The Second Sitting of the Second Meeting of the 2026-2027 Session of Parliament continued on Thursday, 1 October 2026.
When tabling his ministry's Annual Report 2025 – Preserve Our Past. Strengthen Our Future, the Minister for Youth, Sports, Culture and Heritage, Honourable Isaac Rankine, highlighted the development of national youth and sports policies, the publication of an educational book on Cayman's national symbols and the opening of the Emancipation Centre.
Deputy Governor and Head of the Civil Service, Honourable Gloria McField-Nixon, tabled seven Government Minutes containing 17 Government responses to recommendations from the Standing Public Accounts Committee. The responses addressed matters including financial reporting, Cayman Airways Limited, employment prospects for Caymanians, sustainable economic development and long-term financial sustainability. The Deputy Governor said the tabling cleared a backlog and returned Government to compliance with its reporting obligations to the Committee.
Responding to concerns about Caymanian job seekers being deemed overqualified, the Minister for Caymanian Employment and Immigration, Honourable Michael Myles, said the issue was a priority and confirmed that being considered overqualified was not a sufficient reason to reject a Caymanian who was qualified and capable of performing the advertised role. He encouraged job seekers to apply through the Workforce Opportunities and Residency Cayman (WORC) portal to preserve their ability to submit a rebuttal and to maintain records of their applications and correspondence.
Minister Myles reported that 44,540 work permit applications were processed between September 2025 and September 2026, of which 39,079 were approved and 5,461 refused. He said refusals were concentrated among temporary permits, while work permit renewals were refused in 3.3% of cases. Responding to questions about figures he had previously referenced publicly, the Minister said those comments were based on information available to him at the time, while the figures presented to Parliament reflected current WORC data.
When responding to a question on reform of the Permanent Residency Points System, Minister Myles said work was ongoing and no final framework had yet been agreed, with stakeholder consultation planned before the end of 2026.
The Minister for Education and Training, Honourable Rolston Anglin, confirmed that the ministry intends to develop AI literacy opportunities for students, including guidance on data protection and appropriate classroom use. The ministry will also explore the feasibility of developing a bespoke AI tool for the public education system.
The Minister for Health, Environment and Sustainability, the Honourable Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, delivered three statements. The first announced the ministry's decision to purchase an additional aircraft for the Mosquito Research and Control Unit, replacing both ageing aircraft currently in use by early 2027. The second provided an update on the development and implementation of a centralised health, safety and environment system, with a pilot programme now underway in the Department of Environmental Health. The third announced the temporary suspension of the Department of Environment's feral cat culling programme in the Sister Islands.
Minister Myles delivered a statement announcing changes that the government intends to make to the job advertising requirements associated with work permit application regulations in the Caymanian Protection Act. Minister Myles noted that after stakeholder engagement and consultation, the ministry recognises that the regulations should be amended to remove the requirement for businesses to use print advertising. Businesses will still be required to advertise their job vacancies on the WORC jobs portal for at least 21 days and still meet recruitment and reporting requirements, including showing that Caymanian applicants were given fair consideration.
Minister Myles said, “When our ministry and its departments are guided by research, facts and experiences of the people we serve, and that evidence demonstrates that a particular provision or legislation is no longer fit for purpose, our responsibility is not simply to acknowledge the problem. Our responsibility is to come to the honourable House and change it. That is what this amendment represents.”
The amendment to the regulations is expected to be brought forward at the next meeting of Parliament in November 2026.
The Deputy Speaker and member of the Opposition, Honourable Pearlina McGaw-Lumsden, presented a Private Member’s Motion for the government to consider introducing a Sex Offender Registry Bill to establish a Sex Offender Register. Voicing his support for the motion, Minister Rankine noted that a government working group established in April of 2026 had already begun examining measures to address offences against children, including the possibility of establishing a sex offender register and reviewing previous sex offender legislation proposed in 2009. The Minister for District Administration and Home Affairs, Honourable Nickolas DaCosta, also shared his support for the motion and spoke about his ministry's work in August to establish a Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangement, creating a formal framework for agencies to work together in the coordinated management of sexual and violent offenders. The motion was unanimously passed.
The House also unanimously passed a motion brought by the Leader of the Opposition, Honourable Joseph Hew, for the government to consider amending the Companies Management Act by introducing proportionate regulatory frameworks based on company size, risk and activity. Premier and Minister for Financial Services and Commerce, Honourable André Ebanks, voiced his support, saying the proposed amendments align with government priorities and agreed with its aim of encouraging Caymanian ownership of company management firms and entrepreneurship.
The House was adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on Friday, 2 October.
Watch Thursday’s proceedings:
Second Sitting of the Second Meeting of the 2026-2027 Session | 1 October 2026 (Part 1)
Second Sitting of the Second Meeting of the 2026-2027 Session | 1 October 2026 (Part 2)
Second Sitting of the Second Meeting of the 2026-2027 Session | 1 October 2026 (Part 3)
Watch live broadcasts of sittings on CIG YouTube and CIGTV (Logic - Channel 23, C3 - Channel 3, Flow - Channel 106).
For further information visit: gov.ky/governmentinparliament