Full Transcription: Crockwell Resignation Speech
MP Shawn Crockwell announced he has resigned from the OBA and will sit in the House as an Independent, citing a number of reasons including the OBA embracing the philosophy of the UBP, a “methodology of arrogance”, “misguided leadership” and more.
Mr Crockwell — who resigned as a Cabinet Minister earlier this year — delivered a 19-minute speech in the House of Assembly on Friday, saying “it has now become unworkable for me to remain in this organization.”
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The Truth Shall Set You Free
“Mr. Speaker, in my preparation for my presentation today, I found that I have drafted multiple speeches to try and get the right balance. I received a few calls from individuals that I hold in high regard last night, and the theme and advice to me was to be measured. That’s what I will attempt to do.
“I have to tell you that the first draft was way too harsh, so I had to dispose of that. The second draft was way too emotional, so I put that aside, and then I decided to do something Mr. Speaker, that I believe, that I need to do a bit more often.
“That is, I said a prayer, and then I said the prayer Mr. Speaker. The answer that came back was, just tell the truth. And the truth shall set you free.
Creation Of The One Bermuda Alliance Was My Idea
“Mr. Speaker, the creation of the One Bermuda Alliance was my idea, and that’s what makes today a bit more difficult for me.
“Merging of the Bermuda Democratic Alliance with the United Bermuda Party, Mr. Speaker, was an idea that I had, and I shared it with my BDA colleagues, including my very good friend the learned member Mark Pettingill next to me here.
“I’ll tell you Mr. Speaker, it took me one year to convince my colleagues it was a good idea. Then once we got to that stage, and it was after the by-election that was caused by the retirement of Dr. Ewart Brown, and the BDA’s quality candidate came third, and they realized the efficacy of the merger made sense. Then it took us one year to negotiate the merger.
“Mr. Speaker, I took the idea to the honourable Premier Michael Dunkley, who has been my friend for many years, which also makes today very difficult. We thought that it was something we can do, and it took us a year to negotiate the creation of the OBA.
I Resigned From the UBP As They Fell Out Of Touch With The People
“The merger, Mr. Speaker, if you look at the name One Bermuda Alliance, alliance is another name for coalition. The recent discussions that have been had, and comments I have made about my interests and my desire of forming a coalition government is nothing new, for me, Mr. Speaker.
“The formation of the OBA was just that, it was a coalition. It was a coalition of the BDA, which represented a progressive and grassroot political philosophy. Young people, new people, into politics, with the United Bermuda Party, which represented experience and a fiscal conservative political philosophy.
“The challenge that I had, Mr. Speaker, because let’s not forget, that in 2009, I resigned from the then UBP, and I resigned from the UBP because despite the fact that I shared a conservative fiscal approach, the United Bermuda Party, Mr. Speaker, fell out of touch with the people of this country.
“They did not get the majority of the electorate. I had a challenge with that, and that was part of the reason why I resigned.
“Then we created this One Bermuda Alliance, Mr. Speaker, the vision, was for the new OBA to allow the philosophy and the vision of the BDA to dominate, Mr. Speaker, the new party, because that’s what was fresh, that’s what was attractive to the electorate, and have that blend, and have it be a coalition, a co-opting of two organizations. The plan and the vision was to grow as a grassroots party.
Audio of Mr Crockwell’s resignation speech in the House
OBA Has Embraced Philosophy & Methodology Of The UBP
“What has happened is, instead of the OBA reflecting the vision of the BDA, particularly under the current leadership, Mr. Speaker, the OBA has embraced the philosophy and the methodology, Mr. Speaker, of the UBP.
“A philosophy of my way is the right way, Mr. Speaker. It has governed in a way that clearly, and we’ve seen this in the last two years in particular, where there is a disconnect with the people of this country.
“Not necessarily because of the decisions that have been made, because there have been difficult decisions, and decisions that had to be made to move this country in the right direction.
“This government inherited difficult situations, particularly when we talk about the economy. So we had some tough decisions. I’ve always said that difficult decisions will attract criticism, because no one likes to deal with difficult decisions. But sometimes, it’s not what you do, Mr. Speaker, it’s how you do it.
We’ve Had A Methodology Of Arrogance
“We’ve had a methodology of arrogance, Mr. Speaker, coming from this government. My way is the right way, Mr. Speaker. That is why we have had all of the protests that we have seen in the past three years.
“This has been unprecedented in number, not just the frequency of them, but the amount of individuals that were protesting because of the methodology and the disconnect.
“The fact of the matter, Mr. Speaker, is that in 2012, the people of this country did not vote for the United Bermuda Party. The people of this country, voted for the One Bermuda Alliance. They saw something new, something fresh. They thought they were getting a different vision.
“What they have received, Mr. Speaker, is the UBP, and if the One Bermuda Alliance government do not make the necessary adjustments, you have to remember, Mr. Speaker, the United Bermuda Party lost three consecutive elections for a reason.
“And had we not merged, had we not created the One Bermuda Alliance, had we not brought in the fresh, new ideas and faces and visions, and philosophy of doing things, we would not have won 2012. We would not have won.
“I was very proud of the fact that I had a significant hand in it, not just myself, it was other members, my honourable and learned friend Mark Pettingill was involved in that, and many others that sit in this chambers, the former Premier Craig Cannonier played a pivotal role in that, Mr. Speaker.
Under Misguided Leadership We Have Gone Back To Very Thing I Left In 2009
“But we forfeited our position and, in my view, under misguided leadership, we have gone back to the very thing that I left, Mr. Speaker, in 2009.
“Now, I am not going to rehash the unfortunate events surrounding the immigration protest, Mr. Speaker, but let me say that was the event that culminated into my resignation from the Cabinet, because I had consistently failed in having the the counsel, I was providing, not just myself and this is not about me, but today I have to explain why I am taking the decision that I have taken.
“Because time and time again when those of us who were trying to advise the government on a certain course of action, and time and time again, that old UBP methodology and philosophy would prevail, and time and time again, we would get the same results. I was frustrated with that.
I Was Not Just There To Be Window Dressing
“I was not just there to be window dressing, Mr. Speaker. I expected to be there to have influence, and bring the philosophy that I embraced, and others, and have that make an impact on the policies and on the direction of the government.
“When I resigned, I offered my, I offered an olive branch, Mr. Speaker, because on the day that I resigned, and I shared this with my parliamentary colleagues, my heart and my spirit and my conscience wanted to go independent then, on that day, but I resisted it and I offered an olive branch that I would stay.
“We had a budget looming, the Finance Minister has enough burden to bear. We had to get the budget passed, and I did not want to cause any more confusion, and I certainly did not want to destabilize the government at that time, and so I said I would stay.
“I expected that the olive branch would have been appreciated and, even in many respects, reciprocated in treatment towards me as a colleague.
I Went Back Into Private Legal Practice
“I went back into private legal practice, and I have to say that I was quite pleased that I immediately was able to acquire a respectable volume of clients.
“Quite a large, probably about 60% of my clientele, Mr. Speaker, had issues against the government. Whether it was a wrongful dismissal from a government department. Whether it was an application to the liquor licensing authority. Whether it was appealing a decision of the Chief Immigration Officer.
“The largest entity in this country is the government, the largest employer in this country is the government. There are going to be a plethora of legal disputes against the government.
“Absurd” Letter from Attorney-General
“They came to me and they sought my assistance, and I have to tell you that I acted for these individuals, and to my astonishment, Mr. Speaker, I received a letter from the Attorney-General, and I will not get into the details of the letter, because that is client privilege, Mr. Speaker, at this stage, but I received a letter from the Attorney General which instructed me that because the honorable member Mark Pettingill was a former Attorney-General of this country, that he and I, and anyone else that worked at the firm, was prevented from representing any client against the government. Completely and totally absurd. Unheard of.
“Of all of the former Attorney-Generals that we’ve had in this country, that have represented clients against this government, as a matter of fact Mr. Speaker, my honorable business partner, is a well-known highly respected litigator, that has litigated up to the Privy Council multiple times, if this instruction is to be followed, it will completely paralyze his practice, and destroy at least 60% of mine.
“I was astonished that as a former colleague of the cabinet, that I would be told that I cannot freely practice my profession in my country. That is economic, Mr. Speaker, intimidation.
Immigration Raid On My Home
“Mr. Speaker, there’s a report in today’s RG, in relation to an immigration raid on my home. Again, I’m not going to get into the details of this because there are individuals that I don’t want to expose, including the company that I hired two years ago.
“Two years ago I hired this company on the referral of a very prominent family, to clean my house, and they been cleaning my house and doing a fantastic job, Mr. Speaker, for two years. Not one complaint. Stellar job. Comes once a week, four hours. Once a week, had no issue.
“The primary cleaner, I know is married to a Bermudian, and has children from a Bermudian. I don’t know everyone that came to my house, but I can tell you that, because of course, during the day I’m at work, but I find out that there was a directive, Mr. Speaker, because of a some suspicion that the company may have had an illegal worker on their staff, there was a directive to apprehend this illegal worker at my house.
“I had three immigration officers come to my house and thoroughly search my house. A former Minister of the government.
When A Black Man Stands Up To The Establishment
“And I heard people speaking, and I don’t know if they have a problem with it. This is the truth. If you can’t deal with the truth, then I’m sorry, Mr. Speaker. This is what happened to me. These are facts. I have a responsibility to my constituents, and to the people of this country, to explain why I’m taking my feet today.
“When I hear Dr. Brown, in his press conference say ‘why are they going after him’ he says, ‘because when a black man stands up to the establishment, they come after you.’ Well, I can say, you know what Mr. Speaker, I’m living it. I’m living it, Mr. Speaker.
“When my uncles tell me stories, when I was growing up, about how if you went up against the establishment, you can get your mortgage pulled. I used to hear those stories, Mr. Speaker, and I used to think it was an exaggeration. Well, I don’t anymore, Mr. Speaker.
“Because I am a former colleague and this is happening to me, Mr. Speaker. So what can I do when you have this level of mistrust?
Unworkable For Me To Remain, I Will Stand As Independent
“This is not an ambush. I have met with the Premier. I have expressed my concerns with him. I met with him shortly after this incident. I met with him after I received this letter.
“I have to say, to date, I have not received any satisfactory response, but I’m expected to just be quiet and carry on. Well that’s just not my personality.
“I feel that it has now become unworkable for me to remain in this organization. I will stand in this honorable house as an independent member. I will continue to discharge my duty, the way I have always done.
“I can stand on my record in this honourable house, Mr. Speaker. I come every week, prepared, Mr. Speaker. There’s probably more words and hansard attributable to me, than most. I come every week and I discharge my duty, Mr. Speaker, in this House and I’ll continue to do so, and work hard.
“I am not closed to working for this government, because there are good people in this government, Mr. Speaker, but there are some, Mr. Speaker, who can’t shake the old UBP way. And Mr. Speaker, for that, I have to resign.”
Road to Election 2017
The chickens come home to roost.
I think Shawn is feeling like he should have a higher portion in the OBA, but has not been given it. He gave up a portfolio.
If he had reacted in similar ways under the PLP, he would have been booted out. Under the OBA he was not.
As for implying that the OBA were responsible for raiding his house. That is NONSENSE. the minister does not coordinate immigration investigations…The department of immigration does that.
The OBA love all Bermudians and are working for all Bermudians…they are focused heavily on rescuing this country for us all. A very stressful, and focused job indeed. Perhaps that focus and importance has sometimes resulted in them appearing to be getting on with it without consultation.
Sadly when they tried consultation, they were shouted down by extremist PLP members on a number of occasions.
What a dopey , foolish , I’ll thought out piece of rubbish from hmmm .
Flip flop
Yes or No Shawn. Was an illegal worker cleaning at your house and did you know they were working illegally? I will ask you the same question when you come to my house during the Election when you run as an Independant. The rest of your speech means nothing to me and I dislike the race card being played by whites and blacks. Nobody and I mean nobody on this island is above the law irrespctive of position or title!
As I understand it, from his statement, he hired a cleaning company to clean his home, and the primary cleaner was a spouse of a Bermudian, but he didn’t know all of the cleaners and their status.
Frankly, it seems to me the onus would be on the cleaning company to ensure that all staff are properly cleared to work here, not Mr. Crockwell. He hired a company to do a job, with the expectation that they would carry it out properly and legitimately. It wasn’t his responsibility to know each and every one of their workers and their personal background. That would be like saying, that I want to hire a catering company to cater an event for me, but I am somehow at fault because one of the catering staff didn’t have a proper work permit, which I did not know about. Neither is it standard practice (to my knowledge) for a company to provide a client with copies of work permits for all foreign workers before starting a job. My contract is with the company, not the foreign worker, so it would be for Immigration to deal with the company.
Exactly. I couldn’t have said it better
Exactly! They are just trying to make him look guilty of something. Typical response by the UBP klan.
Wouldn’t Immigration officials normally go and try to catch the illegal worker at the place they believe he/she is working?
Crockwell seems to be saying that because he is so important, Immigration should have let this one go. He thinks that because he is so important, normal Immigration activities should not involve him, even if they believe an illegal worker may be working at his house.
And he doesn’t explan at all why he thinks this has anything to do with the OBA. Is he saying that his important status should have protected him from this? Why? Wouldn’t anyone else have been treated similarly?
Idiot, its obvious shawn knows a lot more than we do. How ironic that the illegal worker was set up to be caught at shawns house but oba/ubp diehards will point fingers at someone else as usual. The INVENTORS OF THE RACE CARD NOW ACCUSING BLACKS OF USING IT!!
Anyone and everyone can be racist in this world…all colours! Quit the BS bra!
You’re the idiot. According to you and your ilk, the dept immigration should avoid protecting Bermudian jobs if it might affect someone who thinks he is too important. Idiot.
And another idiot responds!!I don’t have a problem with immigration doing their job but what a coincidence with all that’s been going on lately with Shawn and his dysfunctional RULING PARTY! I recall Shawn saying that he hired a company to clean his house, they in return send an alleged illegal worker. The immigration department pays a visit to his house. My question is, where is that illegal worker working the other 6 DAYS AND 20 HOURS….WHY WAS SHAWNS HOUSE CHOSEN IF ITS NOTHING OTHER THAN POLITICAL?? Can you answer that DINGBAT??
So Idiot, Crockwel is Special is he? He’s Important is he?
They should have avoided visiting Crockwell’s house to investigate because he’s so “Important” in his own mind.
Too “Important” for the law to apply in his house. The investigation should have taken place at a house belonging to someone else, should it? Someone “Unimportant”.
You lot are the first to whine if Immigration fail to investigate.
Now look at you. Frikin hypocrites. Idiot.
Hey Dingbat,wanna talk about Hypocrite…someone who in the past that has been singing Shawns praises and been defending him to no end, don’t care too much for him now that he has left the UBP organization.IDIOT
So Shawn was targeted?
Damn.
And if he knew he’s just as guilty…bermp…bermp…or is that ok with you too!?
YOUR NAME SPEAKS VOLUMES!! TRUTH IS KILLING YOU…SO MUCH THAT YOU CANT SEE PAST YOUR LONG SKI JUMP!!
So in a nut shell the raid by the Department of Immigration against a potential illegal worker has nothing to do with Mr. Crockwell?! So why is he making it about himself if ultimately he is not responsible for those who were possibly working illegally in his house? He’s a lawyer so one would assume should know the law. The Immigration issue is a little too convenient to believe. His argument of personal/political vendeta is based on pure assumption/speculation at the end of the day!
If that was the Premier’s house Immigration would never set foot on his property. Mr. Crockwell is a MP and former Minister of the OBA he understands how the system works. The directive to search his house had to come from 1 of 2 people, the UBP Premier Dunkley or the Minister of Immigration:) Civil servants never act out their own accord when it involves a Minister of the ruling party. Ask yourself why did the Premier never release the Jet Gate report? What happen to being open to the public and the complete truthful by the UBP/OBA. Why do you really think that the former Chairman Mr. Thad Hollis of the OBA departed right after he conducted his investigation?
Because the first stop should have been the company who retained the alleged illegal worker. Didn’t you read what Portia wrote? Keep up!
@GEORGE, WHILE YOUR AT IT,THE NEXT TIME YOU GO TO GROCERY SHOP PLEASE ASK ALL WORKERS THERE IF THEY ARE LEGAL BECAUSE THEY ARE SERVICING YOU AND IF ANY ARE FOUND TO BE ILLEGAL I WANT YOU PROSECUTED!!
and surely it must be incumbent upon immigration to eliminate all possible culprits of an infraction???
due diligence is what it is commonly referred to……………………..just as a lawyer will attempt to prove their client innocent [even if they know them to be guilty!!!!]
The company he hired to clean his house is responsible if a person was indeed working illegally. As he said, he doesn’t know everyone that came to his house. Can you not read?
These people hired by a business/company clean multiple houses. Why in the world would three immigration officers show up at his house and thoroughly search his house? Did they think he was hiding this illegal worker in a cage locked in his basement? I mean come on.
The immigration officers should have shown up at the office of the company that hires these cleaners. Not at the house of a client. Why didn’t they show up at the house of the prominent family that referred him to this company? Why has this happened ONLY since he stepped down from his minister position when he hired this company two years ago?
Why in the world would the “Attorney General which instructed me that because the honorable member Mark Pettingill was a former Attorney-General of this country, that he and I, and anyone else that worked at the firm, was prevented from representing any client against the government.” That is not right! There should be an investigation into the AG. This is intimidation or abuse of power.
It’s typical you would attack Mr. Crockwell, implying he must be guilty of something because no one is above the law crap. What the AG has said in his letter is WRONG! And the raid on his house was WRONG!
You dislike the race card being played, well too bad. The fact that the race card is STILL even IN the deck, and mostly used as an abuse of power and privilege by some, is the real problem.
That doesn’t make any sense. They would show up and investigate where they think the person is working. Not at some office of the agency. What would that prove? Nothing.
You lot can’t your minds up. You whine and complain that Immigration doesn’t protect Bermudian interests, but then when they take action when an illegal worker may be working, you whine about that, apoarently because the owner of the premises regards himself as important.
Blatant hypocrisy.
Zevon think we get your point. You seem to be saying that if it were you you’d be just fine with Immigration Officials turning up at your residence under these circumstances. In doing so disrupting your life for something that is not your fault. Surely the majority of us to the contrary would prefer that a matter like this be taken up by Immigration at the premises of the company who hired the worker in the first place. You know why? Because every individual is “important.” Therefore how citizens are handled in a society by authority figures like Immigation officers whose salaries we the taxpayer pay is “important.” Sometimes politics needs to take a back seat to allow common sense to prevail.
What crap. Obviously they would investigate at the premises where the person is working.
If there were illegal workers at my house, I wouldn’t have much to complain about, would I.
But maybe I could issue a press release claiming I’m “too important” and the Immigration people should have avoided investigating the work being done at my house.
After, the same law that applies to Crockwell is supposed to apply to me.
Wow, you really do have the intelligence of a rock!
Who are you today Zevon or Zendrive??
Zevon…you sound like an A double S, and have completely missed the plot
The A S is the arrogant PRK who thinks he’s so important that Immigration shouldn’t investigate a purported illegal worker working at his house.
The law is supposed to apply equally to everyone.
Funny how you lot suddenly don’t like the sound of that.
It makes 100% sense. How slow can you really be?
Let’s say you hire a landscaping company to cut your lawn and trees around your house once a month per annum. You have used this company for the past two years. The majority of the time when they arrive at your house to cut your lawn and trees, you’re not home. So you rarely see and know who is actually carrying out the work.
Unknowingly to you, this company that you use has hired an illegal worker. This illegal worker, over the course of a month, has worked at 10 houses. Out the blue, three immigration officers show up at your house and raid your house based on a suspicion that someone else has hired an illegal worker. Then, you find out, there was a directive to apprehend this illegal worker at your house. Why not at the house of the other 9 clients? Why ONLY at your house? Wouldn’t you think that this action is not normal? Wouldn’t you be a little suspicious?
They don’t show up and question the company, or raid the company to look for hired documents, pay records, or name or address of this illegal worker. Chances are you will find this information at the company that hired the illegal worker, not at Mr. Crockwell’s house.
Remember, they did this all off a suspicion. Quoting Mr. Crockwell, “because of some suspicion that the company may have had an illegal worker on their staff.”
So based on what you are saying, the immigration officers should have shown up and raided all of the houses of the clients that contracted this company to provide cleaning services. This means the houses of CEO of international businesses, the houses of top lawyers, the houses of the elderly. Should the immigration officers really raid the house of the elderly because they contracted a company that hired an illegal worker? Does that seem right? I’ll tell you what would happen. That company would lose a lot of clients, all off a suspicion.
Oh, so “top lawyers” and “the elderly” should be safe from immigration investigations.
They should wait until the employee is at the house of one of us ordinary people.
Got it.
Zevon or Zendrive?? Split personalities? lol
Main question: Did his colleagues know this before he resigned? Amazing how some whites constantly ignore the cries of black of systematic racism, like “we” are not intelligent enough to know the tactics some have used and have created since towards the so called, ‘ minorities’ (who have collectively outnumbered whites now for decades).
Smh at the ignorance of some people!!!!!!
I bet you they all knew, they couldn’t wait to make him look like a criminal and be the laughing stock of Bermuda.
Not at all… You would investigate based upon a registered compalaint, you would investigate at the place of work. Shawn would not be in any trouble for this at all.
I think Shawn’s big issue comes from not being able to represent clients in private practice in cases against the govt whilst working as a minister, due to conflict of interest. That is where his beef is, the rest is just fluff.
Oh so it’s about the law now you say . Then you do agree that it was about the law with jetgate ?
You think that Dept Immigration should have refrained from investigating, to avoid offending a person who regards himself as important?
the sad apart about it this person in question possibly cleans 20 houses a week. Why was his singled out why not go to the house this person clean the day before or the day after, hence it was a tactic from within to make him look bad from the immigration minister at the time n 100% the dunkley new everything. TRUST ME both Michael knew.
You tell me…..ZENDRIVE!! LMAO
@ truth is killing me – take your head out of your ass and face the truth o one is above the law but do you think this does not exist – feel sorry for you buddy – come out of your comport zone and experience it for yourself – but none the less – one love – what the world need more of
Shawn, you once had my voate but after this you no longer do have it. We all may or may not agree the what the OBA is doing but holy crap man how could you Aline yourself with the former Permier and the debt the PLP put this tiny little country in..
Please also tell us if that cleaning person was legal or not?
@ Widget, Shawn, you never had my vote, but you have it now. OBA = http://www.nasty.org.
The name (OBA) has changed but the game is the same (UBP)!
Put that question to the right source…THE COMPANY
the truth is an offense not a sin, and it shall set u free…
Is he who laugh last, children! is he who win — Bob
Good luck Mr Crockwell, don’t see how you resigning will help Bermuda. As in all cases of Independants they last until the next election and then disappear. That is a shame because you really could have helped make a difference
Sounds like he can make more money off his legal practice.
Nothing worse than a traitor, your political future is now null and void .
Did you not read the full speech or did you just decide to ignore all that he had written. His whole point is the betrayal he felt from some of those he stood next to & called colleague thus the reason for his actions. Or would you have him rather stand there smiling a fake smile as his home is invaded, his practice under threat & his concerns snubbed by those who he stands with?
YOUR POLITICAL FUTURE IS NULL AND VOID…. that is the mindset that has created 2 Bermudas….. your statement wreaks of WE WILL CRUSH YOU IN ANYTHING YOU TRY TO DO IN BDA FROM HERE ON IN….. thats why BDAians are so distrusting of the OBA/UBP wow…. you spoke volumes in the small statement !
Good for you Shawn. Hang in there. Represent us.
Is it time again for the BDA to come back?
Crockwell left the party and fired off some hurtfull accusations and insults on the way out the door. I hope the OBA takes the high road and withhold insults and wish him the best and move on. Sure The truth will set you free says the bible, but what is the truth? What is Richards,Dunkley, Pamplins and the much maligned Fahey Truth? I am sure they all have different version as well as many “truths” in common. I hope i never become so jaded that i refuse to recognize they are all quality Bermudians trying to leave the place better than when they found it. Wish him best and hope he continues to work for betterment of country.
All ‘Cept Fahey .
That wasn’t personal. Immigration wanted to find an illegal worker so they went where they thought they would find the person. If the police are looking for a suspect they do the same right? Just sayin’…
No. They do not show up at the house of a client who hired a company to provide cleaning services. Not only do they show up, but they raid his house. You don’t need to raid a house to find a person. But why was there a ‘directive to apprehend this illegal worker at my (Mr. Crockwell’s) house? This ‘illegal’ worker hired by a company also works at other houses, surely they could have looked for this worker at another person’s house. But what the elitist wanted is the headlines, “Illegal worker found working at former Tourism Minsiter’s house.”
What if one of his haters in the opposition dropped a dime on him…
Or what if it was one of his haters among his own colleagues that dropped a dime on him?
Huh?
U will find the illegal worker at any house that they work at. True investigating is that u locate the person in question n may b u set a sting operation. So why would u go in his house when he isn’t even home camp out at his house take photos n trail the suspect in question. Why are u searching his home u can see if the person enter n when they leave its basic knowledge if two people enter than u as immigration go and ask for the people that went in an ask wat they r doing there obviously if the wrong person is cleanin without a permit than u take them with you. Still no reason to enter his house without him there. LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING D OLD IMMIGRATION MINISTER N I’m pretty sure the premier would have known about it before hand. if he didn’t than as premier he should have 1 of ur own colleagues n its time for michael to go.
……. CANARY IN THE COAL MINE !
This sounds like it is fabricated out of whole cloth. Perhaps Shawn would like some cheese with his whine……
Simultaneously I find the responses (read attacks) here hilarious, not surprising and disturbing. Mr Crockwell says he prayed about his sppech, he talks about seeking advice He mentions how the UBP way of thinking caused them 3 elections. He speaks of how that way of thinking is showing it’s face again resulting in unprecedented protest (iPretty sure we all recall these) in Bermuda by historically large amounts of people…. and you all zero in on the fact that he hired a company (who hires the workers) who may have had an illegal worker at his home.
the blindness that privilege causes is absolutely mind boggling. Please get your collective heads out of places which rill remain unsaid and read the transcript OR LISTEN to the speech for what it is.
The point is the party has fallen into habits which in the past have not been good for Bermuda or the OBA/UBP. Focus on the message….not the messenger.
#mindblown at this ignorance.
It’s not so much ignorance on their part but more of an attempt at deflection from the real topic at hand. A tactic often used when one doesn’t want to face the elephant in the room but would rather focus on the ant in the corner.
The immigration dept should also go after all those landscaping companies its a joke but again they are civil servants lazy as sin
For all those who accuse you Shawn of sour grapes and spilled milk take a quote from Ghandi,”in a minority of one the truth is still the truth”.
So.
1. He doesn’t agree with the OBA’s practices. No problem. This is a reasonable reason to step away.
2. Feels he isn’t being listened to. Blames it on the fact that he’s black, as opposed to, as he’s said, his opinions are in opposition to the party line. Hmmm…really?
3. Gets told that, as a member of the Government party he, and those in the firm with him, can’t represent any case against the Government. Certainly Mr Crockwell has heard the phrase “conflict of interest”, hasn’t he? He shouldn’t need to be told about it, and should be fairly embarrassed that it needed to be pointed out to him.
4. Immigration raids property in order to catch a suspected illegal worker in the act. Property happens to be Mr Crockwell’s, and he takes it personally. Why? As A politician he should be thrilled Immigration are doing their jobs. We all want the Immigration to be doing their job so the perpetrators are found out and dealt with, don’t we?
5. I understand Mr Crockwell’s desire to leave the OBA and go independent given that his beliefs and values don’t align with theirs, but to stand alongside the opposition with the cry of ‘they hate me because I’m strong and black, look at how I’m being picked on’ is nothing more than tired rhetoric. They don’t hate you, they’re not picking on you, and your own mindset has made it about skin colour.
6. I doubt I’m the only person who’s heard the rumours about the expected next step in this saga.
Your 3rd point assumes that no other members of parliament are in direct “conflict of interest.” Bermuda is a tiny place and unfortunately conflicts of interest are sometimes unavoidable. What part of this do you not get. Take for example the over two million dollars in government concessions which were further extended by the Government to very profitable local retail stores even though retail sales are way up. Is that not a conflict of interest? Your 4th point that someone should be “thrilled” to have their residence raided over an alledgation of an immigration violation that you the resident has nothing to do with is nonsense. There is nothing thrilling about an agency of a Government “doing their job” at an another citizen’s expense. Would you the advocate of this be “thrilled” if this happened to you?
I’m certain that there is a great deal of conflict of interest going on, like nepotism, there always is and always has been. But something as overt as law has to be looked at differently, because judgments could be suggested to be swayed by position.
All right. Perhaps ‘thrilled’ was an exaggeration. I’d be irritated at the intrusion if it happened to me, but I would be happy to see immigration doing their job. I would also be curious to find out if the company I had hired was breaking the law.
I’ve yet to figure out why politicians believe themselves to be above the law, and I’m speaking about those on both sides. They’re not, and if anything they should be subject to closer inspection, and more open to it, than the average person
Can there never be an issue, problem, discussion in this country that isn’t caused by racism??? Just state the facts and move on Shawn. You choose to differ from your former party so leave. You had a good innings on the taxpayers dollar like your colleagues. You even had wonderful trips to Singapore with Mark, not that it benefitted the country in any way. According to the new casino guru the Singapore model is NOT the way forward. So after all of that and the government funded trips to Vegas etc, should you and Mark be permitted to represent clients against the Government partially funded by taxpayers…I think not!
Scotty, that is an issue most countries deal with continuosly, to include the US, Britain and many European nations.
To suggest that race is not part of the facts is to believe that race has not divided us since slaves were brought to this island.
Some naive Americans believed that the election of Obama was confirmation that the US had turned the corner on race relations. The overt bigotry and racist antics of large numbers of Americans put paid to that dreamy and delusional theory. What we see every day on these local blogs/ boards ( from both sides ) confirms that Bermuda is waging its own race war – not as overt but without question, as damaging.
Nu
Well !! It seems again, that under the leadership of the Hon. M. Dunkley the truth is only the truth if he ( Dunkley / OBA) speak it. Lord HELP US ALL.
Of course i dont think Crockwell the lawyer politician would be unethical or just plain stupid enough to hire an illegal worker.If an illegal worker was cleaning at Crockwells house, then he should be upset have no problem permitting immigration investigating anywhere they like and if it happens to be at his home or business so be it(can happen to anyone).
You can never rule out payback,in fact the PLP use it as a political platform(it helps get them elected), howeveer this is some sort of conspiracy it would have to be the most clumsy low brow straw grasping form and i sincerely doubt the members of the OBA would be so petty or if they are so petty, they have no imagination or finness so prove it and bring on the next election. Its not like they went and arrested the auditor general. That is what he is saying isnt it? Hey i like Crockwell,and i could be wrong about most everything, but I will continue to listen and try to understand as I form my own opinion.
Do you want us to believe that the Immigration Minister and her PS were not aware of the visit to Crockwell’s house, prior to their officers arriving at his doorsteps? Do you also want us to believe that she didn’t inform other MP’s to include Dunkley?
I have not read his very eloquent speech, neither am i going to.
If some body want to throw in the towel it is their perogative.
It is not what what one man thinks it is what all men think.
We elect a body of people having prudence and good judgement to run our country , when things don’t turn out as expected, the opportunity is there to” put it right”. not sit on it !
Now how are we going to do that ? Real easy !
The power of the Vote !
Over the years we have become complacent, we just vote for Mr Nice guy.
You are given a ballot sheet with a bunch of names on it, or applicants wanting a job.
Not good enough !
I want a ballot sheet with which you and I can have some say so ! not tick the box, like we have been doing for…….. just a person.
I want to vote on Progress , Innovation, The Budget, Economy, Expansion, Wages, Taxation, Unity.
I hear the words ” Going Forward” and we are not going anywhere fast.
This island is a place with some very unhappy people, I see it in their faces, as a country we are falling apart.
No body said it was going to be easy.
I am no quitter.
Don’t slip on the banana skin when you cross the street next year mate. The circus has really come to town and the clowns are all having a field day. I can’t believe I paid to get in.
Employment, employers and employees are on the front burner these days some how the innocent always suffer as a result of unskilled managers many of whom have not got the slightest clue how to manage people or projects.
If you business is failing may be it would be a good idea to see who is calling the shots.
Over the years I have and I am sure you have been their ” Scape Goat” as The Manager look to place blame for their inability to properly conduct them selves on the job, some have even lost their job or have been the subject of unfair dismissal or re structuring simply because the BOSS was incompetent.
Can’t spell Crockwell without CROCK. What a CROCK.
Sorry to see you go, couldn`t stick it out tell`s us alot about you Shawn! And by the way,,, testimonials never impress anyone. Goodbye!