Kim Swan: Extension Victory For Common Sense
Leader of the Opposition Kim Swan has called the extension for the deadline for the new regulation requiring Bermudians who live with or are married to non-Bermudians to obtain a land licence a “victory for common sense” as well as the hard work of Shadow Attorney General Mr. Trevor Moniz and others.
Mr Swan also said Minister Burch’s “personal attack on Mr. Moniz, our colleague Mr. John Barritt and Mr. Mark Pettingill to be beneath contempt,” saying they “represent a kind of gutter politics.” Colonel Burch said that
I note with some interest and amusement the bleating of the three Opposition legal critics of this amendment – Barritt, Moniz and Pettingill – who while claiming to represent the poor foreign spouses of Bermudians never mention their own potential criminal behavior or that of their firms in the fronting of land purchases that this amendment was also designed to address. You will well know, Madam President, with three lawyers in a room – you get about six opinion.
Mr Swan also referred to Mr. Moniz descriptions of the Government’s response as “misguided in penalizing the wrong people, repugnant in its discriminatory qualities and heavy-handed in its million dollar fines.” As per the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Amendment Act 2007, people in default of this law could end up being imprisoned or fined a substantial amount. The Act lists punishments for indictable offences as “a maximum fine of $1,000,000 or to imprisonment for five years, or to both“, and summary conviction offences as “a fine of $50,000 or imprisonment for 12 months, or to both”. It also states “In addition to any penalty imposed under subsection (1), the court may make an order of forfeiture“.
Mr Swan’s full comments follow below:
The Government’s extension of the land licence compliance deadline is a victory for common sense, the hard work of our Shadow Attorney General Mr. Trevor Moniz and our colleagues in the House of Assembly.
Mr. Moniz has been pressing the case for months that the legislation was confusing, discriminatory, punitive and very costly for families in the midst of protracted recession.
He tabled a motion in May calling for an extension of the deadline and a review of the law, which requires Bermudians married to non-Bermudians, in a broad variety of circumstances, to get a $1,375 licence for each home they own.
When that motion was debated last Friday, the Government indicated it was re-thinking the June 22nd deadline. Yesterday’s announcement vindicates our concerns with the Bill.
On that point, we urge the Government to use the next few months to work with the Opposition and the Bermuda Bar Council to bring some balance to the legislation. The original intent of the Bill, again first raised by Mr. Moniz in 1999 through Parliamentary questions, was to address the problem of fronting, whereby a non-Bermudian gains an unlawful interest in land by using a local “front”.
In 2007, the Government outlawed Bermudians married to non-Bermudians from having more than one property.
This was the first step in a Government response to the problem of fronting. At each step, however, Mr. Moniz has described the Government’s response as an over-reach – misguided in penalizing the wrong people, repugnant in its discriminatory qualities and heavy-handed in its million dollar fines.
I consider Minister Burch’s personal attack on Mr. Moniz, our colleague Mr. John Barritt and Mr. Mark Pettingill to be beneath contempt. His words were not just inflammatory but they also distract from the public issue and represent a kind of gutter politics that serves no purpose but to bring Parliament into disrepute.
Senator Burch appears to feel he has license to make disrespectful comments about people whose politics are at odds with his. It is negative leadership and it does nothing to uplift Bermuda.
Can someone please explain what the problem is with Bermudians who are married to expats owning more than one house? Bermudians are entitled to own as many houses as they can afford, you are essentially discriminating against them for not marrying their own kind. How disgusting is that? Moreover, Bermudians are essentially being punished for acting on their human right to choose whom they fall in love with and marry, by way of a $1375 fee.
Moreover, this law does not apply to foreign spouses who have been granted Bermudian status by way of being married to a Bermudian for 10 years. Does this then mean that if I end up having to apply and pay $1375 for a licence that after 10 years, once my spouse is granted Bermudian status, I will get my money back because we will no longer be living on “licensed” land?
Finally, if Government is so hell-bent on Bermudians only being able to buy property on the island, then how can they possibly believe $500,000 is “affordable”?