Government

Mr. Speaker,

This morning I rise to share with my honourable colleagues and the community at large the summer professional learning activities that the Department of Education has planned for Educators during the months of July and August.

Mr. Speaker,

Mr. Speaker, I wish to inform this Honourable House of the Government’s plans for immigration reform which seeks to modernize the Country’s Immigration laws and supporting policies, and create operational efficiencies through process improvement.

Immigration reform initiatives consist of the following strategic priorities:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to advise Honourable Members of the tabling today of the Public Treasury (Administration and Payments) Amendment and Validation Act 2021 (the Act). The amendments provide the Government with the legislative mechanism to set-off funds owed arising from benefit payments against future payments to  be made to individuals. The Act will also validate certain matters related to unemployment benefit payments effected during the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Mr. Speaker, if we were ever in any doubt as to the importance of tourism to this economy, the pandemic has shown just how critical tourism jobs are and the importance of economic activity created by tourism to Bermuda.

In the National Economic Report tabled in this Honourable House as part of this year’s debate on the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, the Honourable Member, the Minister of Finance, set out a stark review of 2020’s economy generally and of the tourism economy in particular.

Mr. Speaker, later today, I will table the Bill entitled: the “Development and Planning Amendment Act 2021” [the Amendment Act], which seeks to amend the Development and Planning Act 1974 to (1) increase the protections to the environment while (2)streamlining the planning process. 

Mr. Speaker, I must reiterate the Government’s commitment to introduce sustainable planning legislation which will protect our delicate environment while streamlining measures tostimulate our economy, particularly our construction industry. 

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to provide an update on the state of Government water supply and distribution as we enter a period of high demand this summer.

The Bermuda Weather Service indicates that rainfall in Bermuda for the last couple of months is below usual levels. The combined precipitation for May 2021 and June 2021 was 6.66 inches, with 3.76 inches falling in one day. Based on the normal average rainfall per month of 5 inches, the total for the last two months is 34% below average. Simply put, the island is currently in a dry spell.

Bermuda registers concerns, particularly in relation to the financial services sector and timeline for effective implementation

Today the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sport advised that the National Sports Centre (NSC) has entered into a partnership with a local company to create and install an energy savings micro-grid system at the facility.

The Ministry confirmed that following an exhaustive, transparent and comprehensive tender process that commenced in January 2018, which included Expressions of Interest submissions and Request For Proposals (RFP), Atlantic Energy Solutions Group (AESG) was the successful bidder for the project.

The Minister of Education, the Hon. Diallo Rabain, JP, MP, has released a statement to advise of a delay in the announcement of his decision regarding the proposal for parish primary schools.

Minister Rabain shared, “Initially, I indicated that the outcome of the consultation process would be communicated by the end of the current school year. However, during the consultation process, 20 public, parish, and stakeholder meetings were held, and I received 131 submissions of over 300 pages involving over 1000 unique consultees.”

Today, Minister for the Cabinet Office the Hon. Wayne L. Furbert, JP, MP, released the April 2021 Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.

Good evening Bermuda,

For the purposes of this evening’s briefing, I will speak to the updated protocols for large group gatherings. As we advised the public recently, the responsibility for approving large group exemptions is now under my Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sport.

As of today (June 29), under the current Public Health Emergency measures legislation the maximum number of people allowed to gather is 100 persons. 

Thank you Premier, and good evening everyone.

The Ministry of Health received 7048 test results since the last update, and four (4) were positive for COVID-19. This gives a test positivity rate of 0.1%. 

These results are from testing done on the following dates:

§  Thursday, June 24: 2 positive out of 2051 results (0.1% positivity) 

§  Friday, June 25:  0 positive out of 1902 results (0.0% positivity)

§  Saturday, June 26: 2 positive out of 1750 results (0.1% positivity)

§  Sunday June 27: 0 positive out of 1345 results (0.0% positivity)

Good evening Bermuda,

I begin tonight by offering my heartfelt condolences to the families of Ra-Che Williams and Quan-Marley Lowe who lost their lives recently. It is saddening to lose any life in our community, but the loss of young life bears a special sorrow. 

While I know that my words alone are not enough to make up for the loss that the families and friends of these young men are dealing with, I wish for them to know that they are in our thoughts and in our prayers.

The Minister of Social Development and Seniors, the Hon. Tinee Furbert, JP, MP, has issued a statement recognising the celebrations of Bermuda Pride, where there are celebrations of freedoms to be accepted for who you are. 

The Bermuda Pride organisation has provided education, advocacy, and leadership in support of LGBTQ+ community in Bermuda,” said Minister Furbert. 

“Bermuda Pride has made significant strides in representing the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, and I acknowledge the leaders in this community for displaying their bold and unwavering commitment.” 

Noting the planned assembly on the grounds of the Cabinet Office tomorrow (29 June),  Premier David Burt today confirmed that he and the Cabinet will break from their scheduled meeting to greet those assembled.

Premier Burt said: “The organisers wrote to me last week indicating their intention to assemble peacefully in the grounds of the Cabinet Office and to ask if I would be available to receive documentation from them at 11:30 am.

Good Afternoon,

Today I am joined by the Minister of Labour, the Hon. Jason Hayward to highlight the 2020 Labour Force Survey Report from the Department of Statistics, and to discuss Bermuda’s labour and workforce market.

Thank you, Minister Furbert and good day to members of the media and the general public. 

“I join the community in extending my deepest and sincerest condolences to the families, loved ones and friends of the two men who tragically lost their lives last week,” said the Minister of National Security, Renee Ming today.

Minister Ming continued, “These two separate deaths happened in the worst possible circumstances, in such brutal and callous ways. My heart breaks for these young men’s families, and they are foremost on our minds today as we continue to process these tragic deaths.”

There are causes to which we should rally and come together. Two families in Bermuda are mourning young men, taken from them so unexpectedly. This in addition to the families who have lost their lives to COVID-19. Have we become so lost in social media play in Bermuda that we fail to value those lives lost and to make our first priority to comfort the families they leave behind? Our sense of community and our priorities must be re-ordered so that we again capture the love and unity that saw us through the darkest days of 2020.

“We are working around the clock to make this vital process seamless and easier for travellers,” a Government spokesperson said today. “The Bermuda Tourism Authority (BTA) has assigned team members to be at the JFK airport to assist Bermuda-bound travellers to navigate any potential issues with travel authorisation forms.

The Ministry of Health received 5335 test results since the last update, and four (4) were positive for COVID-19. This gives a test positivity rate of 0.1%. 

These results are from testing done on Monday (3 positive out of 1616 results (0.2% positivity)), Tuesday (0 positive out of 1884 results (0.0% positivity)), and Wednesday (1 positive out of 1835 results (0.1% positivity)).

COVID-19 Update – 22 June 2021

The Ministry of Health received 5913 test results since the last update, and two (2) were positive for COVID-19. This gives a test positivity rate of 0.03%. 

These results are from testing done on Thursday (0 positive out of 1796 results (0.0% positivity)), Friday (0 positive out of 1490 results (0.0% positivity)), Saturday (2 positive out of 1508 results (0.1% positivity)) and Sunday (0 positive out of 1119 results (0.0% positivity)).