Members
Parliament
Transparency
Dr. Douglas De Couto, JP, MP

Dr. Douglas De Couto, JP, MP

1768
Speeches
616,883
Words Spoken
69
Sittings Active
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
5,827 words
I am pleased to be here with you today to discuss Bermuda’s current economic situation and the Government’s proposed budget. We will scrutinise the facts and figures, we will look at supporting data and we will ask questions. But ultimately, Madam President, while we talk about numbers, what we are really talking about is, How is this Government taking care …
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
5,837 words
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, we have spoken about the impact of the staff and consultants on the budget. But I would like to ask why, when we have a Premier who promotes FinTech and touts innovation at conferences, I have to go to Works and Engineering and pay a bill in person? Or mail a cheque? I do …
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
7 words
Madam President. The President: Senator De Couto.
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
18 words
Point of order please. The President: What is your point of order? POINT OF ORDER [Imputing improper motive]
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
528 words
Imputing improper motives, Madam President. Sen. Lindsay K. Simmons: Madam President, that is what was said. Madam President, they continue to mislead the public. I am here to stand shoulder to shoulder with my colleague. He was speaking his truth. And many of us have experienced the same treatment. Madam President, I would like to take a few minutes to …
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
3 words
Point of information,
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
16 words
Point of order, Madam President. The President: Senator De Couto, what is your point of order?
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
476 words
The Senator is misleading the Senate because I believe we have . . . the Senator is misleading the Senate, Madam President. The President: That is not a point of order. Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, the Senator is so confused he must be s pending too much time on Twitter. Because all he has to do is …
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
216 words
Point of order, Madam President. He is misleading the Senate. The debt was not doubled. Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Madam President, I am not sure you would want these words characterising a Bermuda Government moving forward. In contrast, let me talk about the Progressive Labour Party’s Government and the budget, and the path to continued economic growth, Madam President. …
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
24 words
Point of order; misleading the Senate. Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Again, too much time on Twitter, Madam President. The President: Senator De Couto—
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
2,742 words
—was publicly corrected, Madam President, so — Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: Corrected? — Se n. Dr. Douglas De Couto: —it is a misleading statement. Sen. the Hon. Owen Darrell: So you made a mistake? Say it ain’t so! The OBA wants to introduce a tax on health care. Again, increasing cost on Bermudians. The One Bermuda Alliance criticised the …
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
3 words
Point of information,
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
57 words
Thank you, Madam Chairman. I think I also saw that Senator Wight had some questions. So maybe I will have some questions —I will have quite a few. So perhaps I could ask some ques-tions, and then Senator Wight might ask s ome questions or some other Senators if that would be okay with you, Madam Chairman.
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
619 words
Great. Thank you. Madam Chairman, I will turn to the guarantees on page C -30, which I believe we would classify under Head 58 at table C -30, or at the bottom of page C -30. My first question is, I understand that last year there was a $2.5 million guarantee for something called the InnoFund and agreements into that …
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
430 words
Thank you, Madam Chairman. And actually, I did want to apologise. I was remiss to [not] say that I did appreciate the effort that the Junior Minister took to get the brief and give us this opportunity to ask [questions]. It is not taken for granted. I also actually —Senator Wight did cover quite a few of the same questions …
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
198 words
Sure. Page B -113, GPO Customs Duty (8009), which I presume is customs duty at the post offices, predicted up 23 per cent, or $121,000, whereas 8117, Courier Package Fees, is predicted down 20 per cent, or $235,000. And I would like to understand what is behind those predictions and are they connected to the MyBermudaPost service? For example, growth …
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
20 words
Madam Chairman, could I ask a clarifying question on that? Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Yes. So I can provide some additional.
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
82 words
Thank you. Sen. Arianna Hodgson: So the Government did not pay on the guarantee. It actually elected to purchase the tranche B and C loans. That was in order to satisfy the demand of the guarantee. Although it is now owned by the government, the tranche B and C debt still exists. And they actually have the potential to be …
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
453 words
Thank you. Sen. Arianna Hodgson: Senator De Couto had asked a question about the $30 million credit facility that exists with the Clarien for the Hospitals Board and had a question about whether or not that was inclusive in the $758 million. The answer is no, it is not included. This is a bit of a more lengthy response to …
15 Mar 2023 Senate
Official Hansard Report - Senate
11 words
Madam Chairman, I might just add one question while we wait.