Video: Fahy On Samaritan, Voting & Citizenship
Minister of Home Affairs Michael Fahy held a press conference today [Nov 13] to expand on his Ministry’s Throne Speech initiatives, and formally open the new Department of Workforce Development.
The Minister spoke on allowing absentee balloting for travellers and college students, looking at the concept of commercial immigration, citizenship rights, introducing a Good Samaritan Act and more.
Minister Fahy said the Good Samaritan Act “is intended to enable food providers such as restaurants, caterers, hotels, and bakeries to donate food, which would otherwise be discarded without fear of legal ramifications, to charities and organizations that provide food aid services to those in need.”
“You can also expect to see from us this session amendments to the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956,” continued the Minister.
“In keeping with our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, the Path to Citizenship that will afford those persons born to Bermudian parents or a single Bermudian parent will be defined. Children adopted by Bermudian parents will also fall under this category of being afforded citizenship.
Minister Fahy and Director of Workforce Development George Outerbridge:
Minister Fahy said, “The Immigration and Protection Act 1956 makes it clear that a Permanent Resident Certificate [PRC] holder who acquired a PRC under the provisions of Clause 31B in the Act cannot pass their residency rights on to their children – this provision has created a state of limbo and uncertainty for children born to these parents that needs to be resolved for the sake of the individuals and children who are affected.
“Another area of Immigration that we will be looking at this year will be the concept of Commercial Immigration. We expect to engage the community in a robust discussion around global trends that are being employed to facilitate direct inward investment. You will know that stimulating the economy continues to be the mission of this Government.
“While there are varying views regarding the solutions needed to fix our sluggish economy, the general consensus is that the economic circumstances we’re faced with are not abating any time soon.
Video of Minister Fahy’s remarks:
“Hence, innovative and bold ideas need to be explored, and Commercial Immigration is one such initiative that we are reviewing. Commercial Immigrating is an emerging global trend, where countries are using creative methods of encouraging investment to create new jobs,” continued the Minister.
“So we hope to engage in a full, open community-wide discussion with the public about this initiative and its potential benefits for Bermuda.
“And finally rounding out our Throne Speech initiatives is our intent to amend the Parliamentary Election Act 1978 to allow absentee balloting for travellers and students away in college and extend the days for advance polling for travellers.
“Electoral reform is an ever-evolving process in democratic societies. The aim is to improve the responsiveness of electoral processes to public desires and expectations.
Minister Fahy’s full statement follows below:
Good afternoon,
I am pleased to provide you with an expanded overview of my Ministry’s initiatives as outlined for this legislative year.
By now, you’ve reviewed the Throne Speech and have seen that we have a very ambitious and robust legislative year ahead.
All of Government’s initiatives are with one aim in mind – to get Bermuda moving forward in the right direction and firmly back on a track towards prosperity and social and economic equity for all Bermudians.
For our part, the Ministry of Home Affairs, will seek to achieve quite a bit in the next several months.
This legislative year, you can expect to see the Ministry of Home Affairs introduce a Good Samaritan Act.
The Good Samaritan Act is based on a proposal presented to the Government by the Eliza DoLittle Society. It is intended to enable food providers such as restaurants, caterers, hotels, and bakeries to donate food, which would otherwise be discarded without fear of legal ramifications, to charities and organizations that provide food aid services to those in need.
It is hoped that this Act will encourage those in our community who have abundant resources to lend a helping hand to those who are struggling.
I must say, I very much look forward to bringing forth this piece of legislation as it is a clear demonstration of the good that can happen when we all work together in the spirit of giving; when we all adhere to the philosophy – “I am my brother’s keeper”.
You can also expect to see from us this session amendments to the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act 1956.
We are very keen to ensure that Bermuda is aligned with the global human rights requirements.
In keeping with our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights, the Path to Citizenship that will afford those persons born to Bermudian parents or a single Bermudian parent will be defined. Children adopted by Bermudian parents will also fall under this category of being afforded citizenship.
Also, The Immigration and Protection Act 1956 makes it clear that a Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) holder who acquired a PRC under the provisions of Clause 31B in the Act cannot pass their residency rights on to their children – this provision has created a state of limbo and uncertainty for children born to these parents that needs to be resolved for the sake of the individuals and children who are affected.
Another area of Immigration that we will be looking at this year will be the concept of Commercial Immigration. We expect to engage the community in a robust discussion around global trends that are being employed to facilitate direct inward investment. You will know that stimulating the economy continues to be the mission of this Government.
Just last month technical officers attended a Summit in the United Kingdom to better understand the concept of commercial immigration and to review the various models that countries all around the globe are using to drive investment, create jobs and stimulate hotel development.
Models being used by close to 20 countries were presented and studied. These included St. Kitts, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Malta, Mauritus, the US, the UK, Canada, Singapore, Monaco, Portugal, Latvia and many others.
While there are varying views regarding the solutions needed to fix our sluggish economy, the general consensus is that the economic circumstances we’re faced with are not abating any time soon.
Hence, innovative and bold ideas need to be explored, and Commercial Immigration is one such initiative that we are reviewing. Commercial Immigrating is an emerging global trend, where countries are using creative methods of encouraging investment to create new jobs.
So we hope to engage in a full, open community-wide discussion with the public about this initiative and its potential benefits for Bermuda.
We will also embark on a review of Bermuda’s labour laws this legislative year. A tripartite committee representing unions, business and Government has been formed with an aim to modernize and consolidate the Bermuda Labour Laws.
I plan to announce the members of the Labour Law Reform Committee at the Tripartite Retreat at the Fairmont Southampton that commences tomorrow and runs through Friday.
The Labour Law Reform Committee will look at the role that labour laws play in job creation and retention and seek to introduce a system which is fairer and more inclusive. Seven labour laws will potentially be impacted by the Review. And it is our intent to solicit the assistance of the International Labour Organization (ILO) as a part of the process.
And finally rounding out our Throne Speech initiatives is our intent to amend the Parliamentary Election Act 1978 to allow absentee balloting for travellers and students away in college and extend the days for advance polling for travellers. Electoral reform is an ever-evolving process in democratic societies. The aim is to improve the responsiveness of electoral processes to public desires and expectations.
Before I entertain questions regarding the Throne Speech I’d like to say a few words about the Department of Workforce Development which recently moved into its new location here at the site of the former Magistrate’s Court.
Today, we will formally open the Department of Workforce Development’s new facility, which I believe is a significant milestone for this Government, as considerable work and effort has gone into transforming this Department so that it can be a beacon of hope for those Bermudians who are struggling to regain their footing in the workplace. I acknowledge that the opening of this facility is the culmination of work commenced under the former administration.
The realization of this facility however represents the fulfillment of this Government’s Platform promise to establish “a National Training Center and Assessment Centre.”
Ladies and gentlemen, the creation of the Department saw the amalgamation of the National Training Board and the Department of Labour and Training.
The name change signaled the commencement of the transition of the Department and its mission to ensure the delivery of qualified human resources to support Bermuda’s economy.
Much has been said over the past day or so with regard to Bermuda’s human capital. I can today confirm that the National Training Board is in the final stages of completing the National Training Plan. The Plan will set out Bermuda’s approach to the development of its human resources to ensure that we are producing qualified resources that are able to participate in the economy in a more meaningful way over the next ten years.
Ladies and gentlemen, another very exciting initiative which I am pleased about regarding the Department of Workforce Development is the creation of Phase 1 of our new Jobs Board, which is now in a live environment.
It can be found by visiting www.bermudajobboard.bm.
The Job Board is an online national employment database available to Bermudians seeking employment or a change in career in a user‐friendly and interactive manner.
The main objective of this tool is to consolidate and centralize jobs available in the Bermuda market.
We believe that the Bermuda Job Board will significantly enhance the job search process for the entire community.
Prior to the end of the year the new Work Permit Policy will be rolled out at which time employers will be required to advertise on the Job Board.
To this end many employers have already started to post available jobs and we encourage all employers to start posting jobs immediately so that they are well prepared in advance of policy changes.
The Department of Workforce Development has been careful to partner with employers and key industry associations in order to ensure that those features that were deemed critical from an employer perspective were implemented in this new platform wherever possible.
Once employers register and login on the Bermuda Job Board they will be able to create job opportunities, view candidate applications and search the database for suitable candidates.
Candidates who have registered can search for jobs, create a profile and upload supporting documentation.
Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes my substantive remarks today and before I close, I just want to reiterate that the symbolism of why we are here today is very important.
A mere nine months ago, we unveiled our very first Throne Speech as a new Government. As it relates to the Ministry of Home Affairs, I outlined an aggressive set of initiatives aimed at renewing, rebuilding and restoring the promise of Bermuda. Training and job placement is an important component of that promise.
Our plans included the creation of this very facility that we are standing in – so today is proof positive that we are indeed moving forward in the right direction towards fulfilling our promises and getting our economy and our workforce back on track.
Not only have we fulfilled this promise, but the Ministry of Home Affairs has worked tirelessly over the past ten months to deliver on all of our promises.
I therefore want to take this opportunity to publically thank my technical officers led by Permanent Secretary, Cherie Whitter and a team of highly skilled Directors and support staff. Over the next legislative session, I look forward to working even harder on behalf of all Bermudians and all of Bermuda.
Thank you.
-
Read More About
Comments (70)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
Articles that link to this one:
- Immigration Policy, Politics Of Population Change | Bernews.com | January 9, 2014
Can someone please explain why it has to be legislated that caters can give away leftover food that doesn’t get used ? I know of caters who have been doing this for years, i didnt realize this was against the law !!
It’s not against the law, but if the food was contaminated or not fit for use and the caterer supplied it to a charity, and consumers fell ill as a result, then they could be sued. This discourages caterers from giving away food to charities.
what if someone gets sick…n dies..duhhhh
The food given away is in good shape BUT sometimes it might not be consumed right away. If a person got sick they would have to trace what they ate and if it is traced back to a restaurant that place could be held liable. Hence you need something to protect the restaurant who gave good food which may have been left out in the sun or not refrigerated…..not the restaurants faulty but efforts might be made to circumvent that issue and charge: “They gave us bad food.”
Is government therefore now liable in the scenario described?
Of all the politicians on this island, this man has the most untrustworthy face of them all. Lol
you know, i don’t know him personally, but I was looking at that smile and thinking the same.. lol.. I mean, its just an assumption, and I hope that I am wrong, but I agree 150%,, lol
You two obviously have very short memories. Our most untrustworthy politician ever – lives on another Island now and took us to the cleaners.
Fahy has yet to lose our trust. Until them I will trust him (well, as much as a politician can be trusted).
And not a word about giving away our citizenship. Wow. Guess it does not matter that their children will be applying for the few doors our Bermuda born children are applying for and buying the few reasonable homes our children want to buy. We will be displaced. You will see if we grant status in this small territory.
I find the exact opposite. He speaks clearly and to the point and I know him to be trustworthy. More than can be said for some.
Im not sying that he lacks integrity or that he is indeed untrustworthy, its just something about his look i cant get pass. Same bob Richards little smirk and rolf of the plp, something about these brothers i cant put my finger on.
He is a lawyer…
I should add a very good one.
Ya reminds me of the Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock
Funny you say that… I feel the same way about this guy, something about him doesn’t click with me.
And you look like a saint I bet…Robert, you sound like a baffoon. Please keep your ignorant homophobic comments to yourself. I know Minister Fahy personally and can honestly say he and the rest of the OBA government are working tirelessly to straighten out our economy for future generations. Some support would be welcomed instead of childish comments for comment’s sake, or is that all your IQ level can handle.
Homophobic comments, where the hell did you get that ?!!
If it had been the “we had to deceive you” fella up there would you have been more accepting of him??
Not really, i am not a fan of his.
Is this de same guy that used to write editorials?
I hope that the absentee ballots are in place prior to the proposed referendum on gambling…
Curious why no move to ensure fixed-term elections wasn’t mentioned.
Commercial immigration… I don’t have a problem with people getting status if they’re born here and ordinarily resident to the age of 18, of if one is ordinarily resident (being born overseas) for like 20-30 years. I think that’s right.
But to sell status? No. Status should be earned by displaying a long-term commitment to our island, not sold for 30 pieces of silver, it is not something to be purchased. So I don’t support the commercial immigration, and I doubt I’m alone on that.
If you don’t support commercial immigration are you then content for our Economy to stagnate as we wait for any improvement passively? We are desperate for inward investment. This is a way of attracting high net worth individuals to Bermuda who will pump in millions of dollars and create jobs in the process. We are not talking about large numbers either – probably 100 max. I would be happy with that. Again how do you intend to effectively grow Bermuda’s Economy over the next decade?
The problem isn’t just with those born here. I am a British citizen who works for a large Reinsurer here, and have lived here for 11 years. My team employs 12 Bermudians, my company many more. My wife and I have 3 kids, 2 of which were born here, the other was 18 months old, so this is all she knows. We want to stay, (stay not become Bermudian, I am proudly British) but if on my daughters’ 18th birthday she is asked to leave, then we all leave (of course). We’d do all we can to keep people here, but jobs would be lost and replaced (probably in New York), so we’d all lose, and that doesn’t seem sensible?
yes it does, you aint bermudian, so ya gotta leave. check u lata eventually
haha, do you think that the 12 Bermudians and their families would agree with you?
Scenario 1 – 12 Bermudians employed, and an ex-pat family spending $$$$$$ here.
Scenario 2 – 12 Bermudians unemployed and this job outsourced to New York.
So he’s “gotta leave”, and the 12 Bermudians he employs lose their jobs.
And then you’ll complain about how there is more unemployment, of course.
In addition, someone born here who lives here until his/her 18th birthday and knows nothing else, should be given Bda status. Anything less is blatantly unfair. Imagine if it was you?
Bermudians such as you ‘haha’ (above)are so self centered that you give the rest of us a bad name. You and people like you disgust me.
I wish your illerate ignorant #ss would leave.
haha is the id**t that makes Bermudians look bad. People like haha are the ones we should be interested in shipping out of here.
Status for adopted children is a no no if they want to adopt a child they can adopt a bermubian
Using your narrow minded attitude Frank,I could say the same about a load of young girls who get child up at the age of 13 or 14. Why should we be wasting good status on their ill thought actions and output?
When you adopt a child you become the child’s parent – completely by choice. If one parent is Bermudian, the child should be able to have status at the age of 18.
What you do not realize is that “Bermudian children” who are adopted are not actually Bermudian. They gain their status through the adopted parent(s). Any adopted Bermudian child has to prove one of their parents have status it’s no different.
I guess people can stop speculating what the OBA meant by expanding the voter base. Funnily when I pointed out 3 months ago that the OBA would be selling out Bermudians via giving out status folks said I was Lying.
Glad to see they are as predictable as a bear in the woods.
Can you point out where status was mentioned? Status has not been available for over 20 years, and I don’t see any reference to it in this speech. All I can see is PRC and they don’t get a vote.
Shhhh… don’t ruin Mr. Famouss’ big moment with, you know, facts and stuff.
He gets it right so rarely that this is a big treat for him.
Let him have it for as long as it lasts… until reality sets in.
From OBA Throne Speech Nov 2013
“•Pathways to Bermuda status for persons born in Bermuda or persons who have been adopted by Bermudian parents.”
Additionally
Commercial immigration is the sale of status
That isn’t “giving out status”.
Do you see the words status included in the Throne Speech?
Glad to see YOU’RE as predictable as the sunrise, spinning ANYTHING they do into something not only negative, but self-aggrandizing.
Not once did they say anything like what you are claiming here.
Gettin worried there CF?
Amazing that the first criticism of Minister Fahy is that a couple of folks don’t like his smile! I can think of many past politicians who not only had less than trustworthy looks but also behaved that way. This guy speaks crisply and clearly and tells us in no uncertain terms what our new Government plans to do to try to improve an economy that has been in the doldrums for several years.
With regard to Robert’s question about why we need legislation to allow caterers to give away left over food, he is right in saying that shops and stores have been doing this for years (although we constantly hear about greedy merchants who only ever think about making money!), but in the age of suing for anything and everything it is always possible that someone will sue if a store was found to be giving away milk or any foodstuffs that have passed their expiry date. If anyone takes the trouble to actually read the press rlease you will see that this proposal to pass The Good Samaritan Act was presented to the Government by the Eliza DoLittle Society.
Hmmm. A Government actually listening to those who are in the trenches trying to help our less fortunate citizens. Perhaps Robert can take the time to contact someone in the Eliza Dolittle Society to find out exactly why they made this proposal.
I was glad to read more about the Good Samaritan Act in the media the other day, the article you refer to re Eliza Dolittle Society.
It cleared up some question marks I had about the idea. I’d still like to learn more about the specifics and compare it to other jurisdictions, mind.
Thank you
http://bermudasun.bm/Content/OPINION/Opinion/Article/Are-we-poised-to–sell–status-to-13-000-people-/4/135/69213
— RG July 30, 2013
Selling of status in other countries
• In St. Kitts the going rate is US$250;
• It is $4 million in Cyprus;
• A Dominican passport costs $100k;
• In the US, one would need to invest $1m in a US business in exchange for a visa, not citizenship;
• In Portugal, immigration is linked to the purchase of a property while in Hungary it is linked to the purchase of government bonds;
• In Ireland, 500,000 euros o buys you a residence permit.
How much is Bermudian status worth?
“And for goodness sakes, let’s not put a massive price tag on the application fee, but rather charge them the same administration fee that a spouse of Bermudian pays when applying for Bermudian status”
— Phil Barnett, Bermuda Sun, July 12 ,2012
So for $489, Mr Barnett is encouraging the OBA to sell Bermudian status?
“Another area of Immigration that we will be looking at this year will be the concept of Commercial Immigration. We expect to engage the community in a robust discussion around global trends that are being employed to facilitate direct inward investment. You will know that stimulating the economy continues to be the mission of this Government.
Just last month technical officers attended a Summit in the United Kingdom to better understand the concept of commercial immigration and to review the various models that countries all around the globe are using to drive investment, create jobs and stimulate hotel development.
Models being used by close to 20 countries were presented and studied. These included St. Kitts, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Malta, Mauritus, the US, the UK, Canada, Singapore, Monaco, Portugal, Latvia and many others.”
Mr. Famous states that Government technical advisors have been researching commercial immigration options. My suggestions to these advisors are as follows:
1)Give immediate PRC status to non US, foreign investors who invest substantially in Bermuda and create jobs for Bermuda. The investment should be at least at the magnitude of a new hotel.
2)US billionaire hedge fund managers (who are mainly based in the North East) should be given immediate Bermuda Status upon relocating their operations to Bermuda. These US individuals are taxed on their worldwide income, their tax savings could benefit Bermuda. Many high net worth Americans are relinquishing their citizenship and moving to low tax jurisdictions. Bermuda is the closest low tax, offshore financial center to New York City, the preferred US base of most hedge fund managers. Give these guys citizenship and the airport will run out of parking space for all the G5’s; the high end real estate market and services catering to high net worth residents will also benefit.
We should take advantage of our close proximity to the North East and make Bermuda the domicile of choice for extremely high net worth Americans instead of Geneva and Zurich.
Again – nowhere have they stated that status can be purchased by any means. Your failure to use facts makes your own agenda clear.
No problem with selling status if vetted properly but therein lies the problem as once Government starts the paperwork process it gets messy….just look at the recent legislation allowing PRC’s to buy property…..after the legislation it is a nightmare for anyone trying to buy or sell property to a PRC….first they need a license which takes at least 6 months and during that time the owner of the property has to advertise the property and show that no Bermudians have expressed interest…come one either a PRC can buy it or not……for the record I a Bermudian and not in the real estate business and am not selling my home…back to selling status we need to get over the hurdle that the world is not coming to us begging to get in…I applaud the OBA for at least trying to finish something they started but recognize that a certain segment of the Bermuda population will never be happy unless we stay in our little cocoon..most do not realize we have about 3 years to get it sorted otherwise it will not matter..
Bermudians are experiencing negative population growth (‘less yong gurls get’n child up’) and as such the amount of Bermudians is set to decrease. Going forward, should this trend continue, we will need to create new Bermudians if we want to keep our economy going.
Of course another plan might be to have a repeat of LBE’s ‘fornicate in the bushes’ but I leave that up to our younger folk.
The problem is that govt., in it’s attempt to generate money, seems to be more concerned with making other people money and have some of it trickle down to Bermudians, than finding aa way for Bermuda to make it’s own money.
Go ahead. Find a way to make money. People seem to be resistant to the fact that we get our money from people coming here and spending it. Tourism and IB. It is a fact. Call it trickle down if you want. That is the way it works and how we have survived for generations.
I have no problem with status being “sold”, but it needs to be strictly managed and at a high enough price (say $150,000 or $250,000), to ensure that applicants are serious about it. There will be plenty of companies out there who apply and pay for the status for any employees who want it – not necessarily those who truly are “job creators”.
The post below seems to be the most relevant.
How do we address people who want the right to have a full life in Bermuda in exchange for being productive residents, but without ‘full citizenship or status’? What are the challenges with the current PRC process that needs to be changed?
Chris – November 13, 2013 at 10:21 pm
The problem isn’t just with those born here. I am a British citizen who works for a large Reinsurer here, and have lived here for 11 years. My team employs 12 Bermudians, my company many more. My wife and I have 3 kids, 2 of which were born here, the other was 18 months old, so this is all she knows. We want to stay, (stay not become Bermudian, I am proudly British) but if on my daughters’ 18th birthday she is asked to leave, then we all leave (of course). We’d do all we can to keep people here, but jobs would be lost and replaced (probably in New York), so we’d all lose, and that doesn’t seem sensible?
So when all the PRC kids and kids born here are granted status, they will be competing with other Bermudian born kids for summer jobs. I wonder who will get the jobs. The kids of Bermudians who have been here for generations, or the kids of the guest worker parents. Especially in IB – i would anticipate the summer positions will likely go to the kids of the parents and friends of parents in IB. We are marginalizing our own people. The question is why? Is it political posturing? 90% of these kids will likely be white and the kids of IB guest workers; the rest probably a mix of Caribbean and Filipino. The vast majority will vote for OBA and the OBA knows this. This is a way to guarantee power at the next election. Funny enough though, didn’t the OBA say they were NOT going to do this before the election?
I wonder if the expats wanting Bermudian status will be so keen if their companies put them onto “local” work contracts? No more hefty housing allowances, no more private school fees paid, and no more free business class flights back home for the whole family!!!
There is currently at least one test case going through the courts by a long term resident to gain Bermudian citizenship.
If this case is won, then it will set a precedent and any decision on gaining citizenship after “x” years will be out of the governments hands.
Depending on your point of view this will either be a moral victory for human rights, or interference from outside.
Many of these immigration comments are xenophobic and small-minded. From what I read on this board regularly, this island could use some new genes in the pool and certainly some social competition.
What is the big problem with allowing those that want to work hard and be productive members of this society have PRC? ..and as long as they continue to be productive a path to status? How many are we talking about, a few hundred, and out of them how many really want status vs PRC? Promote from within, there are some very smart and capable expats on the island right now. Let them submit proposals on what they would do if granted PRC, allow them to grow the economy though new business development. They’re already here and many of them are being underutilized due to the singularity of work permits.
..and stop with the high-net-worth-crap, they-aint-coming-hur-cause-they aint-nofin-to-do-here! Color this island BORING! crap music, crap bars, crap stores, crap laws and frankly crap citizenry that complains about everything and is against anything not “Bermudian”. Get over it people, we need middle class jobs and middle class work ethics and middle class family values and middle class spending. It’s this desire to appear “rich” that is driving most of societies ills.
Lets stop chasing some end of the rainbow pot of gold dream. Realize that hard work and developing sustainable living programs and educating the youth, not about the past, but to prepare them for the future are what we need to be doing. After all, the water is rising.
Now, go put your work clothes on, go and leave your mark.
I think it’s tragic that PRC holders can loose there PRC after on TWO years of been absent from the island. So basically, people came down here worked their asses off for twenty years or however long it took to gain PERMANENT RESIDENCY only to loose their jobs. So now the PRC holder has to either find a job or LEAVE. What if these same people cannot find a job because of the economy etc, therefore can no longer Afford to stay here… So one now has to leave their home/ houses etc.
AMEND THE LAW OR take the PERMANENT out of PRC PLEASE.
I would rather status went to kids of PRCs who were born here and living here 18 yeas, than sold to someone rich from another country.
Anyone who can’t see this is truly narrow minded. The same sort of person who would think that everyone who arrived after 1609 is not a real Bermudian. Pathetic.
If there are 6,000 PRC holders and they are granted ‘citizenship’ (i.e. voting rights), it would significantly change the voting landscape. Any guesses which party the change would favour?
The one that governs most effectivley?
• 1,878 PRC holders;
• 1,237 Spouses of PRC holders;
• 2,960 Children of PRC holders;
• 7,500 persons on work permits; without a term limit.
Whether it be via removal of term limits or economic and emotional extortion, “the game is afoot”.
* 2010 Population and Housing Census
Chris I can name off the bat over 25 people who have PRC yet have moved on with no intention of ever setting up shop in Bermuda.
Some are retired and have gone to live somewhere more affordable, others just working elsewhere.
Isn’t your own family a fairly recent transplant from the Caribbean? (apologies if this is not the case but please clarify)
I can think of another 20 Bermudians who are now living in Australia
Another 20 who are living in Europe.
I know it may not fit your agenda but Bermuda is hurting for warm bodies.
Rilling up the xenophobic expatriate haters with baseless numbers and promoting tribal fear mongering does no good for Bermuda at all.
Putting aside the issues of morality with regards to deporting long time, tax paying, hard working contributing expatriates; the first people to be hurt by the fall off population will be those in the civil service.
Zero voters.
Par for the course.
The man who claimed that no member or representative of the PLP ever made a racially hostile statement (EVER!) trying to rile up even more hate.
If there were 6k PRC holders this would be true. There isn’t even a fraction of that in reality. None of that matters to you since you are quite simply too stupid for words.
Seems like Mr Famous is taking over the role of Colonel burch to see who can make the most non Bermudians feel unwelcome…..
@Freedom Do you know the US’s policy regarding being absent from the country if you have been granted citizenship? My cousin (Bermudian) married to an American with 2 grown children came back to BDA to find work after over 20yrs in the US and had to leave after a period of time or lose his citizenship. If the US can revoke citizenship due to absence, why should BDA be any different. Just saying.
The USA cannot revoke citizenship due to absence.
US Citizenship cannot be revoked by government. That’s not citizenship – that’s a green card. They are not the same thing at all. Citizenship cannot be revoked except by the individual and involves a substantial process. Green card holders cannot vote in elections, and also cannot reside outside the US for unlimited amounts of time – hence your point about your cousin. This is a good website:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/difference-between-us-green-card-us-citizenship.html
I think your point is that PRC holders are like green card holders. However, there is a fundamental difference, in that there is a path for green card holders to become US citizens. No such path currently exists for PRC’s to become status holders.