The Minister of Home Affairs said the Government will “continue the fight” for what it believes is correct after a Bill aimed at expanding the powers of the Cost of Living Commission was voted down in the Senate this week.

Alexa Lightbourne also lamented non-compliance by some grocers to provide the commission with pricing details — a move she claimed goes against the law and which she described as “unacceptable”.

The Cost of Living Amendment Commission (No 2) Act 2026 would enable price-increase controls on essential commodities and allow for the designation, price-information monitoring and price sharing of critical services.

It was defeated when it came for a third reading in the Upper House on Monday after objections were raised, leading to a vote.

Zach Moniz, the manager of Lindo’s, said price controls could hamper the industry, increase shopping bills and reduce consumer choice.

He insisted that the sector was not consulted on the legislation or an earlier law change — the Cost of Living Amendment (No 1) Act — or related regulations requiring businesses to provide a monthly breakdown of how costs are set on essential items.

In an interview with the Bermuda Broadcasting Company later on Monday, Ms Lightbourne said she did not believe consultation with stakeholders was the reason behind the Bill’s failure to pass the Senate.

She said: “The Bill seeks to understand more … it never says that we will not consult, we did consult and I don’t think consultation is the crux of why the decision was made.

“I think, short of speculation, there must be something else.”

The minister said people had been urging the Government to address the cost of living, noting that the administration sought to advance legislation aligned with its policies and promises.

“We will be instructed by new information and we won’t stop fighting for what the Government believes is correct,” she said of the outcome in the Senate.

Ms Lightbourne said that the proposed law set out a framework for retailers to provide the Cost of Living Commission with final pricing details.

The commission requested data from five grocers however, only one responded, she added.

Ms Lightbourne said: “We are not attempting to begin a war, because the only people that suffer is the public.

“What we want is to have a level of ownership, accountability just as the public wishes for us to be accountable for our decisions … accountable for our promises and accountable for our delivery.”

In July, the amendment made it through the House of Assembly but when it was taken to the Upper House later, opposition and independent senators voted against allowing it to progress to a third reading, pushing a final vote on the amendments to the sitting on Monday.

Opponents claimed the legislation would allow the Government to set price controls on certain items.

The Bermuda Chamber of Commerce expressed concerns about “regulatory overreach” in the legislation.

In a position paper, the chamber said its concerns went beyond the legislation to a host of “ministerial-override proposals”, including banking and electricity regulation.

It said the regulations were not proportional to the benefits it described as “roughly $3 per household per week”.

The business group acknowledged that food in particular was “expensive in Bermuda”, and that duty relief was “welcome”.

It insisted, however, that “prior approval, cost-file standstill and ministerial override of retail price movements will not reduce what the household pays and carries a real risk of the opposite outcome”.

Instead, the chamber said it supported a publicly reported “periodic independent walk-through of a randomly selected shipment to verify that duty relief already granted has reached the shelf”.

“The Bill’s name points to cost of living; its mechanisms do not,” it added.