Parliament Summary for 26 June 2025

The Second Sitting of the First Meeting of Parliament commenced promptly at 2:00 pm on Thursday, 26 June with a heartfelt prayer delivered by the Leader of the Opposition, Honourable Joseph Hew.

A total of seven parliamentary questions were posed to Members of the Government, specifically to the Minister for Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure, and the Minister for Education and Training.

In response to a question on the number of affordable homes built in the past four years and future plans for the George Town district, the Minister for Planning, Lands, Agriculture, Housing and Infrastructure, Honourable Jay Ebanks, confirmed that 39 new homes have been completed across the Islands. He further noted that upcoming affordable housing developments will form part of a broader national housing strategy.

During the sitting, Speaker Honourable Ezzard Miller paid tribute to the late Anita Salmon-Beezer, a parliamentary housekeeper who passed away on 25 May 2025, after 33 years of dedicated service to the institution.

The Members of Parliament unanimously passed a private member's motion to decriminalise speeding in marine no-wake zones. Speaking in favour of the motion, Minister Ebanks stated, “I am happy to say that the Government is in full support of this motion,” aligning with comments made by Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Mr Kenneth Bryan, that such infractions often stem from youthful indiscretions and should not carry long-term penalties.

The second private member's motion, to implement a year-round NiCE Programme in Grand Cayman, led to a heated debated between the Minister for Caymanian Employment and Immigration, Hon Michael Myles and members of the Opposition. Minister Myles said that the Government will not support the motion noting that it is not a long-term solution to unemployment. “The NiCE Programme is nothing more than a band-aid... expanding it represents an insult to the Caymanian people and a failure on our part to have programme that supports employment and transition into the normal workforce” stated Minister Myles. 

Minister Myles said that the Government's commitment is to strengthen the current employment and training programmes already offered. “With more investment, we will be investing in holistic wrap-around services that address barriers to employment such as addiction, mental health, childcare, transportation, food and housing insecurity.” The motion did not pass. 

The House will reconvene on Friday, 27 June at 2:00 pm.

To watch Thursday’s proceedings, visit:

Second Sitting of the First Meeting of the 2025-26 Session of Parliament | 26 June: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGIt16vwrAs

For further information visit: www.gov.ky/governmentinparliament.  

How to follow: Watch live broadcasts of sittings on CIG YouTube and CIGTV (Logic - Channel 23, C3 - Channel 3, Flow - Channel 106).