Lightbourne hails Cost of Living Summit a success
Business leaders in the retail, wholesale and utilities sectors have pledged to take action to reduce the cost of living, the home affairs minister said today.
Alexa Lightbourne made the claim in a statement to the House of Assembly about the Cost of Living Summit held this week.
She said: “The ministry is particularly grateful that industry partners in the retail, wholesale and utilities sectors have already committed to doing things to improve affordability.”
However, Ms Lightbourne did not provide details of any of the commitments that the sectors had devised, saying only that they will be published on the government website “in the coming weeks”.
The minister described the summit, which attracted more than 250 attendees, as “a significant milestone” of “candid and constructive dialogue”.
She also said that it had “inspired” government policy and showed the importance of collaboration.
Ms Lightbourne said: “The ministry acknowledged that it was neither feasible nor effective to place the full burden of solving this issue solely on the Government but rather to invite collaboration.
“The true success of the summit lies not only in the policies it inspired but in the collective spirit it reignited.
“Through the summit, we were reminded that personal responsibility is a seed, but it must be watered by collaboration and shared resolve.”
Although the minister highlighted the need for business leaders to help legislators tackle the issue, she conceded that many of the recommendations put forward by panellists at the summit required action from the Government.
Referring to a panel featuring restaurateurs, food retailers and wholesalers, which explored the drivers of food pricing, including duties, shipping and operational overheads, Ms Lightbourne said: “The panel advocated for consumer education, regulatory reform, agriculture policy review and increased availability of white-label and non-branded goods as cost-saving alternatives.”
She said that participants on an agriculture and fishing panel “recommended revisiting legislative restrictions to enable responsible import expansion while ensuring protection from invasive species”.
MPs heard: “The summit met its core objective — to educate, inform, invite feedback and demonstrate the power and potential of collective problem-solving against the backdrop of real data provided by the survey which validated and contextualised the lived experiences of the public to inform policy refinement, legislative reform and near-term action.”
Ms Lightbourne’s positive take on the summit was in contrast to an assessment by the Opposition’s Michael Fahy.
The Shadow Minister of Home Affairs said this week that he learnt nothing new from the summit and questioned why the Government had repeatedly failed to introduce simple legislation that would ease cost of living challenges.
He said on Thursday: “It would appear that the Government is out of ideas, which is why we had this summit.
“Having sat through most of it yesterday, I can honestly say that I didn’t hear anything that I haven’t heard over the last five to ten years.”
The home affairs minister was vague when she was asked by Michael Fahy, the shadow minister, about the Cost of Living Summit in the House of Assembly.
When he sought her response on what she thought the “No. 1 solution” that emerged from the conference was, Alexa Lightbourne said that “each sector had their own respective learnings” and asked the Opposition MP if he could specify a panel.
Mr Fahy then asked if the minister agreed that increasing economies of scale was a common theme that ran through the summit and was supported by contributors in every panel discussion.
Ms Lightbourne replied: “I wouldn’t say that I would agree that each of the panels concluded that that was ‘the’ solution, but as part of the discussion, as part of the intent of the Cost of Living Summit, options were explored using industry professionals and stakeholders to unpack some of the provisions associated with it. But I would invite the member to direct questions to the Minister of Economy and Labour as appropriate to further address those particular concerns.”
The home affairs minister was asked if she thought it was important to try to bring as many people as possible to Bermuda — and for Bermudians to return — in order to increase those economies of scale.
Ms Lightbourne replied: “That was not the conclusion nor the statement that I left nor the feedback that was collated or the notes of the scores of individuals who attended.
“I think what happened in the Cost of Living Summit and the various industry panel discussions that took place were a litany of discussions, contributions, considerations, that could solve cost in Bermuda.
“I think the fact that … our economy is declining to some degree did not mean that we must as an absolute conclusion increase our population. I think we explored a number of solutions.
“I’m not sure what the honourable member would like me to respond to.”
Asked what she believed was “the main actionable strategy” for saving energy costs, Ms Lightbourne said that the utilities discussion panel had “unpacked a number of options”.
She said: “Recognising that the regulator is the entity that supports any sort of policy consideration that the Government may draft, a number of options were explored regarding how we might, on behalf of the consumers, lower energy costs. And so there isn’t one that I would leave or suggest to be more important or ‘the’ solution for energy costs.
“It is going to be a collaboration of both industry stakeholders [and] the public as part of the solution to lower energy costs.”
Mr Fahy then asked Ms Lightbourne if she agreed that increasing the island’s population would reduce energy costs.
She replied: “I’m not sure that population was a part of my ministerial statement.
“I think we talked about the Cost of Living Summit and the various solutions and cross-sector collaboration was the spirit and also the emphasis of the statement.”
Ms Lightbourne was asked how much the summit had cost the taxpayer.
She replied that details of the cost will be included in a forthcoming report. When pressed by Mr Fahy for an approximate figure, she gave the same answer.
Ms Lightbourne said today that her ministry was in the process of collating summit feedback and combining it with survey data.
A report will be tabled in the House and published for the public.
The minister said: “This final report will include both the data, summit costs and the solutions that will be advanced towards affordability.”
Ms Lightbourne added that the Cost of Living Commission was to review the summit’s outcomes “and contribute to the public communications of the ministry’s affordability strategy, including its implementation road map and regulatory reform timeline”.
She concluded: “The Ministry of Home Affairs has demonstrated that it is committed to action over rhetoric.
“This Cost of Living Summit confirmed that when government, industry and the community unite — not just in words, but in work — real progress is not only possible but it is inevitable.
“The 2025 Cost of Living Summit will be remembered as a moment in our history that Bermuda did not just talk about relief but we built it, together.”
• To see the minister’s remarks in full, see Related Media
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