Premier Craig Cannonier wants Bermuda to have more say on the selection of the Police Commissioner and the Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment, even though the two posts are filled based on recommendations from committees largely made up of Bermudians.The OBA leader also wants the country to have more say in the selection of the Governor, who has ultimate approval over the nominees for Police Commissioner and the Regiment’s CO.Mr Cannonier is calling for the changes as part of a move towards "self-determination", despite admitting in the House of Assembly that the very phrase was new to him. The Premier, however, stopped short of calling for independence when he was asked to clarify his comments in the House, following his trip to Gibraltar last week to meet with the leaders of the other British Overseas Territories.“It is believed that with the constitutions among the Overseas Territories, self-determination is to have more say in the running of the country,” the Premier told the House on Friday. “An example of that would be in the choosing of the Governor. It was felt that we do not have enough determination over who that person was.“As the Premier of this country, I believe we need more say. We need more say in determining who our Governor is, who runs Regiment and the police. We need more say in that and that’s what we’re discussing.”However, acting Governor David Arkley pointed out yesterday that Bermuda already has a substantial say in who fills the two key posts Mr Cannonier mentioned. He declined to comment on the selection of a Governor saying it would be "inappropriate to comment on the issue" as that was determined between the Queen and the Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs.“As for the Commanding Officer of the Regiment and the Commissioner of Police, the legislation is clear on these points, the ultimate decision lies with the Governor, acting either in his discretion or after consulting others,” wrote Mr Arkley in an email.“In both cases he receives advice. In the case of the CO from the Promotions Board (all Bermudians) and in the case of the Commissioner from a selection panel (in the most recent case made up of two thirds Bermudians) and the Public Service Commission (all Bermudians). This represents a significant Bermudian involvement in the selection of these positions.”The Premier was forced to defend comments he made, via a press release, about the Gibraltar trip when Marc Bean, the leader of the Progressive Labour Party, took him to task for not delivering a ministerial statement on the matter, something that would have allowed the Opposition to question Mr Cannonier.Instead the PLP were allowed to raise the matter by Randolph Horton, the Speaker of the House, as a subject of "urgent national importance".“When the Premier says that self-determination is a new term, all I can say is that I get very nervous whenever the Premier represents us and sometimes I feel embarrassed,” said Mr Bean.The Opposition leader asked the Premier what Government’s position was regarding the powers reserved to the Governor, noting that only the fact that the Governor had reserved powers — for security and foreign affairs — prevented Bermuda from being independent.“That hasn’t been determined. This is something new we are discussing as Overseas Territories,” the Premier responded.Mr Cannonier would not say what other areas were discussed in addition to the concern about being able to choose the Governor, saying the Gibraltar meeting had agreed not to go public on other matters.