Premier has misled everyone — again

For the second week in a row — Premier Craig Cannonier has taken to the Op-Ed pages to mislead the people of Bermuda.

In his opinion piece dated March 19th, when speaking about the OBA Budget, Premier Cannonier said: “It pays down the national debt by $120 million.” Wait – did the entire country miss the fact that in Bermuda we magically created a budget surplus overnight? Of course not.

While the Premier continues to mislead the public, the facts are laid bare in the OBA’s Budget statement.

Page 33 of his own Government’s Budget Statement shows that the projected budget deficit for the next year is $267 million. Premier Cannonier, allow me to give you a lesson in finance 101 — you cannot reduce the national debt if you are taking in $267 million less than you plan to spend.

Further on in the Budget Statement on Page 40, there are more facts that directly contradict the fiction that the Premier is trying to peddle to Bermuda when it says net debt will increase from $1.772 billion to $1.987 billion during this year.

The Ministry of Finance says that Bermuda will have an INCREASE in net debt of $215 Million — yet the Premier continues to say that we will pay down the debt by $120 million this year. Bermuda, let me repeat the true facts, the budget as presented on paper projects to borrow $267 million and will increase our net debt by $215 million.

Any arguments that this budget reduces the national debt are false and misleading and the Premier of Bermuda should know better! One must question why the Premier would repeat the same falsehood for two weeks in a row? One must only assume that it is to push a false narrative of progress while Bermudians continue to lose jobs. There have been just under 1,000 jobs lost in the last year — with more and more Bermudians facing job losses and reduced hours.

Instead, the Premier points to the fact the unemployment rate is falling — but that is not because people are finding work — it is because they are getting discouraged and are giving up looking for work or leaving the country. In fact, over the past year 621 people left the workforce! This is not a positive trend — but yet the Premier points to this drop in the unemployment rate as progress. It is not.

Similarly, while the Premier speaks about budget discipline, he neglects to remind the public that his OBA Government overspent their current account budget by $45 million this year despite wage concessions from government workers.

He neglects to acknowledge the fact that his OBA Government increased travel spending by 48 per cent during its first year in office.

It stands to reason why the Premier avoids interviews, refuses to take questions at press conferences, and appears on talk radio without questions allowed from the listening audience.

It is clear that the leader of this country does not wish for his false and misleading statements to be challenged publicly.

Bermuda deserves better leadership than those who would hide behind legal manoeuvres to deflect from legitimate questions of conduct in public office.

Bermuda deserves better leadership than those who would mislead the public about the state of finances in Bermuda.

Bermuda deserves better leadership than those who refuse to engage with the media and the citizens for whom they work out of fear of answering the tough questions.

Bermuda deserves better leadership than what it receives from Premier Craig Cannonier.

David Burt is the Shadow Finance Minister.