Parade was rushed complains woolridge
Heritage Day parade, Senators were told yesterday.
Sen. Trevor Woolridge (PLP) said Government had rushed the parade in an attempt to get it over and done with. A number of participants were most disappointed, he claimed.
Intending to "make a day of it'', Bermudians had lined some streets from 6 a.m., and stayed around until 7 p.m.
"I'm not suggesting that the parade needs to last all that time,'' he said.
But Bermudians who had prepared for the parade should have had the opportunity to "strut their stuff and display their talents''.
Government brought in an outside person to advise on how long the parade should last, he said, and Bermudians did not need this.
"This Government is constantly trying to take the soul of our heritage,'' he added. Its view was: "Let's rush it through and get it over and done with''.
Sen. Woolridge also accused Government of "playing with the notion of whether we are a colony or a nation'' during the Bermuda Day opening ceremony. The national song, "Hail to Bermuda'', was sung but the national anthem, "God Save the Queen'', was not, he said.
It was wrong to give the national song the same stature as the national anthem, he said, and he had refused to stand up for it.
"I think it's important that if we want all of the benefits that go with independence, then we should go independent. But we certainly should not be trying to hoodwink the people into believing they are something that they are not.
"We're nothing more and nothing less than a colony of Great Britain.'' Sen.
Wendell Hollis (UBP) denied "Hail to Bermuda'' was being held out as the national anthem. At the Regiment concert on Sunday there was no confusion between the two, he said. There was no requirement for the anthem to be played on Bermuda Day.
Turning to the parade, he said young children had short attention spans. "I think it's fortunate the parade was not any longer. It's much more enjoyable if you can enjoy the parade and then move on.'' Opposition Senate leader Sen. Alex Scott said the parade was the creation of Bermudian traditions and it was wrong to bring in advisers and "race the majorettes through their paces''.
He then turned to Tuesday's Royal Gazette editorial, which commented on PLP plans for full-time cabinet ministers.
Sen. Scott attacked the editor for writing "we have heard that the PLP wants cabinet ministers to be paid $125,000 a year''.
This was "running a rumour for all it's worth'', said the Senator. It was a lie that the PLP wanted to pay ministers that sum, he said.
A PLP review might show only 10 ministers were needed in the cabinet, instead of the present 13, Sen. Scott added. Only seven might be needed.
"The editor is danger of making the Gazette a broadsheet or a circular for the UBP. It won't cost a penny more than it currently costs to run Parliament, to staff Parliament, to fund the pay vouchers of the cabinet ministers.'' He also slammed the Gazette editorial for questioning the amount of managerial talent in the PLP. The party had managers with experience and qualifications, he said, and it also had legal experts.
Government had not earned its reputation for managerial expertise, he added.
Sen. Jerome Dill (UBP) said it was right to stand up when "Hail to Bermuda'' was played, as it was the work of a Bermudian and should evoke national pride.
"Until such time as we all come together and recognise we're all Bermudians with something in common, how can we hope to aspire to independence?'' Last year there was uproar about the parade moving too slowly, he said. It was responsible to speed it up.
On PLP suggestions that the cabinet could shrink, he wondered whether national issues should be decided by smaller majorities of ministers than at present.
Sen. Trevor Woolridge.