2018/19 SESSION of the BERMUDA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT 27 September 2019 Sitting number 29 of the 2018/19 Session (pages 2445–2534) 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 27 September 2019 2445 BERMUDA HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OFFICIAL HANSARD REPORT 27 SEPTEMBER 2019 10:04 AM Sitting Number 29 of the 2018/19 Session [Hon. Derrick V. Burgess, Sr., Deputy Speaker, in the FUTURE STATE REPORT Chair] DATED AUGUST 23RD, 2019 PRAYERS Hon. E. David Burt: Good morning, Mr. Deputy Speaker. [Prayers read by Mrs. Shernette Wolffe, Clerk] Mr. Deputy Speaker, I have the honour to at- tach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly the Future State Report dated CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES rd [Minutes of 13 September 2019] August 23 , 2019, by BermudaFirst. Thank you. The Deputy Speaker: [Are there] any objections to The Deputy Speaker: confirming the Minutes of September the 13th? Deputy Leader, Mr. Roban. There appear to be none. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE REGISTRAR GENERAL Approved. ST FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 OF DECEMBER 2018 [Minutes of 13 September 2019 confirmed] Hon. Walter H. Roban: Good morning, Mr. Deputy MESSAGES FROM THE GOVERNOR Speaker. I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly the Annual Report of the Registrar General for the The Deputy Speaker: There are no messages from year ending 31st of December 2018. the Governor. Also, Mr. Deputy Speaker, if you will allow me to continue? ANNOUNCEMENTS BY THE ACTING SPEAKER OR MEMBER PRESIDING The Deputy Speaker: Continue. APOLOGIES SUBMARINE CABLES PERMIT AND LICENSING ACT 2019 The Deputy Speaker: The Honourable Speaker, Dennis Lister, MP; Kim Swan, MP; [and] Pat Gordon- SUBMARINE CABLES Pamplin, [MP]; are attending the 64th Commonwealth (PROTECTED AREAS) ACT 2019 Parliamentary Conference in Uganda. Also absent will be the Honourable Leader of the Opposition, Mr. SUBMARINE CABLES Cannonier; and MP Mr. Cole Simons. (PROTECTED AREAS) ORDER 2019 MESSAGES FROM THE SENATE Hon. Walter H. Roban: I have the honour to attach and submit the following for consultation purposes The Deputy Speaker: There are no messages from only: the Senate. • Submarine Cables Permit and Licensing Act 2019; PAPERS AND OTHER • Submarine Cables (Protected Areas) Act COMMUNICATIONS TO THE HOUSE 2019; and • Submarine Cables (Protected Areas) Order 2019. The Deputy Speaker: Mr. Premier, you have a pa- Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. per? The Deputy Speaker: Thank you. Honourable Member, Mr. Rabain. Bermuda House of Assembly 2446 27 September 2019 Official Hansard Report BERMUDA EDUCATORS COUNCIL (EXEMPTION) the Minister has a legal obligation to notify the Legisla- (2019 TO 2020 SCHOOL YEAR) ORDER 2019 ture as soon as practical after the agreement has been executed. Therefore, we have to suspend Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, and good [Standing Order] 20 [so that] there would be no ques- morning, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Good morning, col- tions on this Statement. During the debate, you can leagues. do what you normally do. I have the honour to attach and submit for the information of the Honourable House of Assembly the Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Bermuda Educators Council (Exemption) (2019 to Speaker. 2020 School Year) Order 2019, made by the Minister Good morning. responsible for Education in exercise of the power conferred by sections 5.(1) and 23. of the Bermuda USD$200 MILLION FACILITY AGREEMENT Educators Council Act 2002. BETWEEN BANK OF N.T. BUTTERFIELD & SON Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. LIMITED AND HSBC BANK BERMUDA LIMITED AND THE GOVERNMENT OF BERMUDA The Deputy Speaker: Thank you. Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Mr. Deputy Speaker, Hon- PETITION ourable Members are advised that on Tuesday, Sep- tember 17, 2019, the Ministry of Finance successfully WALSINGHAM TRUST executed a US$200 million credit facility with local financial institutions. Therefore, in accordance with The Deputy Speaker: There is a petition. section 2(3) of the Government Loans Act 1978, I rise this morning to inform this Honourable House of the The Clerk: By MP Michael Scott. Is he available? Is execution of this borrowing transaction pursuant to the he here? requirements of the Act. Honourable Members will recall that, on Sep- Okay, Ms. Webb . not Ms. Webb, Renee th Ming, can you read that on his behalf? It should be on tember 13 , 2019, I held a press conference updating his desk. Thank you. the general public on the latest developments at the Caroline Bay project (formerly, Morgan’s Point). Dur- Mrs. Renee Ming: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move that ing this press conference, I notified the public of the Standing Order 33(8) be suspended to enable me to following: present the following petition. • To date, the developers have been unsuc- cessful in their attempts to secure funding to [Crosstalk] meet their financial obligations to the Tranche B and Tranche C lenders. As a result of these The Deputy Speaker: [Are there] any objections to defaults, both the Tranche B and C lenders that? have demanded repayment in full of their out- There appear to be none. Continue. standing loans. • In seeking to defend the public purse, the Mrs. Renee Ming: Mr. Deputy Speaker, I move leave Government has elected to exercise its op- to introduce the following petition: tion, by reason of these defaults, to acquire The petition by the Walsingham Trust request- the interests of both the Tranche B and C ing that legislation may be enacted to amend its in- loans. corporating Act, the Walsingham Trust Act 1942, to • The Government was in the process of nego- the Walsingham Trust Amendment Act 2019, as set tiating a credit facility with local banks for up out in the said Bill. I ask that the said petition be re- to $200 million, the proceeds of which will be ferred to the Joint Select Committee on Private Bills used in the first instance to pay the Tranche B for consideration and report. and Tranche C lenders. • These extraordinary circumstances and the li- The Deputy Speaker: Thank you. abilities triggered by these defaults have re- sulted in the Government having no choice STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS but to raise the debt ceiling in order to borrow AND JUNIOR MINISTERS monies to fund the payments of the Tranche B and C lenders as set out in the guarantees. • The Deputy Speaker: Let me go right to the Minister That an amendment to the Government Loans of Finance, the Honourable Member, Mr. Dickinson. Act 1978 to increase the debt ceiling by $250 Let me say this before you start, Minister, that [ac- million to $2.75 billion was being tabled with cording to] section 2(3) of the Government Loans Act, immediate effect. Bermuda House of Assembly Official Hansard Report 27 September 2019 2447 Mr. Deputy Speaker, I can now advise Hon- unplanned, our commitment to being prudent stew- ourable Members that the Bermuda Government has ards of the public purse remains unchanged. executed a US$200 million one-year term loan facility Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. agreement jointly with the Bank of NT Butterfield & Son Limited and HSBC Bank of Bermuda Limited. The Deputy Speaker: Thank you, Minister. This facility was competitively priced at 4.25 per cent, Mr. Premier. and it is satisfying that local financial institutions were supportive in providing Government with its financing UPDATE ON THE BERMUDA ECONOMIC needs for this unfortunate matter. Honourable Mem- DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION’S INITIATIVES bers are advised that this facility offers the Govern- TO ASSIST BERMUDA’S ENTREPRENEURS ment valuable flexibility with regard to its duty to exer- cise the full range of options provided under the pro- Hon. E. David Burt: Good morning, Mr. Deputy ject agreements, which includes in the first instance Speaker, and thank you. the purchase of the interests of the B and C lenders. Mr. Deputy Speaker, I am pleased to provide The remaining proceeds will be used substantially to Honourable Members an update on the progress of fund other costs associated with this matter. initiatives being offered by the Bermuda Economic Mr. Deputy Speaker, I can advise that the Development Corporation [BEDC or the Corporation] Tranche B loan was provided by an institutional inves- to support Bermuda’s local entrepreneurs. tor, and the Tranche C loan was initially provided by The BEDC is currently responsible for provid- three Bermuda reinsurance companies, Arch, Axis ing financial support and technical advice to small and and Validus. Validus’s portion has been acquired by medium-sized businesses, for overseeing the eco- Arch and Axis. The total value to buy the legal interest nomic empowerment zones [EEZs], for growing out- of the B and C lenders is approximately $170 million, side vendor markets, and for managing vendors and and I can confirm that the Government has closed on issuing vending licences. The organisation’s key ob- the certificate purchase agreement for the B lenders. jective remains to assist the Government in encourag- Mr. Deputy Speaker, it must be emphasised ing economic growth for Bermuda’s local, small and that at this time Government has not borrowed $200 medium-sized businesses. million, but rather has a facility in place to borrow up For all it achieves, the BEDC is a relatively to this amount. Funds will be drawn only when abso- small organisation. However, it has grown recently to lutely necessary and only funds that are drawn will be a complement of 14 posts in order to meet the sub- charged with interest.