House Of Assembly Meetings Extended 3 Weeks
[Updated with response from the Opposition] Premier Craig Cannonier will extend the parliamentary session in the House of Assembly with additional meetings to span over three Fridays, from September 13, 2013 to September 27, 2013. The House will then adjourn for the year and reconvene in November.
Premier Cannonier said, “There are a number of reasons for the extra meetings. We had a short legislative year to begin with as the election was called in December. There is also an urgency of ‘now’ to get things done on behalf of the people of Bermuda.
“We’re in critical condition. We were handed the keys to a car that had been driven off the cliff. Over the past eight months we’ve taken the time to assess the damage and now with clarity, we are able to chart the way forward.
“We have a plan. The extra meetings were added to move aggressively through the objectives that we laid out in the Throne Speech, and to finally stop the bleeding and move the country in the right direction.
“Although I can’t get into the specifics about any proposed Legislation until it is first discussed in the House, in the coming weeks you can expect this government to make the right changes and sometimes make tough decisions to protect and create jobs for Bermudians first, to propose legislation that will provide social and economic recovery for everyone, and to substantiate the need for more accountability from all MP’s and redefine our charitable organizations and tourism product.”
Update 1.43pm [Sept 9]: In response to the Premier’s statement, PLP Leader Marc Bean said, “The Premier’s announcement of an extended Parliamentary session citing the “urgency of now,” is interesting.
Since becoming Government, the OBA’s tenure has been known more for deception, blunders and inaction than the “urgency of now.”
“As we were willing to work with the OBA on this special extended Parliamentary session, the PLP was willing to work through the traditional summer break. The minimal legislative agenda prepared by the OBA however hindered the ability to work through the pressing issues facing our people.
“This failure of leadership by the current government shows an inability to manage the legislative process and that should concern all Bermudians.
“Despite the pressing need to get our people back to work, the OBA have failed to take action or produce a plan. In fact, the OBA have failed to take action on concrete items such as:
- The Gaming Referendum, in place and ready to launch the day the OBA took office.
- The formulation of the Infrastructure Development Strategy, a key component of the PLP’s plan to get construction workers back to work was in the process of being completed the day the OBA took office.
- Jobs Corp, another key component of the PLP’s plan to get Bermudians back to work. Again this was in motion and set to launch early 2013
“So we ask again .Where was the “urgency of now,” for the past 9 months?
“We stand willing to work through all future breaks in an effort to listen to the people of Bermuda and to get all relevant parties working for the people of Bermuda.”
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the plp should NEVER be allowed back into Government.
Get it into your heads people,they are simply not interested in anyone but themselves.
well I hope you live long enough to eat your own words cause the oba’s time is going to be very short
@Frank…you sound like you would be happier to have more of the same that we got for the last 14 years?! I guess you are one of the lucky few that got to benefit from the “friends and family” plan.
Sorry but I have seen to many of my friends become unemployed, lose their homes and pride, all because we had a bunch of self serving bullies for a government. I wont say that I would never vote PLP again, but I certainly won’t until all of those in positions of power step aside.
OBA will put Bermuda back on track. Brother Craig is on a mission to make things right for Bermuda. The PLP will never be elected to wreck our home again. The only thing PLP can do is create hate towards the OBA…they have no talent to inspire us ever again. The PLP is done….dun!!!!
Brother craig is a puppet, you are no more black then I am white. Sit down and shut the **** up. We don’t care what you think. The only thing the oba has is a few blacks that gave them support. In time that will change. When they realize the truth.
Is this good for Bermuda that the Elected government are going to be working more to help Bermuda.. Or do you want them to work less,…you are an embarresment to your people being a critic of them having to work more hours for no extra money….Anyway you shake it, this is good for Bermuda. If you can’t see that then you are on the PLP payroll or are an absolute waste of space.
I don’t know what planet you are living on, nuffin but the truth. The OBA is just an extension of the UBP and they are known to have been a bunch of greedy business men who thought of no one but themselves and their families. They are the ones who put housing out of the reach of Bermudians with their inflated cost and ridiculous interest rate. It is pathetic when a college educated individual with a good job can’t afford to own his or own home. If Bermudians put the OBA back in, they would deserve all of the broken promises they receive. I voted for them, but like hell will I do it again. I have been hearing that very often these days.
Who would you vote for next time?
The Party that had four consecutive qualified audits issued by the AG?
The Party that has no qualms about spewing racist rehtoric against any and all opposition?
The Party that enriched several of its insiders via the issuance of numerous Government contracts which resulted in hundreds of millions in so called “overruns?”
The Party that issued more work permits to foreigners than any other previous administration?
The Party that permitted the sale of 3 out of 4 local Banks to foreign entities with one shedding nearly 500 local jobs once they took over and hardly lending any money anymore?
The Party that decimated our financial position through reckless spending, misappropriations and so called “overruns?”
The Party who slashed funding to Mirrors, Salvation Army, Sunshine League while at the same time reducing the threshold for daycare allowance, reversing their free BDA College tuition pledge all while ensuting their pay checks remained untouched?
I understand that the OBA has not been perfect too many, but how can one want the Party that oversaw the demise of many aspects of Bermuda back into power so quickly?
Please tell me what you would like this Government do for the less fortunate Bermudian? Please tell us about your proposals. Even your new leader, Mr. Marc Bean, acknowledges that they needed to be more inviting to business as a means to provide the funds to help the less fortunate. What is so shard to understand about that concept?
Yawn!
Yawn!
What’s his name again Premier Craig Cannonier’s speak writer…please write something that we can believe came for PCC himself…
Exactly Rhonda!
Is that all you guys have? Yawns and the tired, old “Cannonier doesn’t write his own speeches” bit?
Surely if they were as bad as you guys constantly claim, you’d be able to come up with something better than these silly little games.
Question – Why not just sit straight from September to December and then take a Christmas break?
They already had all of August off, why now take all of October off too. That’s at least an 8-week break (I know that the Ministers continue even when parliament is off, but still).
Or, if they are taking these breaks, can their wages be put back into the Government coffers instead?
After all, if they’ve got all this work to do, and a sense of urgency to do it, shouldn’t that mean doing more and not taking more time off?
Presumably because the limiting factor is the speed of drafting legislation, not the amount of time required to pass it.
I can understand that, it takes time to draft legislation.
But parliament is more than that.
Until PATI gets up and running, parliamentary questions is one of the few avenues to get info. And there’s legislation that is redundant and needs removed. And rather than rushing legislation through marathon sessions going through to the early morning when people aren’t on top of their game, we could have more, shorter sessions that allow for a greater debate. Just throwing some ideas out there.
For someone who spends so much time commenting on local politics, you seem to have little understanding of how our system works.
The principal function of Parliament is to debate legislation. There are not enough bills produced in a year for Parliament to sit every week, which explains why they take long and frequent breaks. The Premier’s point is that it doesn’t make sense to wait until November (when Parliament traditionally reconvenes) to debate legislation that is ready to be debated now. Moreover, due to the timing of the election, the OBA’s first Parliamentary session as government was shorter than normal – which also justifies the unusual step of extending the session in to September.
As for returning the wages – don’t be daft. Parliamentarians (if they aren’t Ministers) work part-time but get a competitive annual salary for their trouble. Good work if you can get it, but that’s probably why so many are keen to try (yourself included).
Does this make sense to you?
I answered a similar question above, but it’s still awaiting publication at the time of my writing this.
Parliament is more than passing new legislation.
It also allows (especially in the absence of PATI) a vehicle for information through parliamentary questions. Also, it’s not clear if the various parliamentary committees sit while the House is in sessions – I don’t know. I do know that they’ve got lots of work to do.
I also know that we often have marathon sessions where legislation is debated and voted on straight through to the early morning. I am suggesting that it may make better sense – and more informed decision making – if they have more frequent, but shorter sessions.
Also, there is additional legislation, such as Mr Alex Scott’s proposed Anti-Corruption legislation which is drafted and could be debated, if introduced to the House.
There is also plenty of existing legislation which is outdated and could be ‘spring-cleaned’. The Criminal Code, for example, is chockful of antiquated laws which could be removed, and an act of parliament is required for that.
Hi ‘frank’, is this name your first or last?
@JUSTIN FRANK
Are you the first Justin? No Are you the last Justin? no Are you the last Frank?no Are you the first Frank? no . What you need to realize is that Frank was Frank before you and he isn’t the last.And who gives you authority to question his Government Name?
Justin Frank 2 first names….lol…….but I will not ? u about that.
Lol….I Love your truthful words….I will also let you know that my middle name is also a first name. If you put God 1st, is God your first name?
Nuffin but da Truth says:
September 8, 2013 at 7:33 pm
the plp should NEVER be allowed back into Government.
Get it into your heads people,they are simply not interested in anyone but themselves.
Stay on earth long enough to witness and participate at the next election please.
Good news to read that the MPs recognize that accelerated and extra sessions are necessary. I look forward to positive developments during these three weeks!
Lol….I Love your truthful words….I will also let you know that my middle name is also a first name. If you put God 1st, is God your first name?
What a bunch of BS. Car off a cliff. Lmao, that’s what we’ve seen since December. Nothing but a comedy of errors.
Did you miss the last 15 years?
Or are you so blinded by party loyalty and the constant stream of misinformation from the propaganda merchants that you actually think that the state Bermuda was in in December shouldn’t be described as “A car off a cliff”?
I get party loyalty. I understand why folks have it.
But surely honesty and reality are more important than party loyalty. No?
Our problems have only come to fruition since December?
great now no more talk, just make it happen.
God 1st types nothing but shite!
yep, never sees anything wrong with the pee l pee. Just like Rhonda and Betty.
I for one am not in favor of any party so lets get that clear. All I want is Bermuda to get back on track cause we’ve been railroaded.
Have a great day.
This is purely sensationalistic hyperbole from the Premier. totally unprofessional and unstatesmanlike. Will be interesting to see if he is still speaking like this after the OBA conference in a few weeks.
What the OBA wants to accomplish in these 3 sessions could have been done in the many sessions earlier this year when the OBA brought little to no legislation, and there were many Friday sessions when there was little to nothing meaningful to debate on the Order paper.
u sound angry!
What an asinine statement! You do realise there’s an entire process that has to be followed before legislation can be made ready and passed? There’s policy development, a cabinet discussion paper, cabinet deliberations and a decision in principle, detailed drafting instructions to the AG’s chambers, then any number of drafts that the ministers have to go through with their technical officers and the drafters, any number of consultation exercises with key stakeholders throughout the process, caucus presentation/decision-making and a final cabinet decision before the mechanics of passage in the House.
Now replicate this process with every ministry and their agenda items. And think of the coordinating processes that need to happen – Ministers competing for limited time and political capital with other Ministers.
This is on top of the normal day-to-day administration within Ministries AND the budget process which takes a lot of time and effort in the early months of the year.
People used to make the same complaint about the PLP in the past. They would faff about for months on end and then ram through as much legislation in the final sessions before the summer. But the criticism was always unfair then in light of the internal mechanics, and it’s just as unfair now.
@rich, some of us do understand the process. How did the HR amendment get passed so fast then? Priorities? Doubt it? Also, don’t compare this bunch with the PLP, as you well know, plenty of legislation was brought forth……so stop it……maybe you are a new Oba mp who don’t know any better….for which I can understand your limited argument!
Also, get the terminology right. These are three ‘sittings’ not ‘sessions’. A session is approximately a year in duration (or longer) and lasts from prorogation to a new Throne Speech.
One ‘Parliament’ = time between elections
One ‘Session’ = time between prorogation (i.e. the legislative agenda is reset) and a Throne Speech
One ‘Sitting’ = individual meetings of the House
Way too complex for any of the Bettys & Rhondas to understand.
@Concerned Citizen Excellent point of view. On another note Rich you will dig a bigger hole if you continue to argue against the facts.
@rich, some of us do understand the process. How did the HR amendment get passed so fast then? Priorities? Doubt it