Premier Craig Cannonier gave the following address to the people of Bermuda this evening.

Good evening Bermuda, It’s been one year since I had the privilege of becoming your Premier. It’s been a very challenging but rewarding year. When the country voted for change, Bermuda was in deep, deep trouble.

We were faced with domestic and international challenges, from record high unemployment: well over a billion dollars in debt, gang shootings, a tourism industry that was on life support and an international business sector that felt disenfranchised and had lost interest in us …. because quite frankly, we had lost interest in them ….

On December 17, we took the reins with a single minded focus — to provide social and economic equity for all meaning a good paying job, safe neighbourhoods and great schools — to create a community where no one is left behind.

Our aim is to breathe life back into the economy, to restore hope and dignity to individuals and families from one end of the island to the other; to move Bermuda in the right direction and on a clear path for success.

From the start, we moved forward with our jobs and economic turnaround plan:

To rebuild the islands’ economic foundation. The Bermuda we were elected to govern was in a financial and reputational tailspin; something I believe all Bermudians understood in their gut, and in their wallets.

So we took months to assess what we had inherited.

As you’ve heard, after our extensive ‘look under the hood’, we discovered that our worse fears, paled in comparison to the reality that faced us and continues to face us:

A bloated and unsustainable budget, thousands of people out of work, thousands of people who have left our shores, an education system whose core issues were never resolved, unsafe neighbourhoods and an unaffordable Bermuda.

One of our first actions was to stabilise the economy, seeking out emergency loans because the government was literally running out of money.

We discovered that our reputation as a place to do business had taken a beating. International business, the mainstay of our economy had been shifting people

and jobs overseas. This directly impacted Bermudians. We lost jobs.

That, coupled with bureaucratic red tape and alienating policies was quickly destroying our economy.

I am consumed with finding new ways to create jobs for Bermudians NOW!

I’ve heard your stories … I know your pain. It is very, very real. I want you to know that we’ve been working hard on your behalf, laying the foundation to create the right environment for building confidence in Bermuda again to create much needed jobs.

Our focus is on stimulating foreign direct investment to create those much needed jobs.

What do I mean by that? Foreign Direct Investment in the infrastructure of Bermuda means getting new hotels built, rebuilding the airport and similar projects that will produce jobs sooner rather than later!

I’m proud of the efforts of my Ministers and their teams in the Civil Service. I’ve put a tremendous amount of pressure on them to fulfil our mandate.

There’s no time to waste. People’s livelihoods depend on us.

I’m proud to say that in our first year alone, we’ve laid over 45 pieces of legislation to move Bermuda in the right direction.

When it comes to jobs for Bermudians and to make Bermuda a more attractive place to do business, we ended Term Limits.

After the first three quarters of 2013, Bermuda recorded the highest number of local and international company formations since 2008, ending five years of relatively

consistent decline in total companies on the Register and setting the stage for further job creation.

Since we passed payroll tax exemptions for employers to hire out-of-work Bermudians, the Island has recorded two consecutive quarters of job growth.

We’ve added 420 new jobs for Bermudians between April 1st and September 30.

That’s what good policies do.

Regarding St. George’s, we’ve repealed the Park Hyatt Act opening the doors to investors interested in developing the former Club Med site.

Regarding international business and opportunities for local construction, we’ve created an economic development committee. The EDC has effectively cut the red tape and laid

down a system to streamline business development applications, once again setting the stage for new jobs.

While previous administrations talked about creating a Tourism Authority, we actually did it ... within our first year.

Everyone benefits from a strong tourism product: Parishes, municipalities, our vendors, our hotels, restaurants, taxi drivers, grocery stores, … the story continues.

We have every confidence that the Tourism Authority will find innovative ways to revive the industry.

We have also been travelling and letting people know that Bermuda is an amazing place to conduct business. We have a high concentration of intellectual capital, coupled with the natural beauty of the island and its people.

But, we must do more, Bermuda, for our economy.

The SAGE Commission called on all Bermudians to advise us on ways to improve government services and accountability. The result is a comprehensive report, which after public consultation and debate will lead to a leaner, more efficient government. It is only ONE important component of the turnaround plan. It is NOT the entire plan.

One of the components of social and economic equity is safe communities. So, we provided the police with more manpower. We opened the St. George’s Police Station.

We activated gang mediation with trained individuals working in high impact areas to calm tensions.

We believe in the collaborative process. So we called upon our communities and church groups to also get involved. Today, due to these initiatives crime is at the lowest levels

since the year 2000.

As a result, many of our seniors are no longer fearful to walk the streets and our children are not being held hostage in their own neighbourhoods.

A few more highlights of our first year:

* We outlawed discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and age.

* We cut Cabinet Ministers pay by 10%

* We passed municipal reforms to make sure taxpayers had a place at the table where decisions are taken. These are all encouraging signs and they represent a good start toward recovery and renewal.

As a new administration, we’ve also learned a lot:

That relationships are the glue that will keep these initiatives together.

That the way forward is through collaboration because we know it works.

We brought the churches together from various denominations for a national day of prayer.

We collaborated simultaneously with six Unions on behalf of the Civil Service. In an unprecedented timeline of one month, we reached an agreement to reduce the cost of government expenses for the sake of the country.

We reinstated the Economic Tripartite Committee to find even more ways to make Bermuda more affordable with grocery stores reducing the cost of food by ten percent.

We’re talking with businesses on both sides of the Atlantic about the merits of conducting business in Bermuda and we will continue to solidify existing relationships and reach around the globe to seek out new investors. We value the relationships we have with our senior citizens and their contributions to this community.

We understand their challenges and that’s why we’ve made healthcare more affordable for everyone through Futurecare.

We understand the frustrations of our young people. We realise that we must have a Bermuda that young people can come home to, having committed to the sacrifice of getting an education.

We know they ask the question “Why should I return to Bermuda? What is there to come home to? I feel unsafe …. I can’t find a job … That’s why we were voted in — to provide the answers to those questions.

We know that investors were also asking ‘why should I come to Bermuda and bring my money? Others came and didn’t feel welcome … … well, today, those businesses have

told me personally their confidence is returning.

We recently started our second year with an increased sense of purpose to restore and renew Bermuda-to make the necessary decisions as tough as they may be- with an urgency of Now.

The times are too serious

The stakes are too high.

I cannot continue to engage in party politics while people cannot feed their families or pay their bills. As your government, we’ve chosen to put people before politics. For example:

Last week I announced that the government will not proceed with the Gaming Referendum Act and instead take the vote to the House of Assembly. We will communicate directly with you in open and transparent public forums to understand your concerns.

Last week I also demonstrated that the shared sacrifice needed to move this country in the right direction will start at the top, so I reduced my Cabinet, from 13 to 10 — making a leaner and more efficient government and delivering savings to the taxpayer.

We heard you when you told us that you didn’t want the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Center closed in St. George’s. So we found a way to keep it open with the understanding that we will find a workable solution to satisfy all stakeholders.

The New Year will bring new challenges. As you heard in the Throne Speech we’ve got an aggressive agenda- we’ve got a plan for success.

This is a country that we all love. It’s a country that we want to see prosper. But it’s also one of the smallest and most isolated islands in the world. Throughout our history, to survive, we’ve had to reinvent ourselves time and time again. Today, we have to do it again and believe me, we will.

With God’s help, we have always been able to overcome challenges from facing storms at sea and the hurricanes that have crossed our Island to economic adversity during global wars. We now face another challenge.

How we react to this challenge will define us as a people.

These are extraordinary times that will call for extraordinary measures.

But I want you to know that I am confident that we are moving in the right direction. There are still many more tough decisions to come, but we are on the right path.

God Bless You and Good Night Bermuda.