CAYMAN ISLANDS LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT ELECTRONIC VERSION 2014/15 SESSION 17 September 2014 Fifth Sitting of the Second Meeting (pages 491-550) Hon Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, JP, MLA Speaker Disclaimer: The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for informational purposes only. The printed version remains the official record. PRESENT WERE: SPEAKER Hon Juliana Y O’Connor- Connolly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly MINISTERS OF THE CABINET Hon Alden McLaughlin, MBE, JP, MLA The Premier, Minister of Home and Community Affairs Hon Moses I Kirkconnell, JP, MLA Deputy Premier, Minister of District Administration, Tourism and Transport Hon D Kurt Tibbetts, OBE, JP, MLA Minister of Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure Hon Marco S Archer, MLA Minister of Finance and Economic Development Hon Osbourne V Bodden, MLA Minister of Health, Sports, Youth and Culture Hon G Wayne Panton, MLA Financial Services, Commerce and Environment Hon Tara A Rivers, MLA Minister of Education, Employment and Gender Affairs EX OFFICIO MEMBERS OF THE CABINET Hon Eric L Bush Temporary Deputy Governor, ex officio Member responsible for the Civil Service Hon Jacqueline Wilson Temporary Attorney General, ex officio Member responsible for Legal Affairs ELECTED MEMBERS GOVERNMENT BACKBENCHERS Hon Anthony S Eden, OBE, JP, MLA Deputy Speaker, First Elected Member for Bodden Town Mr Alva H Suckoo, MLA Fourth Elected Member for Bodden Town Mr Roy McTaggart, MLA Second Elected Member for George Town Mr Winston C Connolly, Jr, MLA Fifth Elected Member for George Town Mr Joseph X Hew, MLA Sixth Elected Member for George Town OPPOSITION MEMBERS Mr Bernie A Bush, MLA Third Elected Member for West Bay Capt A Eugene Ebanks, JP, MLA Fourth Elected Member for West Bay INDEPENDENT MEMBERS Mr D Ezzard Miller, JP, MLA Elected Member for North Side Mr V Arden McLean, JP, MLA Elected Member for East End APOLOGIES Hon. W. McKeeva Bush, OBE, JP, MLA Leader of the Opposition, First Elected Member for West Bay Official Hansard Report Wednesday, 17 September 2014 491 OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT SECOND MEETING 2014/15 SESSION WEDNESDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2014 10:50 AM Fifth Sitting [Hon. Juliana Y. O’Connor-Connolly, Speaker, presiding] The Speaker: Good morning. OATH OF ALLEGIENCE I now call on the Honourable Minister of [Administered by the Clerk] Health to grace us with prayers. [Mr. Eric Lennox Bush, the Honourable Acting Deputy PRAYERS Governor, to be the Temporary ex officio Member of the Legislative Assembly] Hon. Osbourne V. Bodden, Minister of Health, Sports, Youth and Culture: Let us pray. The Speaker: I will now ask the Honourable Acting Almighty God, from whom all wisdom and Deputy Governor to take his place at the Dias. power are derived: We beseech Thee so to direct and All rise. prosper the deliberations of the Legislative Assembly now assembled, that all things may be ordered upon Hon. Eric Lennox Bush: I, Eric Lennox Bush, do the best and surest foundations for the glory of Thy swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Name and for the safety, honour and welfare of the Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and suc- people of these Islands. cessors according to law, so help me God. Bless our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth II; Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; Charles, Prince of Wales; OATH OF DUE EXECUTION and all the Royal Family. Give grace to all who exer- [Administered by the Clerk] cise authority in our Commonwealth, that peace and happiness, truth and justice, religion and piety may be Hon. Eric Lennox Bush: I, Eric Lennox Bush, do established among us. Especially we pray for the swear that I will well and truly serve Her Majesty, Governor of our Islands, the Speaker of the Legisla- Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors and the tive Assembly, Official Members and Ministers of Cab- people of the Cayman Islands in the office of ex-officio inet and Members of the Legislative Assembly, that Member of the Legislative Assembly, so help me God. we may be enabled faithfully to perform the responsi- ble duties of our high office. All this we ask for Thy The Speaker: Mr. Bush, I trust that at your last visit great Name’s sake. the welcome was warm enough to not have to be ex- Let us say the Lord’s Prayer together: Our Fa- tended again this morning, but, for the avoidance of ther, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy doubt, I once again extend a welcome to this honour- Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in able Chamber. Please take your seat. Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass OATH OF ALLEGIANCE against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us (Administered by the Clerk) from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. [Ms. Jacqueline Wilson, the Honourable Acting Attor- The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord ney General, to be the Temporary ex officio Member make His face shine upon us and be gracious unto us. of the Legislative Assembly] The Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon us and give us peace, now and always. Amen. The Speaker: I invite the Acting Attorney General to take her place at the Dias. The Speaker: Please be seated. The House is now All rise. resumed. Hon. Jacqueline Wilson: I, Jacqueline Wilson, do ADMINISTRATION OF OATHS swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to OR AFFIRMATIONS Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and suc- cessors according to law. So help me God. Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly 492 Wednesday, 17 September 2014 Official Hansard Report OATH OF DUE EXECUTION As Minister for Education I am committed to [Administered by the Clerk] the very highest standards of education for all our stu- dents in all our schools. I have never lost sight of the Hon. Jacqueline Wilson: I, Jacqueline Wilson, do fact that we must put children first in all that we do in swear that I will well and truly serve Her Majesty, education. With that said, it is essential that our edu- Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors and the cation team continue to self-reflect, invite external people of the Cayman Islands in the office of ex-officio scrutiny, and be willing to face up to the hard ques- Member of the Legislative Assembly, so help me God. tions and issues. Since taking up my role, I have engaged in The Speaker: [Acting] Attorney General I would like to consultation with a number of stakeholders including welcome you to these honourable Chambers. As officers in the Ministry and Department of Education much as we enjoy the company of your male counter- Services, principals, teachers, students, parents, the part, it’s good to have some gender balance, albeit of business community and the general public. As part of a temporary basis. Welcome. the consultation process, a number of strengths and areas for improvement have been identified. Much An Hon. Member: Hear, hear. has been done over the past year to identify these strengths, the gaps and areas of weakness in the ed- The Speaker: Please be seated. ucation system, and steps have been taken and re- sources dedicated to address some of those issues READING BY THE HONOURABLE identified. However, a more detailed analysis of each SPEAKER OF MESSAGES school and a more detailed analysis of the govern- AND ANNOUNCEMENTS ance, management and structure of the education system as a whole, is needed at this stage to assist with policy and planning purposes going forward. APOLOGIES Again, the goal is to create an education system that puts the interests and welfare of the children first. The Speaker: I have received apologies from the One of the areas of feedback has been the Honourable Leader of the Opposition. need to have independent evaluations of the educa- I recognise the Honourable Minister of Educa- tion system so that progress can be measured. tion, Employment and Gender Affairs. Schools, the Department of Education Services (DES) and the Ministry need to be able to build on strengths STATEMENTS BY HONOURABLE to identify those gaps, and to plan for and make im- MEMBERS AND MINISTERS provements that will benefit our children. OF THE CABINET Over the past five years only a limited range of inspections were undertaken using outsourced re- EDUCATION SYSTEM AND BASELINE SCHOOL sources to complement a small core team. However, INSPECTIONS REVIEW in order to help determine the effectiveness of our quest to strive for excellence in education, the reintro- Hon. Tara A. Rivers, Minister of Education, Em- duction of the inspection process as an independent ployment and Gender Affairs: Thank you, Madam process is critical. To this end, I have requested that Speaker. inspections of all government schools take place as a The vision for our students is that they will be matter of priority to establish a baseline dataset on: confident, motivated learners, and responsible pro- • student progress and achievement; ductive citizens who are capable of succeeding in a • effectiveness of teaching and its impact on globally competitive world. To achieve this, the Minis- learning; try of Education and other education stakeholders • leadership and management; and must ensure that the education system provides suit- • the quality of provision and student outcomes in able and relevant learning environments that best en- the foundation subjects of English and mathe- able our students to succeed. matics. Over the past seven years, there have been significant changes within the government education The pre-inspection process has already started system, with accompanying increases in overall stu- and all government school inspections are due to be dent performance being achieved during that same completed by June, 2015.