Speeches by N. H. Cole Simons

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

10 words

—irrespective of what ha ppens , Mr. [De puty] Speaker.

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

14 words

Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, I am not going to be guided by that man’s comments.

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

9 words

What I am making clear, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker —

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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22 words

—is the senior had said to me that his land tax went from $1,590 to $3,000. To me, that is clear enough.

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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8 words

Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, his ARV was $80,000, approximately.

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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70 words

Okay, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, I shall continue. Education, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker. I note that $473,000 has been allocated for standards -based grading for our teachers. I have no problem with that whatsoever. But what I would like to see is what else are we going to commit to our teachers? I note that during the budget we reduced the teacher …

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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111 words

I am just talking generally. So, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, I say that when we are talking about education, we are talking about st udents and teachers equally, because the teachers have to deliver quality education to get the results and the best outcome for our students. So, they should be given equal importance, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker . And I believe …

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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7 words

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker.

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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6 words

Now let’s get to International Business.

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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382 words

That’s fine. Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, International Business. We have heard a lot about immigration, and I hear a lot about Bermudians having this xenophobic culture when it comes to immigration. Now, as far as I am concerned, the jury is in and out on that label of “xenophobic culture.” But I find it difficult to understand why there is so …

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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127 words

And the land tax! You are absolutely right —and the land tax. And so, I really struggle to see what all this anxiety is about. It is political, yes. But does it serve us well? Does it serve us well? I am asking this because we have a new Minister, and I am hoping that he sees that we cannot …

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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87 words

And so, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, we need these people here to help us continue on our economic journey as a country. And so, let’s get it done and let’s get away [from] this xenophobic thing that I am not 100 per cent comfortable with, but that is that best way I can describe it, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker. The next issue …

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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2 words

Pardon me?

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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9 words

Already, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker? I’m just getting warmed up.

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly

87 words

Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, the cruise ship tax a nd the cruise ship passenger taxes . . . I do not have all the details, but what I do know is I do not want us to price ourselves out of the market, from an expense point of view, for the shipping industry that supports us. I think we have a …

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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39 words

And I recognise t hat, you know, work needs to be done. And so this infrastructure fee . . . I would like to see how that develops b efore I make any judgment on that, Mr. [Deputy] Speaker.

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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4 words

Mr. [Deputy] Speaker —

1 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

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286 words

Yes. Mr. [Deputy] Speaker, the other issue that I would like to speak to before I take my seat is this: I read an article on the business confidence. And in 2018, for the first time Bermuda’s business confidence declined. It went down 18 per cent compared to the 2016 level. This report was put to gether by executives throughout …

15 Feb 2019 House of Assembly

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46 words

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the Minister’s Statement, he indicates that the overall objective is to have consistency in grading practices across every school. My question is this: How are these standards defined for each school le vel? And what international benchmark are they defined against?

15 Feb 2019 House of Assembly

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40 words

Yes. The Minister indicated that the overall objective is to have consistency in grading practices across every school. So, my ques-tion is, What international performance benchmark will the consistency be measured against for primary school, secondary school and pre- school?