Members
Parliament
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Ben Smith, MP

Ben Smith, MP

738
Speeches
138,286
Words Spoken
67
Sittings Active
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
103 words
Mr. Speaker, he made his point. But the difference was this: When you sit on a committee and you meet multiple times, every week for multiple years and we only get one piece of legislation over the line that cost that Minister so much turmoil that he had to cry in the House because it was so difficult for him …
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
13 words
So, Mr. Speaker — Hon. E. David Burt: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
68 words
Continuing on, Mr. Speaker. So once again I will say they have been in power since 2017. So the record will show that all of the reform that the Honourable Premier is referring to, it is very little that got over the line when they had the opportunity to do the full reform. That is all I am saying. Hon. …
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
8 words
Mr. Speaker, I am going to continue on.
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
13 words
I do not need to have a back -and-forth with the Honourable Premier.
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
537 words
The issue that we have, moving forward, Mr. Speaker, is that in hospitality most people in this House would have at some point in their life been involved with hospitality in some way with a job that they probably had when they were younger. We also know that a lot of what was built in this country came from hospitality …
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
404 words
Mr. Speaker, in our Reply there was a specific comment that said that we had not had the opportunity to talk about education. And I do not want it to be left out, that we were not going to talk about educa-tion. And I am not going to take this in a directi on that people probably think. This is …
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
149 words
But understand something. I was never, ever part of the UBP. So that comment is fine. You have Members over there, one of them who just spoke, who was part of the UBP. The issue that I am saying to you is . . . and this is the reason that I did not want this to go into the …
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
541 words
So I am going to say you can be anecdotal. I am going to tell you that the people in Bermuda who are sending their kids to school will tell you that that was a factor in the decision- making they had. If they had one child and they are paying $25,000, they are thinking strongly, Can I afford to …
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
121 words
Mr. Speaker, if the Honourable Member had listened to what I said, I said I think it is some-thing that we should look at the details on. I did not say I have the exact figures. What I am saying is — Hon. Zane J. S. De Silva: Point of order, Mr. Speaker. POINT OF ORDER [Misleading] Hon. Zane J. …
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
47 words
So, Mr. Speaker, to go to the proof, if you go back and look at the data that would have told you the changes in education, I am pretty sure that it did not used to be 50/50 private to public. A shift has happened. [Inaudible interjection]
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
46 words
I got it. A shift has happened. So the shift would have been an increase to private, which would mean that the group that is going overseas has also increased. That is all I am asking. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Point of order, Mr. Speaker.
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
86 words
So, Mr. Speaker, if you look at it, if the public system is going down with their numbers and the private sector is staying the same with their numbers, potentially that is because some of the students are going overseas. And then some of the students who were in public are now in private. That is how that balance happens. …
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
12 words
It is the only question . . . it is a question.
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
368 words
Mr. Speaker, with the last couple of minutes that I have left, I just want to touch on the housing crisis because that is something that is significantly important to our population. But I think that is a question here when it comes to what is causing thi s. Because it is interesting that you have . . . and, …
9 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
91 words
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, would the Honourable Premier be able to give an update of the total cost of the solar project at the National Sports Centre to date, including any interest payments or what I would say would have been a reduction in power costs since January 2022 that we have not been able to have …
9 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
37 words
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yes, considering that information was in the public domain, I would look forward to information being brought to the House that would give us an update. So if that is possible, thank you.
9 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
82 words
No. All I am saying is that the Honourable Premier said that it was in the public domain, the information about what is the cost for the project to this point. What I was hoping for was that we would be able to receive the full details. So if it is possible for us to get that in the future …
24 Nov 2023 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
119 words
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I would like to thank the Honourable Minister for this thor-ough update on the reform of education, specifically on the area giving the updated numbers of students in schools and students in what has happened from what it was historically to where we are now. I am wondering if the Minister has received any data …
24 Nov 2023 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
25 words
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, and thank you for the Minister’s response. I will wait for the information from that report. But a further question.