourable Members of the completion of Statement of Changes in Net Debt, increased the audit of the Consolidated Fund Financial State- by $329 million and continues to grow. (This ments for the year ended 31 March 2020, which will can be found on page 8 of the Financial be tabled in this Honourable House henceforth.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Hansard 8 December 2017
    2017/18 SESSION of the BERMUDA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT 8 December 2017 Sitting number 12 of the 2017/18 Session (pages 821–972) Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., 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 8 December 2017 821 BERMUDA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT 8 DECEMBER 2017 10:03 AM Sitting Number 12 of the 2017/18 Session [Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair] to acknowledge that she is doing well, and we contin- ue to wish her well. PRAYERS Some Hon. Members: Yes. [Prayers read by Mr. Clark Somner, Deputy Clerk] HANDICAPPED PARKING CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES [Minutes of 1 December 2017] The Speaker: Also, during the maiden speech of our Member, Ms. Furbert, last week, she highlighted the challenge that the handicapped community faces in The Speaker: Members, we received the Minutes of the 1st of December. this Island, like elsewhere. And she reminded us that Are there any amendments or corrections, we should respect the needs of the handicapped and adjustments that have to be made? No adjustments, that handicapped parking at these facilities should be no corrections? respected. So, I am asking all Members and staff to The Minutes are confirmed. respect the handicapped parking and realise that it is there for a purpose. And if you do not require or need [Minutes of 1 December 2017 confirmed] it, do not park in it. MESSAGES FROM THE GOVERNOR SELECT COMMITTEES—MEMBERSHIP CHANGES The Speaker: I would also like to announce some The Speaker: There are none.
    [Show full text]
  • 2020 Summit Address by Mr
    The Bermuda Construction Safety Council Police Headquarters 2020 Summit Address By Mr. Brendon Harris Safety Coordinator June 2020 To his Excellency the Governor John Rankin, the Honourable Premier David Burt, the Minister of Safety Wayne Caine’s and the Commissioner of Police Stephen Corbishley. We meet today to consider questions, of great moment. Covid 19 has demonstrated to the world its aggressive intentions. It has already infected Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. On top of that it has reached our shores and claimed the lives of our very own citizens. Furthermore, overseas racial tensions have erupted from peaceful to violent protests. Simultaneously we are here preparing for an upcoming global recession. All while facing the beginning of a hurricane season. Councilwoman, I believe these are all just causes for our Summit.I refer to: Section 1 of the Constitution.Whereas every person in Bermuda is entitled to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, that is to say, has the right, whatever his race, place of origin, political opinions, colour, creed or sex, but subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest, to each and all of the following, namely: life, liberty, security of the person and the protection of the law; freedom of conscience, of expression and of assembly and association; and protection for the privacy of his home and other property and from deprivation of property without compensation. As part of our National self identity it is imperative that we continue communicating with each other, educating our selves and assessing the risks involved with our health and safety and our environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Official Hansard Report
    2018/19 SESSION of the BERMUDA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT 7 June 2019 Sitting number 22 of the 2018/19 Session (pages 1741–1840) Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., 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 7 June 2019 1741 BERMUDA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT 7 JUNE 2019 10:02 AM Sitting Number 22 of the 2018/19 Session [Hon. Dennis P. Lister, Jr., Speaker, in the Chair] PETITIONS PRAYERS The Speaker: There are none. [Prayers read by Mrs. Shernette Wolffe, Clerk] STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS AND JUNIOR MINISTERS The Speaker: Good morning, Members. The Speaker: There are seven Statements this morn- CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES ing. And the first is in the name of the Premier. [Minutes of 31 May 2019] Premier, would you like to put your Statement st now? The Speaker: Members, the Minutes of May 31 have been circulated. Hon. E. David Burt: Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and Are there any omissions or amendments? good morning to you. There are none. The Minutes are confirmed as printed. The Speaker: Good morning. [Minutes of 31 May 2019 confirmed] ESTABLISHMENT OF A COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO HISTORIC LOSSES OF CITIZENS’ ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE SPEAKER PROPERTY IN BERMUDA OR MEMBER PRESIDING Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, Honourable Mem- th APOLOGIES bers will recall that, on the 4 of July 2014, this Hon- ourable House approved a motion in these terms: The Speaker: Announcements this morning: There “THAT this Honourable House take note of historic are Members who have indicated that they will be ab- losses in Bermuda of citizens’ property through theft sent today.
    [Show full text]
  • I Negotiating Ocean Territory in Bermuda and the Sargasso Sea By
    Negotiating Ocean Territory in Bermuda and the Sargasso Sea by Leslie D. Acton Marine Science and Conservation Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Lisa Campbell, Supervisor ___________________________ Xavier Basurto ___________________________ Noella Gray ___________________________ Elizabeth Shapiro-Garza Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Marine Science and Conservation in the Graduate School of Duke University 2017 i v ABSTRACT Negotiating Ocean Territory in Bermuda and the Sargasso Sea by Leslie D. Acton Marine Science and Conservation Duke University Date:_______________________ Approved: ___________________________ Lisa Campbell, Supervisor ___________________________ Xavier Basurto ___________________________ Noella Gray ___________________________ Elizabeth Shapiro-Garza An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Marine Science and Conservation in the Graduate School of Duke University 2017 i v Copyright by Leslie D. Acton 2017 Abstract To address growing concerns about global oceans health, state and non-state actors have pushed for the establishment of large marine protected areas (LMPAs) in national exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and on the high seas. This push has resulted in a rapid proliferation of LPMAs in recent years, despite limited understanding of their social and political attributes and implications. This dissertation contributes to growing social science scholarship on LMPAs by employing a qualitative, multi-sited case study investigating negotiations over two proposed, overlapping LMPAs in Bermuda’s EEZ and the Sargasso Sea. It engages with human geography theory on territoriality to examine the territorial practices emerging through LMPA proposals and how negotiations over these ‘scaled-up’ management tools are contributing to transformations in global oceans governance.
    [Show full text]
  • 2013 Session Bermuda House of Assembly Official
    2013 SESSION of the BERMUDA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT 5 July 2013 Sitting number 18 of the 2013 Session (pages 1627-1706) 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 5 July 2013 1627 BERMUDA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT 5 JULY 2013 10:01 AM Sitting Number 18 of the 2013 Session [Hon. K. H. Randolph Horton, Speaker, in the Chair] condolences to Mrs. Ford and her family on the loss of her sister. PRAYERS MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE [Prayers read by Hon. K. H. Randolph Horton, Speak- er] The Speaker: There are none. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES PAPERS AND OTHER 14 JUNE 2013 COMMUNICATIONS TO THE HOUSE [21 and 28 June 2013 deferred] The Speaker: No papers and communications. The Speaker: Good morning, Members. We have th confirmation of the Minutes of June 14 , 2013. Mem- PETITIONS bers should have received the Minutes. Are there any objections to those Minutes be- The Speaker: No petitions. ing confirmed? There are none. STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS The Minutes are confirmed. [Motion carried: Minutes of 14 June 2013 confirmed.] The Speaker: The Chair will recognise first the Hon- ourable Sylvan D. Richards, Minister for the Environ- The Speaker: The Minutes for June 21st and 28th will ment. be deferred. Minister Richards, you have the floor. MESSAGES FROM THE GOVERNOR SKINK RECOVERY PROGRAMME Hon. Sylvan D. Richards, Jr.: Thank you, Mr. The Speaker: There are none. Speaker.
    [Show full text]
  • 2013/14 Session Bermuda House of Assembly
    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.
    [Show full text]