Residents who receive government assistance should no longer be refused housing and other services on that basis after MPs voted to amend the Human Rights Act.

The Human Rights Amendment Bill 2026, approved in the House of Assembly on Friday, also makes it illegal to discriminate against someone based on with whom they associate.

Tinée Furbert, the Minister of Youth, Social Development and Seniors, said that the amendments were designed to “strengthen and improve the Government's social protections for persons within the community by closing identified gaps in Bermuda's current human rights legislation”.

The original Act did not protect people refused housing based on receiving government assistance or because their friend or relative may have had a criminal record.

Ms Furbert told MPs: “The strengthening of our human rights legislation removes limitations on persons’ human dignity, respect and the right to equal treatment that is owed to all members of our community.”

Scott Pearman, the deputy leader of the One Bermuda Alliance, and Shadow Attorney-General and Minister of Municipalities, practised human rights law in London for 13 years.

He highlighted that the amendment referred to “discrimination by association” without defining the term and called for a pause to the Bill until a definition is added.

Ms Furbert responded that the Human Rights Commission is working on defining the term, but doing so within the Act would be limiting.

She explained: “We need to give leverage because there are so many different circumstances, we’d be changing [the term] every six months.”