PLP: Conscription would be dead already if OBA had worked with us

Statement by Shadow Public Safety Minister Michael Scott

The PLP welcomes solutions for reform as we move forward with ending conscription and modernizing the Bermuda Regiment.  While the options presented by Mr. Marshall and Bermudians Against the Draft are not the only options, they represent a starting point in the discussion of what an effective, 21st Century Bermuda Regiment looks like and how it operates. This discussion on the way forward must not, however be used as an excuse to further delay ending conscription.

The PLP's Abolition of Conscription Bill is ready and would have been debated if the OBA had collaborated with us and kept their promise to end conscription.  If the OBA had worked with us last year, together we could have consigned conscription to the dustbin of history, but unfortunately, they refused to collaborate with us to move Bermuda forward. It is our hope that the coming Parliamentary session will see a change of heart within the OBA, that they will collaborate with us on our Bill and together we will end conscription once and for all.