Speeches by Renee Ming, JP, MP

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

7 words

Good evening, Mr. Speaker, and listening audience.

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

123 words

Whoa . . . I am going to start my comments today by saying that, as a proud St. Georgian, I think many have expected that I would have spoken on this matter prior to now. But I wanted to say, Mr. Speaker, that empty vessels make the most noise. So, over the past few weeks, Mr. Speaker, I have …

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

13 words

Blue and blue blood running through us. I will speak to that later.

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

453 words

Mr. Speaker, I have lived in St. George’s all my life. I have actually lived in the Town of St. George my entire life. I have had the insight into the running of the Corporation of St. George’s even prior to my becoming a common councillor and an alderman. My mother worked for the Corporation most of my life, 41 …

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

66 words

So, if you gro w up around the Corporation, Mr. Speaker, you have some deep roots i nvested in the Corporation. And I am going to educate my Members that . . . and I said I would say this. I wanted to make sure that I said it at the right time. All blood is blue. And that is …

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

31 words

Until it is oxygenated, all blood is blue— 1138 13 March 2019 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly The Speaker: What is important is the colour that comes out. [Laughter]

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

256 words

From my mom, who was employed by the Corporation, to my great -grandmother who is 101 years old, I will tell you—103 years old, she continues to advocate for St. George’s —to my Uncle Phoopa, who died as a common councillor, who tried for years, wanted to be on the Corporation of St. George’s, but because he did not own …

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

392 words

So, you could imagine that we had some hearty discussions, and sometimes arguments. But there is hardly any time we have a family function or event that something about St. George’s does not come up. So, Mr. Speaker, I do not think that my family finds it too surprising that in 2009 I decided to run m yself for the …

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

59 words

So, as a proud St. Georgian who wants just the best for St. George, I want to see a town that is thriving and that capitalises on its greatest strength— its history. And to know St. George’s is to understand the history. Mr. Speaker, specifically for you, like it or not , St. George’s is where it all started.

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

24 words

Well, we can say what we like, but I do not think that Sir George Somers and Mr. Gates landed in Somerset. [Inaudible interjections]

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

54 words

They actually came off on Gates Bay, or so commonly called Fort St. Catherine beach. So, think about it. We heard a lot about 21 and 22 square miles. Well, in 22 square miles they chose St. George’s . So, like it or not, that is where i t started. [Crosstalk and laughter ]

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

1,496 words

And this is where our history starts. So, I have been using the phrase of this is where it started for quite some time. Even on social media I always say that, because I am reminded of the rich histor y that St. George’s has and continues to have. Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Speaker, the Town of St. George’s …

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

90 words

I did not say any names. I do recall a time, though, when I first purchased my home (and as I said to you, I have always lived in the town) when I had to pay two taxes. Now, that blew me awa y. It is funny because you buy a house and you may not even think about that …

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

18 words

Yes. So, h ere I was paying land tax and I was pa ying Corporation tax. [Inaudible interjections]

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

873 words

So, I think that this was something that quickly . . . well, actually, I would not say quickly, but it was stopped in 2003. And so, St. George’s people began to enjoy just one tax. So, Mr. Speaker, you can see that St. George’s has been challenged for some time in terms of finances. I remember, like I said, …

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

315 words

The Minister . . . I know he hears me, and that is why I sai d an undertaking here tonight, because I want Bermuda to hear me that we will look to give St. George’s its own Act. We have been under a Municipality Act for almost 100 years. We now have a Reform Act in front of us. …

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

14 words

Oh, okay. I guess I definitely will not be standing too much longer. [Laughter]

13 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

140 words

But, there are some areas of the Corporation, and I think I spoke to this before, that one seems that we need a lot of . . . we are asking for money. But one of the specialities that the Corporation does not have on staff or in its actual councillor thing is an accountant. And so, when you look …

11 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

4 words

Good morning, Mr. Speaker.

11 Mar 2019 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

202 words

I would like to take this moment t o congratulate the Bermuda Industrial Union. They held their annual International Women’s Day Tea on Saturday. And the theme for this year, I think you heard me say it already, was #balanceforbetter . And I just want to commend them for the fact that they have been doing this now for nine …