Good afternoon and thank you for the very kind invitation to address you on the occasion of your Annual General Meeting in this your 102nd year. To your President, Mr. Philip Barnett, the Board, Executive and members of the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce – I am grateful for the opportunity to address you. I particularly want to acknowledge your Executive Director, Mrs. Diane Gordon who is certainly not shy about putting the case on behalf of the Chamber. We don’t always agree, but there’s no mistaking her passion for what is best for Bermuda.

Let me acknowledge those colleagues of mine who have joined me today, Ms. Marva O’Brien, Permanent Secretary, Dr. Derrick Binns, Assistant Cabinet Secretary – Policy, Dr. Martin Brewer, Chief Immigration Officer and Ms. Beverlee Lottimore, Director of Communication and Information.

The topic with which I was presented, “Sustaining Bermuda’s Economy and Desirability through balanced Immigration Practices and a Renewed Focus On Law and Order” caused me to reflect for a short while and pose the question “what the hell do they want me to talk about?”

But I think I’ve got it.

With some license let me translate the topic: “Fix it please and by the way keep us safe while you do it.” A more metaphorical approach would come in a phrase I happily borrow from the Premier: “Painting the Moving Train”. I think that imagery most accurately reflects the task at hand.

For the benefit of any media present the following statement is not new news as I have said it before: Immigration is broken but I am committed to fixing it. In fairness, this did not happen overnight and sharing my prescription for the fix requires a brief but honest examination of some history.

The aged and creaking system we endure today has its roots in a work permit, licence and status regime that was based on personality and pure subjectivity. Many of you will recall the almost lottery approach to the grant of Bermuda status or of work permits. There was a time when good rules were more honoured in their breach than in their application. Certain immigrant communities in this country are full of examples of people who were granted status because they had joined the right clubs and organizations, partied with the right people or told tales on others.

With a system based on patronage and such subjectivity, only injustice and eventually chaos can result. Now that we are superimposing a more objective application of policy and rules, the two methodologies are in conflict and breed frustration in the end users, some of whom still believe that’s the way we operate or indeed should operate.

Let me pause here and say; many of you have very kindly offered me lunch or dinner in order to explain your needs, etc. That is neither my practice nor my preference. I play it straight and if you wish to meet with me I am happy to do so, but in my office or yours - where it’s strictly business. I just think that’s better for both of us. It allows me to do what you really want, which is to apply the rules fairly and squarely, across the board.

I am keenly aware of the pressing concerns regarding processing within the Department of Immigration. The application of immigration policy in this country is challenging because it is complex and our colonial status makes many international treaties’ application debatable. I say that because the term “British” in our status often creates confusion in the minds of European Union nationals, both as tourists and as guest workers who have become accustomed to relaxed passage between member states.

In any event, through increased staff, streamlined processes and my personal energies we are making a dent in outstanding applications of all varieties. Are we there yet? Absolutely not, but we are working at it. One of the issues is that an already clogged and mis-functioning system is forced to continue functioning…. hence my painting the moving train analogy.

You will know that the Department is divided into three broad industry categories,

• Insurance, International Companies, Finance and Business Support Industries
• Education, Medical and other Personal Service Industries, and
• Hospitality and Tourism Industries

As at the end of last year a total of 1,879 companies with 9,599 Work Permits were processed by the Department of Immigration. Of this number, almost half – 4,306 are held by the Insurance / International business sector. Of the total 9,599 – 5,717 pieces of correspondence was received relating to new Work Permit applications, Renewal applications, Term Limits and Waivers. Add to that number the dramatic increase in Temporary applications and Fast Track Applications and you will soon see that the 10 staff assigned to Work Permit processing simply cannot cope with the demand.

Yes I said ten staff – including the Manager – on average a total of 400 pieces of correspondence daily is registered in the system.

I do not propose today to specifically address all the areas like work permit term limits, alien licenses, Bermuda Status applications and the like as this government’s position on them is clear and unchanged. Term limits are here to stay but their application will be fair and in accordance with that policy. It is right that I share with you, however, those applications for the pot washer or the kitchen porter to be exempt from term limits as a “key employee” hardly assists in your cause that the arguments against term limits be seriously considered. It is precisely that kind of abuse that aided in creating the mess we have today.

So – what have we done already and what is planned?

More than a month ago now a night shift started processing outstanding applications. Experienced staff have been recruited from within Government – so that training or supervision is not necessary. The aim here is to work on the back log- whilst allowing the day staff to manage current applications.

Three weeks ago we announced the implementation of a new policy to return incomplete applications. Several hundred of those have already been returned and that process will continue. An intelligent approach has been adopted here in that employers are encouraged to produce the one or two items missing to avoid their return.

You will know that the Board of Immigration reviews most applications and I am pleased to advise that they have been meeting twice a week for some time now – so that the process does not become back logged at the Board level.

The Department has a long established policy of employing college students during the summer recess. I can report that those students are beginning to return home and assisting in the processing of Work Permit applications.

Clearly, with the number of staff mentioned earlier – staffing resources are insufficient to meet the demand. Recruiting of new staff is well underway and interviews are being conducted this week. Space allocation is also a challenge but a request to the Government landlord, the Ministry of Works and Engineering will hopefully shortly address that as well.

One school of thought suggests that the Department should simply close for a week or two and with heads down, clear the decks so that new systems and new philosophies have a genuine opportunity at success. I have no difficulty in saying that I am the headmaster of that school of thought and with a little luck it may very soon catch on.

You will be well aware of the significant investment Government has made in new systems for the Department. We are entering the final phase of those improvements with the automation of the Work Permit processes. Full implementation is likely a year away but we are planning some modifications to its delivery that will not adversely impact immediate improvements in the process.

I intend to continue to monitor progress and engage in discussion with the Chief Immigration Officer and his senior staff to implement other changes if the above actions do not reap immediate positive results. Having said that though – you will be aware that many of the changes implemented above – come with a cost. Costs that in my view should be borne by those utilizing the service. As such I give early notice that the age-old practice of a CEO Work Permit costing the same as a gardener’s is likely to end and graduated fees introduced.

As I indicated earlier, I am well aware of the challenges with and within the Department of Immigration. I would only ask that you accept from me a genuine commitment to reverse the trend and for your patience as we paint this moving train.

The term limit policy was introduced in March 2001 to address the problem of long-term residents who were allowed to work and reside in Bermuda for extended periods of time, some for over twenty years.

At that time there were 8,000 non-Bermudians in the workforce. These in turn had 4,000 dependants between them. The pattern of employment in Bermuda is such that half the non-Bermudians who arrive in any given year are still in Bermuda five years later. Of those, half (a quarter of the original arrivals) are still here ten years later. Of those in turn, half (one eighth of the original entrants) are still in Bermuda after fifteen years, and so on.

I as a Bermudian, I as a Minister of the Government realize and accept the fact that Bermuda does not and will not likely grow enough Bermudians to fill every available job. (And some of that is partly my fault as a single childless Bermudian.) We do need workers from other countries to enter our work force but they cannot stay forever.

The Government announced the policy in 2001, seven years ago.

Why do people still not believe?

(I know they didn’t think we would win in 2003 and they further believed that we wouldn’t win in 2007.)

But we are still here as the Party that forms the Government and the term limit policy still stands. Some call it protectionist. And I say what is wrong with protecting your citizens.

As a member of the Bermuda Government it is my duty and responsibility to protect Bermudians first. I make no apology for doing so. I contend that every country represented in this room and in the wider community - protects the rights of their citizens first.
And let me reiterate for the record – being pro Bermudian does not translate into being anti foreign.

By protecting Bermudians today we will bear fruit tomorrow, do those of you who having obtained Bermuda Status and now have Bermudian children not want them protected.

I started to think of some things that could be done in six years - you can put an 18 year old on a plane to college and have them return with a Masters Degree, but you can not find a pot washer, a gardener, a construction worker or a waiter.

Come on now; try to sell me another line.

Sustaining Bermuda’s economy and desirability must also mean that we become involved in solving the education challenges we face.

I hear your cry that the education system in this country is not working.
I am not yet the Minister of Education, so I can’t fix that yet, but what we can do as a community to fix education from our prospective we must do.

Children don’t raise themselves; they need responsible adults involved in their lives to do that.

As an employer of parents, guardians, aunts, uncles, grandparents etc. what are you doing to assist with the education of our young people?

Are you giving their parents special leave that is solely designated for them to spend in their child’s school? Perhaps one day per term. This will provide parents with an opportunity to sit in their child’s class and get to know their child as a student, learn what their strengths and weakness are, get to know the teacher who is spending the best hours of the day with their child.

Parents spending this time in their child’s school will send a clear and decisive message to the child that my parents care about my education and they want me to succeed.

Are you making criminals out of parents by forcing them to leave their children at school unattended at 7:30 a.m. so that they can travel from either end of the island to be on their jobs by 8:30 a.m?

Are you an employer who insists that their employees do not work overtime and go home at 5:00 p.m. to assist their children with their homework?

Are you giving staff who are not parents’ time off to participate in youth mentoring programmes such as YouthNet or Big Brothers Big Sisters?

Are you paying your staff a livable wage so that they don’t have to work two and three jobs to house, clothe and feed their children and can be home at the end of the day?

How many employers are aware of the housing conditions in which their employees live? Are those living accommodations conducive to the student succeeding in school?

Employers these are some things that you can do to assist parents in doing a better job as parents. Assisting parents in doing a better job will in turn produce better students, better students will make better employees, better students will make better consumers who will use your services and purchase your products.

If you want better employees you need to start at the beginning by giving your current employees the assistance to be better parents.

You may think this does not concern you because you aren’t a parent, you are an employer, but as a member of the community you do have a role to play.

Are you playing your part?

Money doesn’t create wealth; the work of people creates wealth. We must ensure that Bermudians are in a position to create the wealth and enjoy the wealth.

Now, to be fair – many of you are doing the best you can to assist your employees in this regard and I commend you for it - but equally some employers don’t see a role for themselves in this process.

The topic I was given also referred to sustaining Bermuda’s economy and desirability. There is much in that phrase and I propose to spend just a few minutes on it. A strong economy, and Bermuda’s desirability as a place to do business, is of fundamental importance to this government. A recital of those policies we have implemented in almost ten years of PLP Government are validated by the growing business sector in this country. Record profits, record openings and record work permit applications all serve as reliable indicators of the strength of and confidence in this economy. I think it is important to add that this economic success has come against the background of a history of skepticism, from not just the business community, in our ability to run anything, never mind the economy. Having demonstrated almost a decade’s worth of prudent stewardship it is a little disappointing to still be met with a decade’s worth of skepticism.

The elephant in the room and the issue which is coded in phrases like “sustaining Bermuda’s economy and desirability” is that of term limits and other policies viewed by the business community as exclusionary and unwelcoming. I cannot and will not apologize for term limits - as to do so would be to surrender the keys to Bermuda to others.

Since assuming this responsibility, I have met with virtually every employer and employee organization in the country. In almost every case the subject of Term Limits has been at the forefront of the discussion.

The reason the arguments on term limits fall on less than fertile ground is because I have never been in a meeting or discussion on the issue that has focused on the impact of excess foreign labour on this community. In every boardroom, office or meeting room the argument is “we can’t do business like this”; “the economy will suffer”; “business will move to Cayman, Barbados or Dublin”.

Just once, it would be nice to have some recognition that the Government and people of Bermuda have needs also and that as genuine partners we should discuss our mutual needs. For example, the response to a rumour about expatriates not having cars was to label us as discriminatory, anti-white, anti-business and Anti-Mother Theresa. What happened to our acceptance of the strain excess numbers of people put on the infrastructure, and some dialogue on how to minimize that impact?

In short a discussion about term limit relaxation must include the means by which to address housing, the cost of housing, traffic, transport in general, impact analysis, accrued constitutional/legal rights and education. It is not enough to simply say, “if we leave you suffer”. As true as that might be, that’s not reflective of partnership and oversimplifies the complex thing that is Bermuda and its economy. Just as I am required to consider and balance the effects of policy prior to implementation, so too must you consider in your reply how you can assist the Government in addressing the very real concerns presented by the success and sustained growth of this economy.

It will come as no surprise to any of you – being aware of my current responsibilities - that the impact of Immigration on housing takes on added importance. As such, I shall shortly be asking the Central Policy Unit at the Cabinet Office to explore options including the quite novel approach of the Island of Guernsey – specifically its Housing Control and Right to Work laws – with a view to implementing similar legislation here.

Don’t panic – like the discussions we have had on Term Limits and my undertaking to review them – similar discussions will be held in this regard as well – BEFORE implementation.

Turning to the law and order component of sustaining Bermuda’s desirability, recent trends have made for disturbing headlines and, taken out of context, can create the impression of a situation beyond our control. Whilst serious crime management and prevention in this community is controllable and can be satisfactorily addressed such that confidence in our jurisdiction is not eroded, in fact, from the high public profile that police matters enjoy, much of our efforts in this area are well known. The recruitment efforts of the Bermuda Police Service overseas and locally will shortly see the much-needed influx of manpower required to bring the police service up to strength and equipped to adequately police Bermuda.

Let me digress briefly and re-state that the shortages of the service have never been about a lack of commitment on behalf of the Government or a lack of funding. The challenge has always been finding live bodies to fill the posts.

Once up to full strength I will continue my discussions with the Commissioner of Police on the importance of effective deployment. I maintain that the way to do more with less is through more prudent use of existing resources. The expansion of the Bermuda Regiment’s role to relieve policemen from duties more suited to other uniformed services or in some cases civilians is well underway. The Regiment has completed an initial assessment of the needs and is currently engaged in discussions with the Bermuda Police Service to specifically identify areas suitable for Regimental assistance. I believe that policemen freed-up to focus on policing can provide the public security required to keep Bermuda a safe and desirable place.

In addition to the Bermuda Police Service a tremendous amount of energy within the Ministry is devoted to continuing the improvement in the Island’s correction facilities. The men and women who are incarcerated must receive suitable, rehabilitation programmes. When they are released they re-enter our community and ill-equipping them makes for another mutual law and order challenge.

Addressing the issues of those incarcerated requires patience, firmness and commitment. Many of your businesses respond positively when we ask for day-release hiring of inmates and employment post release. I thank you for this and encourage those of you who do not yet participate to get on board. Most of these men and women simply need the opportunity; they can work and should also be free to participate in this economy once their debt to society is paid.

Last year the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 101st anniversary, this year the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party Government will celebrate its 10th anniversary, so you have 10 times more experience in your role as we have in governing.

I have only been Minister of Labour, Home Affairs & Housing for 132 days so you have well outpaced me in experience.

But what I lack in experience as the Minister responsible for Home Affairs - I make up for in passion.

A passion for my Bermuda and her people.
A passion to see Bermudians provided with a level playing field in an arena that for many years didn’t favour them,
A passion to see Bermudians properly housed,
And a passion for justice and fairness for all.

We are working diligently to ensure that the interest of Bermuda and Bermudians are put first, while also protecting the rights of those who choose to live and work here.

Charles Darwin stated ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.’

One way to respond to change is by listening and as I stated before my first role as the Minister is to listen.

The Bermuda Government will be led by the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party for the next five years. I am not sure if I am going to be Minister for the next five years, but while I am the Minister you can rest assured that I will listen. Those of you who have met with me previously will also know that I can talk.

As we engage in dialogue over the next five years there are going to be times that you feel that you aren’t getting your way, and there are going to be times that I am going to feel I am not getting my way and there are going to be times that we’ll have to compromise.

But at all times I will do what I feel is the right thing to do for Bermuda.

Before I invite your questions, I wish to re-affirm this Government’s commitment to a buoyant economy fueled by sensible policies and a social conscience. I invite you to never be shy of the mutual dialogue as through true partnership we can together continue to pursue the success-story that is Bermuda.

Thank you.

SPEECH
by
Senator, the Honourable Lieutenant Colonel David A. Burch, OBE (Mil), ED, JP
Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing
Bermuda Chamber of Commerce AGM
Thursday, 1 May 2008