Dear Sir,

Bermuda has been winning the “competition for quality foreign businesses” game for as long as anyone can remember. Yet if one was to have a few hundred million to invest in a start-up today, a cursory examination of Bermuda’s present state of the nation might be cause for pausing and digging a little deeper.

If you hunt around on Google Search for negative articles about Bermuda, your efforts will not be wasted. “Police To Investigate Bermuda Housing Corporation Scandal”, “Bermuda Premier Resigns Over Jetgate Scandal”, “Bermuda Government Denies Bribery Allegations” ... the list goes on.

But one set of search results seem different — those that deal with the terrible state of finances, which the Corporation of Hamilton finds itself in. “When Par-la-Ville Car Park Taken Over By Receivers” pops up, now we enter a different world: a government entity actually defaulting on a loan guarantee?

The financial problems of the corporation must be dealt with without any further delay. This is not a case where the Government of Bermuda can look askance at the state of the corporation and choose to see it as “not our” problem. Yes, the state of the corporation while in the clutches of “Team Hamilton” became and remains shocking. But “Team Hamilton” is gone and we now have a responsible administration in place.

Minister Michael Fahy may have all of the best intentions in the world, but he cannot solve this problem without the full support of Cabinet.

Whatever Cabinet’s plans are for the future of the Corporation of Hamilton, allowing the corporation to flounder about gasping for breath will not help anyone.

It is time for the Premier to step forward and exhibit true leadership, directing the Minister of Finance to provide the corporation with whatever support it requires to return to a firm foundation.

DAVID BEDARD