Dear Madam President, Honourable Members of the Senate,
It is both a profound honour and a solemn responsibility to rise and speak in this Chamber for the first time. I do so with humility, gratitude, and a deep sense of duty to the people of Bermuda the very people whose hopes, frustrations, and daily realities we are all here to represent.
I am, at my core, a doer. I believe in action. And sometimes, I must confess, that brings me frustration, frustration with systems that move too slowly, with structures that resist change, and with attitudes that confuse process for progress.
I get frustrated when I see capable men and women, good public officers constrained by rigidities and weighed down by old habits. I get frustrated when our institutions recoil from bold decisions and retreat into routine. Too often, we hide behind what has been done before, even when we know it has not worked.
But Madam President, we are all human all subject to frailty, to failure, and to fear. And yet, as leaders, we cannot allow our fears to dictate our future.
If we are to serve our people well, we must be decisive, courageous, and unafraid to think differently. Because true service is not about self-preservation, it is about public transformation.
Madam President,
Too many of us have forgotten a simple truth we own nothing in this life. We cannot take power, wealth, or possessions with us. We are merely temporary stewards, caretakers of the positions we hold, the opportunities we are given, and the blessings we enjoy.
So let us act accordingly. Let us lead with humility, compassion, and justice, knowing that no one is inherently better than anyone else.
At some point in life, we can no longer blame our past for how we choose to live today. After a certain age, life becomes a reflection not of where you came from, but of what you decide to become. Healing is your responsibility. Growth must be your decision.
If we want a better Bermuda, we must each begin by taking responsibility for the part we play in shaping it.
Madam President,
The cries of the public are not faint, they are loud, persistent, and often painful. I have listened to the frustrations of ordinary Bermudians, those who feel unseen and unheard. I have also listened to the frustrations of our public servants, those working tirelessly within a system that often seems unwilling to reward initiative or embrace innovation.
At the same time, I cannot ignore the economic imbalance that persists within our borders. In a country this small, it is alarming that so much economic power is held by so few. A handful of entities control vast segments of our market, from shipping to milk distribution, from road
paving to tourism, from grocery stores to the importation of basic goods.
We speak of fairness, yet we continue to accept an imbalance that stifles opportunity and locks too many Bermudians out of true ownership.
If only we had more visionaries among us leaders motivated not by personal gain but by national purpose. If only we had more decision-makers who truly understand what is happening in our communities, in our schools, and in the hearts of our people.
Madam President,
Bermuda, in all her beauty, has become a nation defined too often by self-interest, complacency, and greed. Yet, I refuse to believe that this is who we are destined to be.
We could have been and still can be, something far greater.
A country that puts its people first. A country that embraces free markets, yes, but ensures that its citizens have a real stake in the ownership and the success of its economy. Imagine a Bermuda where the majority of our national assets, our businesses, our industries, our innovations, are owned by Bermudians themselves.
Such a nation would not just be wealthy it would be proud. Its workers would give 120% each day because their labour would build their country, their future, and their legacy.
Without vision, Madam President, we perish. And I fear that our lack of vision our absence of long-term, courageous, people-centred planning is costing us dearly.
It is remarkable that this small island, once debt-free, now carries billions in national debt. And I must ask, how did we arrive here? Who allowed this to happen? And most importantly, how do we fix it?
Our country is suffering, not only economically but spiritually and socially. Too many are hurting in silence. Too many feel abandoned.
We are not the Bermuda we used to be. We have lost the sense of community that once defined us. There was a time when we shared what we had, when we looked out for one another, when every child belonged to the whole neighbourhood.
Where are the grandmothers and grandfathers who held families together? Where are the uncles and aunts who corrected us with love and raised us with discipline? They are gone and with them, much of our moral compass.
Madam President,
We must also speak truth about accountability, especially among ourselves.
How long will we continue to blame others for our stagnation? How long will we invoke the memory of the white man as the source of all our woes?
Yes, history has wounded us deeply. Slavery, segregation, and systemic discrimination have shaped the trajectory of Black Bermudians in painful ways. But history is not a crutch for the future it is a teacher.
We cannot heal by looking backward. We must rise by moving forward together.
Education must be at the centre of that rise. But Madam President, I ask, what are we truly teaching our children? Are we giving them discipline, or just diplomas? Are we preparing them to compete globally, or simply to pass locally?
We have made it increasingly difficult for educators to do their jobs. Teachers are unable to discipline effectively. They are held hostage by regulations that remove authority but demand results. How can a teacher inspire learning when the home provides no reinforcement, and when respect for authority has all but vanished?
We cannot complain about antisocial behaviour about fights and killings when we have failed to raise our children with values.
We cannot resent the progress of others who come to our, shores expats who may arrive as blue-collar workers but come equipped with discipline, education, and drive when we ourselves have abandoned those same virtues.
Madam President,
We must face an uncomfortable truth, too many Bermudians have become comfortable with mediocrity. Too many of us would rather complain than commit. Too many reject hard work because the money is not enough yet fail to see that effort and consistency are the seeds of better opportunity.
We cannot keep blaming the system when we refuse to rise above it.
And we cannot raise our children to believe that talent alone will save them. Talent without discipline leads nowhere. Talent without humility breeds entitlement.
We see this even in sports our young athletes excel locally, but too few reach the world stage.
Why? Because greatness demands sacrifice. It demands respect. It demands perseverance.
Madam President, Honourable Members,
Our morals and values are fading. They have become foreign words in our own vocabulary.
We speak often of progress, but I ask progress toward what?
It seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same. We have modernized our systems but lost our soul.
Yet, despite it all, I remain hopeful.
I believe in the resilience of the Bermudian spirit. I believe that we can rise again but only if we choose unity over ego, responsibility over excuses, and action over rhetoric.
Let us return to being our brother’s keeper. Let us rebuild a Bermuda where values are lived, not just spoken. Let us raise a generation of Bermudians who know both their worth and their duty.
Madam President,
If we do nothing, we will continue to drift.
But if we stand together, if we dare to lead with vision, discipline, and compassion, we can yet become the small nation with the biggest heart, the tiniest island with the greatest example to the world.
Bermuda’s future will not be written by those who wait, It will be written by those who work.
So let us get to work and work together.
Thank you,
Senator Dion Smith
Member of Parliament for Constituency 27, Warwick North Central
Spokesperson for Public Works and Environment, Housing and Municipalities, Cabinet Office
and Digital Innovation and Home Affairs
