People’s Campaign leader Jason Hayward said he “does not expect any different activity” to last month’s protest when the controversial airport deal is debated in the House of Assembly on February 3.

Mr Hayward, who is president of the Bermuda Public Services Union, made reference to the activist group’s next steps and how they will compare to the events of December 2, when protesters were pepper-sprayed by police during a protest that involved the blocking of the gates of Parliament.

Mr Hayward was joined by the Reverend Nicholas Tweed and Bermuda Industrial Union president Chris Furbert to address an audience of 35, including the three speakers, at Clearwater Middle School last night in the first of three public forums.

During his address, Mr Hayward reiterated the manifesto of the campaign, including the economic empowerment of Bermudians, the need for a living wage, an equitable taxation system and an overhaul of the criminal justice system, while calling on suggestions for the vision of the movement’s future.

High on the agenda was the opportunity that lies ahead in the formation of co-operative business markets that will empower “employees and consumers to become business owners”.

Another prominent talking point was the airport deal, which the campaign steadfastly opposes. Notably missing from the discussion was the issue of the work-permit refusal of Mr Tweed — a driving force behind the People’s Campaign. The group has vehemently spoken out against the Bermuda Government’s decision to the point of planning a protest on February 3 in unison with the issue of the airport deal.

When asked by this newspaper during the question-and-answer session why the issue was not raised, Mr Hayward responded: “We are not insular in our operation. Reverend Tweed has alternatives that he is currently exploring and so there is no need for us to speak up on this particular matter in this forum — this forum is about moving our people forward. The People’s Campaign stands 100 per cent behind Reverend Tweed.

“In reference to the next steps for the campaign — on February 3, legislation needs to be passed in the House of Assembly. The conditions between December 2 and now have not changed, so I do not expect any different activity from what took place on December 2.”

Asked whether that meant the campaign would endorse the blocking of the entrance to Parliament and whether there was potential for people, including seniors, to be pepper-sprayed, Mr Hayward asked why The Royal Gazette was “feeding into the narrative that seniors were ‘planted in positions’ so they would be pepper-sprayed”.

He said: “You should ask the police commissioner if the people will be pepper-sprayed. I don’t know whether the police will make a call that they need to pepper-spray peaceful protesters but what we commit to do is to commit to peaceful, non-violent protesting,” to which those assembled applauded.

Mr Hayward described the airport as a “project ripe for privatisation” with Mr Furbert asking audience members during his address for suggestions on what the People’s Campaign plans to do “over the next two-and-a-half weeks”.

A significant portion of the evening was taken up with discussions about investing in co-operative businesses, starting with the existing BIU Credit Union, a banking system for union members and associates.

Mr Hayward said: “The BPSU has committed to at least bringing this conversation to the table. We attended an international cooperative summit. They create jobs and turn employees and consumers into business owners.

“We always talk about how we can grow our economy and what is the next pillar and what is innovative.

“You can penetrate current markets — it just takes us to work together. It is a more democratic organisation. The members make the decisions and there are opportunities for us to start cooperatives — we are exploring insurance cooperatives, we are exploring agricultural cooperatives, we are exploring energy cooperatives.”

The heart of the forum centred on ways in which the lives of Bermudians could be improved through individual efforts, through the collective effort of the community and through demands to be made on the government.

The issue of work permits arose with Mr Hayward asking audience members: “Since the removal of work permits has Bermudian employment gone up or down? Down. We have to look at what it has done to the Bermudian employer.

“Now there is no encouragement to train Bermudians because you can retain that expatriate worker who has that skill set. It may be best for your business but is it best for our people who are looking for employment in our country?”

He also spoke on the need for free education at Bermuda College, lower interest rates for students and financial-based scholarships, while delivering the message that as a community we need to work together to focus on education, training and retooling of skills.

Towards the end of the evening, a 32-year-old female speaker took to the stage to read a letter she had written to the One Bermuda Alliance imploring them to provide more accessible information to the public about the airport to help the public make an informed decision about it.

She said that she would be “flooding” the Government electronically via e-mail and social media with her message and she encouraged all to do the same.

The People’s Campaign’s other forums are tomorrow at Allen Temple AME, Somerset, and Saturday at St Paul AME Centennial Hall, Hamilton. Both start at 6.30pm.