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Rolfe Commissiong

938
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29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
454 words
Mr. Speaker, I note the comments by the previous speaker with respect to the former Member of this Chamber, Mr. Ottiwell Si mmons. And he talked about his being at the forefront and a leader in the civil rights movement and, of course, the political movement and for the rights of labour. And the person whom I wish . . …
29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
2,280 words
Mr. Speaker, we are here in consideration of the FinTech Development Fund Act 2018. And I think it is a signal and innovative a pproach to utilise the growing investment in Bermuda and Bermudians that is represented by the growth o f this needed diversification in our economy. So, we are talking about the growth of this FinTech sector, which …
29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
977 words
It talks about how Norway has set aside almost $200,000 for each of its 5 million citizens out of its sovereign wealth fund. And it goes on to say, if I may, as I have already asked your i ndulgence, Mr. Speaker, “Norway’s giant government savings fund said it hit a new milestone on Tuesday: It had amassed $1 trillion, …
29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
2 words
Go ahead.
29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
116 words
I will wrap up right now, Mr. Speak er. Thirty seconds, forty seconds. So, these companies know what is required of them because this Government has ensured that they understand that we want companies eventually that look like Bermuda right from the very beginning. That did not take place w ith the growth of the established IB companies and reinsurance …
29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
17 words
Mr. Speaker, that did bring back some memories fr om pre -2017, I might add — [Laughter]
29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
22 words
—with the former occupant of that seat that you now hold. And you do so quite adequately and competently, I might add.
29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
39 words
Mr. Speaker, on June 14 th, 2018, at the Captive Conference which had amongst its participants many from overseas, the movers and shakers within the captive insurance industry. Mr. Jonathan Reiss — Some Hon. Member s: R-e-i-s-s [like Rice].
29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
17 words
If I say “ Rice”, they will say “Reece”. Okay, it [sounds] like “ Rice.” [Inaudible interjections]
29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
944 words
Mr. Jonathan Reiss, as featured in the Royal Gazette had the following to say, Mr. Speaker, with your indulgence. “On the lack of racial diversity in Bermuda’s insurance industry, he argued that the reasons were complex, ranging from education to recruitment met hods and deep- rooted, unconscious bias. “He added: ‘The point I’m making is that the reason there aren’t …
29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
40 words
But he is not alone. He felt that it was now comfortable to put his feet in water, because you had a very powerful white Bermudian who has said what many of us have been saying for so, so long.
29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
488 words
This too has been the problem, Mr. Speaker. I will never go as far as saying that, as to use a common Bermudian phrase, That our own fleas bite the hardest. I reject tha t. I reject that! What we saw from Mr. Malcolm Butterfield is symptomatic of a deeper problem and the deeper problem goes back to what Reiss …
29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
1,187 words
The same census data, for example, reveals . . . and this is really heart breaking. I know that the Member from constituency 2, last week, the Honourable Kim Swan, highlighted this thing quite rightly. When it came around to those Bermudians without health insurance, between 2010 and 2016 the rate for black Bermudians had approx imately doubled. In 2010, …
29 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
80 words
But I want to get to the ot her prong that still needs to be done, Mr. Speaker, in the remaining time that I have left. Because there was another affirmative action- style programme that was attempted to be put in place in the mid- 2000s, and that was called the Workforce Equity Bill. That Bill would have enabled black …
22 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
340 words
Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. Mr. Deputy Speaker, this is surely an historic occasion here on the consideration of the Defence Amendment Act 2018. And as mentioned earlier, clause 2 repeals and replaces section 4 of the princ ipal Act, thereby: (a) retaining voluntary enlistment as the only means by which a man or a woman can enlist into the …
22 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
1,480 words
“With the outbreak of the first World War in 1914, thousands of West Indians volunteered to join the British army. They were encouraged to do so by activists like Marcus Garvey, on the basis that if they showed their loyalty to the King they would show they have the right to be treated as equals. 2530 22 June 2018 Official …
22 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
54 words
No, no, not Walter Roban. So, anyway, it was a committee comprised of at least about . . . 7, 8 or 9, individuals. We got a presentation from . . . would it have been Lieutenant Colonel Lamb? Or Colonel Lamb (please corr ect me, please, someone) who was then the presiding officer—
22 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
377 words
—Lieutenant Colonel Lamb—of the Bermuda Regiment and he gave a presentation to the Bermuda Independence Commi ssion in 2004/05. He tal ked about how the Regiment would be able to transition to serve and to reform itself, moder nise itself in order to serve in the context of an ind ependent Bermuda; set up what would be the optimal - …
22 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
409 words
I never heard back again. But, Mr. Deputy Speaker, this move to modernise the Regiment, to accept that we can only move forward with a volunteer Regiment, and that people are demanding that, which certainly is part of our plat-form, I think is long overdue. And it is happening in a framework that does not increase the risk profile of …
22 Jun 2018 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report
502 words
Okay. From the Nine Col onels has been ameliorated somewhat, it has been diminished somewhat by the assurances given by the Minister to them. I am heartened by the way that we are pr ojecting the numbers now. There was probably misapprehension that every year or so we will be looking for 100 or more soldiers. But clearly, it is …