Government

On Friday, the Minister of National Security, the Hon. Michael Weeks joined Commissioner of Corrections Keeva Joell-Benjamin, her senior management team and the Prison Officer’s Association (POA) on a tour of the Westgate Correctional Facility. 

Minister Weeks has committed to visiting the departments under the remit of the Ministry, with the aim of listening to, discussing and inviting feedback on the critical matters that are affecting the sections of the uniformed services. 

The Ministry of Social Development and Seniors would like to advise the public that starting October 17th,  2022, the Ministry Headquarters will be relocating to the 6th Floor Veritas Place, 65 Court Street, Hamilton HM12.

The office will be closed to the public from Monday, October 17th, through Wednesday, October 19th. 

Telephone service and email are operational. Telephone: 444-2466 Email: msdshq@gov.bm 

The Ministry would like to thank you for your patience during this time.

Good Morning.

You may have heard me often say that there is no tourism without transport, and it is in that context in which Bermuda has welcomed 310,587 cruise passengers to our shores this season, with an approximate economic impact of $131.5M. This is an increase of $28.2M in economic activity since the original projections at the beginning of the year. As of 5 October, there are 39 more calls in the fourth quarter period estimated to bring a further 63,778 passengers to Bermuda by the end of the year. To date, we have received 127 cruise calls.

Since the last update, the Ministry of Health received 2,511 test results, and 60 were positive for the coronavirus.

Recently, the Minister of Economy and Labour, The Hon. Jason Hayward, JP, MP, attended the Fintech Islands Experience 2022 (Fix 2022) held in Barbados from October 5th through 7th.

This Friday (October 14), the Department of Culture will host another edition of Creatives Live! – featuring local artists Sheila Smith with The Toni Bari Jazz Trio (see attached e-flyer).

Happening on the steps of City Hall, this popular open air concert series will take place from 12.30 pm – 1.30 pm.

Following a Stop Work Notice issued on 22 July 2022 by the Department of Planning relating to the property located at 2 Harrington Sound Road, Smiths, in the Shark Hole area, the Ministry of Home Affairs today provided an update on the matter.

On concluding the investigation into this project, the Department of Planning and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources worked with the applicant to remediate any damage to the best extent possible and put in place additional conditions for the construction site to ensure all requirements were met and followed. 

The Ministry of Public Works confirmed this afternoon that the stretch of Harrington Sound Road, which was closed yesterday due to a road cavity, has been re-opened to all motorists.

A team from the Ministry’s Highways section performed initial repairs to the site and re-opened the road last night.

Once the rainfall has stopped, the team will look further into the cause of the collapse.

Premier and Minister of Finance, the Hon. David Burt, JP, MP, is once again able to inform the public of positive findings  of an  assessment of Bermuda by a rating agency.  Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) has released today the results of its recent review of Bermuda. In this assessment, the rating agency affirmed Bermuda’s long-term and short-term issuer ratings. The long-term rating was affirmed at A+ with a stable outlook, while the short-term rating was affirmed at K1+.

“This is good news…” said Premier David Burt today after the Bermuda Gaming Commission’s announcement on Friday that the St. Regis hotel has been granted Bermuda’s first casino license. “This represents new employment opportunities and a potential increase in hospitality jobs. The process has been a long and detailed one in which the Commission and the hoteliers have worked together to ensure that all aspects of the statutory requirements are met.

Today, countries globally will be observing World Mental Health Day (WMHD).

Here at home, as we work on moving beyond the pandemic, the Minister of Health, the Hon. Kim Wilson shared a World Health Day message for the community.

“Without question, COVID-19 has had a more significant impact on our mental health,” Minister Wilson said, 

“In Bermuda, many client presentations to Community Mental Health Services have been related to the pandemic, with anxiety or depression due to job loss or economic instability a factor.

On Friday (7 October), Bermuda Post Office (BPO) employees volunteered their time by partnering with the Department of Parks to clean up and beautify the Botanical Gardens.

The initiative celebrated World Post Day (WPD), an annual observance that is recognised globally today, Sunday, 9 October.

WPD intends to raise awareness of the postal system’s role in the everyday lives of people and businesses. 

This year’s theme is “Post for Planet: Ensuring a greener planet for future generations”.

Mr Speaker and Honourable Members, last year the Government of Bermuda took the first steps towards delivering on its promise to implement universal health coverage for all residents.

Our vision for healthcare seeks to ensure that –

“all people have equitable access to needed informative, preventive, curative, rehabilitative and palliative essential health services, of sufficient quality to be effective, while also ensuring that people do not suffer financial hardship when paying for these services and critical medicines.”

Mr. Speaker,

This morning, I rise to provide this Honourable House and the community at large with an update on the opening of Signature Schools and the introduction of signature learning programmes in our two senior schools, the Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy. This is undoubtedly a significant milestone achieved in the ongoing work of Education Reform for our Public School System. Work that has covered some 30 months of belief and determination.

Mr. Speaker,

Mr. Speaker, today I laid, for information, the Annual Report of the Registry General for the year ended December 31st, 2021. The Registrar General recognizes the essential role that vital statistical information plays in planning for the provision of services in areas such as tourism, health, education and housing, to name a few, and has performed his duties to a high standard in the recording, collating and presenting of the data to be included in the Annual Report.

Mr. Speaker, as we look back at the third quarter of 2022, Bermuda has seen momentum build after two years of a decimated global tourism industry. By the end of August, Bermuda welcomed over 98,000 air visitors to the island. While we are seeing growth, year-over-year, we have not yet achieved the volumes of 2019. The Bermuda Tourism Authority projects Bermuda’s year-end visitor volume to be approximately 56% of 2019.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring extremely positive news in relation to an election pledge made by this Government in its 2020 Election Manifesto – to improve the quality of life for all Bermudians.

Mr. Speaker, honourable colleagues in the Chamber today and the listening public shall already be acutely aware: housing prices, mortgage interest rates and rental prices have been on a continuous rise worldwide.

In Bermuda, the monthly rental rates range as follows:

Good afternoon members of the media and colleagues; good afternoon to the people of Bermuda.

Last Friday, I provided an update in the House of Assembly on the latest estimates relating to the 2021/22 Budget as the Government prepares for the annual audit of the Consolidated Fund.

Good afternoon members of the media and colleagues; good afternoon to the people of Bermuda.

Last Friday, I provided an update in the House of Assembly on the latest estimates relating to the 2021/22 Budget as the Government prepares for the annual audit of the Consolidated Fund.

Madam President, today, I lay the Government’s new National Sports Policy 2022-27, and invite all Members of the Senate to debate the Policy.

Madam President, I am pleased to say that the National Sports Policy for Bermuda fulfils the 2022 Throne Speech promise of a Policy and roadmap for this Government to raise the value of sport in Bermuda and increase participation and regional success over the next five years. 

The Minister of Health, Kim Wilson, JP, MP, recently presented STARS certificates to three of the seven providers that received a 5 S.T.A.R.S rating – Lillian Butterfield, Davika Furbert and Chiquita Smith. The additional 5 STAR providers are Maria Pacheco, Gillian Medeiros, Antonia Paynter, and Jocelyn Richardson, who could not attend the presentation.

STARS is a new comprehensive inspection tool utilised by the Child Care Regulation Programme (CCRP), designed using the Children Act 1998, the Day Care Centre Regulations 1999, and the Child Care Standards 2018.