Budget and Economic Debate-Final March 4
REPLY TO THE BUDGET 2021/22 Delivered by The Hon. N.H. Cole Simons, J.P., M.P. Leader of the Opposition & Shadow Minister of Finance 5th March 2021 Without a doubt, 2020 will forever be remembered as the year that the Covid- 19 pandemic struck the world, and without warning, caused it to go into a free fall. It also helped to reset the dial for new global protocols. We began the year with the presumption of living our lives in the normal manner; when suddenly, the world was abruptly plunged into a global pandemic. We were mandated to shelter in place, work remotely in Teams, Zoom into meetings, study and worship online, purchased groceries online or on designated shopping days and spend more time with our families. Throughout riots and demonstrations of civil unrest around the globe, our new reality now includes social distancing, washing our hands with increasing regularity and compulsory wearing of masks in public places. Mr. Speaker, on the economic front, the societal disruption in Bermuda has been grave. Let’s face it, we were just not prepared for this type of catastrophic event. It was a shock to our economy. It was a stress test that revealed that Bermuda’s fiscal management under the Progressive Labour Party Government, was seriously lacking. While Bermuda has a great history of managing our way through disasters like hurricanes, the pandemic proved to be more than overwhelming. We don’t have to look far to find that many of our sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, aunts, and uncles have lost, or are losing their jobs and we cannot stand idly by.
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