Government

Last week, Premier David Burt and the Head of the Public Service, Dr. Derrick Binns recognised the Ministry of Finance’s Renee Lathan as the recipient of the January (2023) Government of Bermuda’s Public Service Excellence Award.

As the community is aware, the PSEA is a programme recognizes Public Officers who are demonstrating admirable service delivery. Each month an individual or team is selected for their significant accomplishments in the last 60 days.

Good morning, all:

Since taking office as Transport Minister, I’ve heard from residents from Morgan’s Road, Cobbs Hill Road, Keith Hall Road, Cedar Hill, Harbour Road, and of course Hinson Island.

One person in particular, bothered me both day and night and that is the Member of Parliament for Constituency 25 Ianthia Simmons- Wade. She would not let me sleep. She would say Minister, we must find away. We cannot leave the residences to fend for themselves.

Bullying and harassment in the workplace remain a problem and the Bermuda Government is committed to ensuring that there are reduced incidents. 

Every individual should feel that relevant safeguards are in place to protect them from being violated at their place of employment and employers should be accountable to ensure that this is the case.

Today, the Premier and Minister of Finance, the Hon. David Burt extended condolences following the passing of Arthur Hodgson.

“One of the leaders of a generation of social Justice champions,” said Premier David Burt today leading the condolences to the family of the late Arthur Hodgson, a former Minister in the first Progressive Labour Party Government.

Government House has announced the reappointment of Mr Alexander White as the Privacy Commissioner for Bermuda.  Mr White has been reappointed for a further term of five (5) years.   

This reappointment follows an open and competitive recruitment process and a recommendation received from the advisory panel established to interview the candidates. 

As the public is aware, the Bermuda Weather Service (BWS) issued a severe weather advisory earlier this morning.

According to the BWS, this afternoon, the island will experience severe rain with the likelihood of thunderstorms; strong gale force wind gusts, with some gusts reaching storm force to hurricane force.

In light of the unsettled weather, the Ministry of National Security encourages the public to take any necessary safety precautions. In particular, motorists should exercise extra caution when travelling on the roads during their afternoon commutes.

Following Friday’s mass power outage, the Minister of National Security, Michael Weeks said, “By now, all power has been restored to the island and Belco’s teams continue to monitor the situation. I want to take this opportunity to extend thanks to all of the Belco engineers and Belco support teams who worked tirelessly around the clock yesterday to restore power to the island following the mass outage.

Mr. Speaker,

I rise today to update this Honourable House and the listening public on the exciting work that is progressing to transform public education in Bermuda.

Mr. Speaker,

Mr. Speaker, 30 electric pink and blue public buses arrived on our shores last spring, marking an historic achievement for Bermuda in the protection of the natural resources from climate change and environmental issues. Launching the transition from fossil fueled to electric buses with the ambitious conversion of 1/3 of the public fleet of buses has propelled the Government toward the goal of operating an entire fleet of electric public buses by 2030.

Good morning, Mr. Speaker.

I am pleased to rise today to provide to the Members of this Honourable House an overview of the Independent Contractor Guidance document that has been published by the Ministry of Economy and Labour.

Mr. Speaker, the Employment Act 2000 (the “Act”) was amended in 2021 to allow the Manager of the Labour Relations Section to publish guidance on whether a working relationship more closely resembles that of an employee than that of an independent contractor.

Mr. Speaker,

This morning I rise to share with my Honourable colleagues the continued progress that is occurring for the provision of Litigation Guardian Services in Bermuda. As a reminder, in alignment with The Children Act 1998, Litigation Guardians are appointed by the Courts to be the voice of the child and to safeguard the interest of children.

Mr. Speaker,

Good afternoon everyone,

I am pleased to be joined today by Aran McKittrick, one of the Project Leaders on Bermuda’s Zero Emission Vehicle Policy. Many countries have adopted measures to accelerate the transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles or ZEVs. At the same time, global automakers are investing in ZEV technology while phasing out investment in gasoline and diesel vehicles.

Today, the Head of the Public Service, Dr. Derrick Binns provided an update regarding three Permanent Secretary posts.
As of today, February 1, 2023, the following individuals have been confirmed in the posts: