A major economic group has given its final thoughts in a row with the Government after a Cabinet minister claimed the group was noncollaborative.

The Bermuda Chamber of Commerce, in a joint statement released last night, said it was “regrettable” for the group to have been painted as nonengaging.

The statement added: “This assertion does not reflect our track record, not the many engagements we have had across multiple ministries.”

The statement was released after Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour, described the chamber as lacking “meaningful collaboration” in a ZBM interview that aired Monday night.

He said during the interview: “There has been no example of where the chamber has come together and worked with the Government on any economic initiative since the Progressive Labour Party has been re-established into the Government.”

Mr Hayward later went on to suggest that the chamber’s feedback towards the Economic Development Strategy was “extremely shallow and anaemic”.

The statement said that the chamber represented nearly 700 business across “every major sector of Bermuda’s economy”.

It then listed off eight challenges that the chamber had worked with the Government on, including contributing to work-permit reform and offering input into a payroll tax scheme.

The statement added: “While this collaboration may not always be public or headline-grabbing, it has been consistent, deliberate and focused on tangible improvements.”

It said the chamber had suggested several enhancements, including meetings, government liaisons and better data-sharing.

It added: “These are not symbolic gestures — they are actionable steps towards better collaboration.”

Relations between the chamber and Government have been tense over the past week.

David Burt, the Premier, appeared to suggested in the House of Assembly on June 13 that the group’s work on housing and population numbers was guesswork.

Marico Thomas, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, hit back against this suggestion, describing the group’s data as “responsible analysis”.

He later added: “Dismissive remarks, without explanation, can inadvertently undermine collaboration.”

A spokeswoman for the Cabinet Office later said that Mr Thomas had misinterpreted the Premier’s comments, adding that he was not directly speaking about the chamber’s presentation.

In the same interview with ZBM, Mr Hayward said that the chamber and the Government had “conflicting data” because of “the inability of the chamber to work together with the Government on economic development”.

He added: “I’m calling on the chamber to be more proactive as it pertains to having meaningful engagement with the Government around economic development initiatives so that we can work on one of these policy solutions together.

“If the Chamber of Commerce has policy solutions that they would want the Government to consider as it pertains to improving the economy, then I’m all ears and I’m happy to collaborate with the chamber as much as I can.”

The Ministry of Economy and Labour has been contacted for a response.

• To view the full statement, see Related Media

Download PDF File

Bermuda Chamber of Commerce's Response to Jason Hayward.pdf