This is the second part of a report from the House of Assembly of a debate that was sparked when Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards brought a motion on the Statistics Department’s findings that 698 jobs were lost last year, of which 691 were expatriates. The first part of the report appeared in Saturday’s newspaper.UBP MP Kim Swan rose next, noting: “We get various accounts as to how the recession came upon us.”He said he agreed with Mr Richards that “warning bells were often consistent, and laughed at”.Mr Swan chastised Government for not putting aside reserves during the years that the economy was doing well.He said the Government should put the same emphasis it places on the bottom line as on people’s lives.Premier Paula Cox said that the Government was the “party of yes” while its critics were “the party of no”.She said the Government’s position is to “support investment and growth and not one that is about cut, slash and austerity”.She said: “You will note that those governments in further shores than ours which espoused the economic model that was focused on austerity have toppled unceremoniously.“This Government is one that is focused on growth, investment and recognises the value of investing in preserving jobs. That is where we stand and that is where we are.”The Premier added that her administration was seeking to open up the Bermuda economy and remove trade barriers.“What our job is to grow the economy, grow the pie as opposed to cutting the pie in different slices. That means you’ve got to open up opportunities for commerce and open up your trading relationships.”Ms Cox noted that “Governments of the future are looking at what are the opportunities for the future and to create and grow the pie.”That meant creating “economic centres” that can generate revenue. But Government is also focused on helping the vulnerable.“Job creation is the way this economy will recover,” the Premier concluded.“And it will recover because we are putting in place sound defensible, rational policies that inspire confidence and that cause people to want to bring people here.”And she criticised those who want to “promote the pabulum that there hasn’t been any adverse effect by a global recession.”“Because this Government has never said that they have no responsibility for anything. But we have said let’s be realistic now. So let’s not be mischievous.”Bermuda Government is a top employer — a fact which demonstrates its commitment to preserve jobs. She said while Government is embarking on efficiency reviews. But her administration will not follow others’ advice to cut jobs. “Where are those people going to go? Who’s going to take care of them? What’s going to happen?”The Opposition had the luxury of saying “anything that may be cloud cuckoo land” because they would not be made accountable.And she said it was wrong to suggest that the Government had not been implementing training programmes as the National Training Board had been working hard since 1998.She pointed to the expansion of economic empowerment zones to the east and west ends of the Island as promoting “centres of excellence and enterprise and entrepreneurship.”The Premier said that she had received feedback from small business people who were happy with the economic model and only wanted “little things addressed”.“We are not only going to deal with the little things, we are also going to deal with the big ideas.”Opposition Spokesperson for Seniors Louise Jackson then rose to appeal to Government to assist the elderly with legislation prohibiting age discrimination to remove a barrier for them to work.She reminded her colleagues that half of all seniors were living below the poverty line and many needed to work. And she cited an example of an elderly couple who could not afford health insurance for both of them.Seniors, she said, had been more impacted by the recession than any other group of people.“They are desperate for jobs. But this Government has not seen fit to do something that would help them immensely,” she said.“And that is to include in the Human Rights Act, age discrimination.”Ms Jackson said: “I can’t for the life of me see why this Government is being so slow to do this.”Families Minister Glenn Blakeney rose to say that age discrimination legislation was not a simple matter as it applied to all ages.“It’s not just a question of age discrimination being looked at for seniors only.”Ms Jackson said: “I do understand the dilemma and I still plead for help there.”OBA MP Pat Gordon-Pamplin criticised the Government for what she said was an arrogant attitude toward Opposition recommendations.“When we make recommendations in terms of how we can improve the plight of our people, we are laughed at and scorned,” she said.And she noted that “growth and austerity are not mutually exclusive”.Ignoring austerity measures will lead to more debt, taxes and business failures, Ms Gordon-Pamplin added.She said that many firms were now outsourcing work offshore.“Something is wrong when our local businesses — the majority of their time, effort and energy is being spent trying to move jobs offshore, recognising the challenges that are existing for the people of Bermuda.”And she called on Government to be honest about the economic reality.“When a party that is in Government does things in isolation in its own cocoon and it refuses to change and adopt innovative ideas because its coming from somewhere else, you’re going to get the same results.”OBA Leader Craig Cannonier said it was critical to have a certain level of employment for Bermuda’s economic survival. “If I draw back to this graph, we’re not there yet.”The Bermuda Job Market Employment Briefs reveals where the opportunities are, he said.“Sixty five percent of the pharmacists in this country are foreign, a job that does well by those Bermudians that are involved in it.”But he said Bermuda had done a poor job in letting young people know where the opportunities are before going overseas for higher education.“Numbers do not lie. Five years ago we saw the trend, and every entrepreneur in this room — people who work in business — know that when you start seeing those trends you act immediately,” he said.“There needs to be a sense of urgency of now. Three thousand plus Bermudians are not working right now. And they don’t want to hear about something that’s coming in the future, they want to know what are we doing about right now.”He said: “If you’re open for business, then turn the lights on. Because Bermudians want to get back to work.”Charles Swan, of the United Bermuda Party, rose to say that the economy had to rely on people from overseas because the population is not growing and many young people who go away to school sometimes do not want to come back to the Island.“Our young people need to know that there is opportunity here and you can go and grab it. But it comes at a price — it’s not going to be handed to you.”He said: “I am an eternal optimist. I know things are going to get better but I do think it’s going to take a lot of time.”