MPs reconsider Human Rights Act harassment amendment
The Human Rights Act will take centre stage again in the House of Assembly this morning as legislators reconsider an amendment intended to expand the definition of unlawful harassment.Government was defeated in its bid to withdraw the amendment — deemed flawed because of a subsection which exempted the police from its provisions — when it was brought to the House on June 14.Opposition MPs argued that only the offending subsection should be removed. But Senators removed the amendment entirely when the bill was brought to the Upper Chamber, and sent it back to Parliament for approval of the change.It is understood that PLP MPs will maintain its opposition to removing the entire clause in today’s debate. It narrowly won the June 14 vote (15-14) on the matter when OBA backbencher Kenneth Bascome did not make it back to the Chamber in time, and independent MP Terry Lister voted with the Opposition party.PLP MP Glenn Blakeney was the only Opposition MP absent from the House then, while the OBA was missing Bob Richards, Premier Craig Cannonier, and Nandi Davis.Government will also ask Parliament to approve tax concessions for the Fairmont Hamilton Princess under the Hotel Concessions Act, amend the Child Day Care Allowance Act to allow conditions such as parenting classes to be imposed on recipients and to limit the annual value of new Bermuda Government Scholarships to $35,000.Legislators will also debate a PLP motion led by Shadow Tourism Minister Wayne Furbert seeking to have all consultancy contracts worth more than $50,000 to be tabled in Parliament within 30 days after signing.