Summary of Parliamentary Proceedings: 04 March 2026

Fourth Meeting of the 2025-2026 Session of Parliament opened with prayer by the Minister of Caymanian Employment and Immigration, Honourable Michael Myles. 

Following the opening, Deputy Premier Honourable Gary Rutty and several other Members of Parliament recognised recently retired Caymanian Cayman Airways Limited pilots for their service, noting “This country owes you a great gratitude.” The retired pilots along with other Cayman Airways staff were in attendance.

Six Papers and Annual Reports were tabled during the Sitting including the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service 2024 Adult Juvenile Caution Report and the Health Insurance Commission 2024 Annual Report – 1 January to 31 December 2024. In tabling the latter report Minister of Health, Environment and Sustainability Honourable Katherine Ebanks-Wilks advised the House about the work conducted with the eight approved private insurers. She added that the Commission continues to update the public through the Department of Health Regulatory Services website. 

There were several questions to members of the Government. The first question was posed to the Minister for Education and Training Honourable Rolston Anglin and sought to ascertain if there is an approved schedule to close and repair the artificial turf or synthetic grass at Government primary schools. In responding Minister Anglin confirmed that the project has been prioritised and the procurement process will begin during this budget cycle.  

Minister Anglin was also asked to confirm if the Government ended the 2025 financial year with a surplus. The Minister said the most recent estimate is $43.7 million and outlined steps that were taken by the Government to ensure the surplus. He further stated that the cumulative total savings were reflected, in among other things, personnel cuts and supplies and consumables.

Most of the questions were posed to Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism and Trade Development Honourable Gary Rutty on a range of topics including vacation entitlement and six days incurred by Cayman Airways employees and amounts spent by the company on overtime and duty allowance. Minister Rutty was also asked to state whether the Government intends to relocate the Cayman Islands Craft Market and responded there are no plan to relocate the Craft Market at this time.

Concluding the line of questioning regarding the national carrier the Deputy Premier shared the number of staff over the age of 65 for the years 2016 to 2025. He said the data shows consistent growth in this age group with more Caymanians than non-Caymanians.

Minister for Health, Environment and Sustainability, Honourable Katherine Ebanks-Wilks addressed questions including the process for dealing with or managing work permit holders who are granted a work permit when they are HIV positive and the policy decision taken following the completion and evaluation of the wheeled bin project in Prospect. Responding to a question about the Government’s solid waste management plan, Minister Ebanks-Wilks stated that work is ongoing on the national recycling programme and the broader waste management initiative. She explained that the project team is expected to engage with the waste management committee this month.  

Questions were also directed to Minister for Caymanian Employment and Immigration Honourable Michael Myles. Of note was the question about when the Immigration (Transition) (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2025 come into effect and the causes for the current delay in its implementation. Minister Myles said it is scheduled to take effect on or around 1 April 2026.

In responding to a question about feedback from the business community since the implementation of the minimum wage increase of 45.83 per cent, Minister Myles responded that they have met with a wide cross section of the business community and the feedback has been positive. He also shared that there are complaints that some employee hours have been reduced to compensate for the additional rise in the minimum wage. The Minister acknowledged that in cases like domestic helpers, it may have caused some hardship on Caymanian families however, there have been minimal complaints on the increase of the administrative fee for these types of workers, which increased by $50.

Speaking on the Immigration (Transition) (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2026 Minister Myles said extensive consultation was conducted, which included town hall meetings, radio appearances, small group meetings with stakeholder groups and a full 28-day consultation. He outlined three key amendments: to automatically recognise a specific demographic of people born in the Cayman Islands on or before 26 March 1977 as Caymanian, formally authorise and validate expedited immigration service fees and clarify transitional arrangements to protect certain applicants from new residency requirements. Minister Myles emphasised, “This update is not to change the spirit of the law but to provide clarity to ensure that it is applied as intended. Let me be clear, the amendment does not open the gate to new applicants, nor does it broaden the criteria for who may apply.”  

The Minister further explained that the Workforce Opportunity and Residency Cayman department recognised that processing times for work permit grants were not meeting business needs, with approximately 40,000 applications being submitted annually. He noted that the amendment of work permit processing and express fees addresses this through two operational improvements. These include the operational commitment to processing work permits more quickly and offering expedited work permit grants with an associated expedited fee for cases where there is genuine need.

Several members expressed support for the Bill including Parliamentary Secretary Julie Hunter, Minister for Social Development and Innovation and Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage Honourable Isaac Rankine and Minister for District Administration and Home Affairs Honourable Nickolas DaCosta. Declaring her support, Parliamentary Secretary Hunter said the Bill is about dignity, identity and justice. She emphasised that no Caymanian should be required to repeatedly prove they belong in their country of birth. She further advocated for immigration status confirmation to occur at birth when records are fresh and data is available, rather than requiring individuals in their forties, fifties, seventies and nineties to prove their parents’ domicile status at the time of their birth.

A motion was later moved and passed for the Bill to be given a second reading.

Commenting on the Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 2026, Minister Ebanks said the Bill removes the old definition of “indigent person” and introduces a new, more precise definition of “medically indigent person.” She added that the amendment addresses structural inefficiencies in determining eligibility for medically necessary assistance. She said the core issue is that medical necessity determinations were previously routed through the social services portfolio, while services themselves were funded and delivered within the health portfolio, creating delays in time-sensitive cases. The Bill was given a second reading.

Additionally, the accompanying Health Insurance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026 which contained consequential amendments related to the main bill was also given a second reading.

The House will return for the Second Sitting on Thursday, 5 March at 10:00 am. 

To watch Wednesday’s proceedings, visit:

First Sitting of the Fourth Meeting of the 2025-26 Session of Parliament | 4 March 2026 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLY7k9rriEM 

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