Request for Comments / Report to Government

We will take the initiative to submit a report to the Government with a view to assisting the recently negotiated three-staged approach for considering immigration reform. On this basis, we are asking all out supporters to provide us with feedback on the legislation: What parts do they agree with? What parts do think need to be changed? How can we generally improve the legislation so that it is responsive to the needs of Bermudians and long term residents? We ask anyone to email their comments to pathwaytostatusbermuda@gmail.com by Monday, 4 April 2016. We will then put together a report which we will subsequently submit to the Government and make publicly available. The following documents will be of assistance for any comments: Government Bill: http://cloudfront.bernews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Bermuda-Immigration-and-Protection-Amendment-Act-2016-As-Tabled-in-the-House.pdf Minister Fahy’s comments: http://www.gov.bm/portal/index.pt//gateway/PTARGS_0_2_19826_809_235522_43/http%3B/ptpublisher.gov.bm%3B7087/publishedcontent/publish/ministry_home_affairs/home_affairs_mission/2016_press_releases/remarks_pathways_final_feb_5.pdf Work Permit Policies 2015: http://www.gov.bm/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_19651_214_232817_43/http%3B/ptpublisher.gov.bm%3B7087/publishedcontent/publish/ministry_of_labour___haps/immigration/wp_documents/work_permit_policy_effective_1st_march_2015___as_at_12_march.pdf The following are lines of inquiry which you may wish to consider when submitting your comments. Relating to the Pathways proposals: • Are the child and family provisions in the Bill sufficient? • Are quotas acceptable? Under what circumstances would they be acceptable? • Are the timelines laid down in the Bill acceptable? 10 years to PRC – family and child provisions 15 year to PRC – other long-term residents 20 years to Bermudian status • What scope should there be for moving from these timelines? • What other pieces missing from the immigration legislation should be included? Relating to the Work Permit proposals, which will run in parallel with the above, we would welcome comments on the following: • Amendments to address a living wage and training requirements for Bermudians; • Cracking down further on unscrupulous business tactics that undermine Bermudian labour; • Working more with the International Business sector to provide summer job opportunities for Bermudians; • Continuing with Government’s efforts to similarly provide such summer job opportunities; • Continued robust enforcement of Work Permit policies through; and • Such other matters of mutual interest as may be agreed. We will use those comments to help compile our report. If you do email us, please indicate if you would like for your name to be included in the report in our acknowledgements section. DON'T FORGET to keep sharing the petition. It is still active and will be ongoing throughout this consultation process.