Speeches by Lawrence Scott, JP, MP

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

159 words

The thing is that we were so good at what we did, and what we do, that people actually mimicked us. They took our playbook. [But] the bad news about us being so good and having people actually taking our playbook is that they started to do it better than us. Right? And as I heard the former Finance Minister …

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

21 words

And the Opposition Leader is also a Gunner, so everything is not that bad. But the thing is — [Inaudible interjections]

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

108 words

But the thing is that the way that we went from being the best at where we were and what we were doing was that there was a shift in focus. And we shifted our focus from tourism to Bermuda, Incorporated, shortly known as Bermuda, Inc. All right? And, who was the leader and the orc hestr ator of that? …

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

5 words

—so, therefore, so— [Inaudible interjections]

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

192 words

I am hearing Members interpolating, so that threw me off. All right. But the thing is the Honourable Member Derrick Burgess says it was not Dr. Saul, but it was actually Gibbons that shifted it, shifted the focus. But, Dr. Saul coined the term “Bermuda, Incorporated” and “Bermuda, Inc.” and under his leadership as Minister of Finance and under his …

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

21 words

Yes, okay. [Inaudible interjections] Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. W. Lawrence Scott: I will leave that to the Junior Minister. [Laughter]

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

111 words

But we all know that Hubert Smith came up with Bermuda is Another World, right. And I cannot talk about Bermudian entertainers during the height of our tourism boom without mentioning Gene Steede. But also we talked about the Holiday Review, the Holiday Island Review. But also, Mr. Speaker, what tourism has done, and [what we are] talking about [is …

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

27 words

And, so . . . but also, I mentioned Mr. Vernon Jackson not because he is a rel ative of mine, Mr. Speaker, but because— [Inaudible interjections]

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

22 words

No. And, no, it does help because that means he was one of the better -looking members of our society — [Laughter]

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

92 words

But, Mr. Speaker, I me ntioned Mr. Vernon Jackson because he was a bus iness owner. He actually owned one of those smal l guest cottages, which was named Sapphire Bay , which happened to be located on the South Shore in Warwick. And I could actually go a little bit further, Mr. Speaker, and talk about how Sapphire Bay’s …

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

190 words

And the Honourable Oppos ition Leader says he just wants to get concessions. And I understand t hat. I understand that. But the thing is that I want to give Bermudians the background, especially that this is in the blessed area of the country known as constituency 24. So, the thing is that with it being there, with it having …

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

221 words

But nobody came out saying that about Sapphire Bay. Nobody said that about A tlantic Beach Club. Nobody said that about Ritz - Carlton. But, I digress, because I am going to show what happened as we shifted our focus away. When we shifted our focus away from a tourism economy, what happened was that what disap-peared was not just …

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

256 words

And the Honourable Oppos ition Leader, again, talks about giving concessions. And I repeat the fact that this is more than giving con-cessions. This is planting the seeds in which, hopefully, we should be able to harvest the return of Berm udians to take up jobs in hospitality and raise tourism to be a stronger pillar of our economy then …

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

256 words

And the Honourable Oppos ition Leader brings up a good point that it is not just the Grand Atlantic or the Bermudiana Beach that will ben-efit. St. Regis will benefit with this . . . well, from this concession, but also from the education aspect that is going to be in the Bermuda College. So, Mr. Speaker, I do not …

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

5 words

—can enjoy — [Inaudible interjection]

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

200 words

Yes, they too can enjoy the summers here, working and being prosperous. They too can have the ability to be suc cessful, not just as employees, all right, but also as employers where they can own a piece of the rock. They can be able to provide jobs in hospitality, and that is what this Order does today, Mr. Speaker …

14 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

53 words

And, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker, the fact that this is the same property that they tried to say nothing could be done with, Mr. Speaker, the stone that the builders rejected is now going to be the foundation on which our future in tour-ism prospers from. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker .

7 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

61 words

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I will not be long. First of all, I would like to say that if I were the Minister for Finance, or Jeremy Cox, I would be sending a bill to the OECD, FATF, and the EU for the regulatory burden that they have imposed upon us as a jurisdiction. A lot of what is going …

7 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

221 words

Thank you, Deputy Premier. And, you know, it is unfortunate that the EU can have such a level of extraterritorial reach where we have to now amend our tax system, we have to impose charges on companies that are servicing people who want to directly invest in Bermuda. I think it is unfortunate. What I got up to say, though, …

7 Dec 2018 House of Assembly

Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly

17 words

Point of order, Mr. S peaker. Hon. L. Craig Cannonier: We are going to get to that.