Vexed Bermoothes

ImmiMin Burch’s term limits meeting is this afternoon.  The atmosphere that he has created surrounding the meeting is negative, ranging from the selective invitations and the whining complaints.  It’s topped by today’s email saying that attendees must wear a special wristband issued by the Ministry.  The atmosphere is one of distrust and bullying.  It’s pure poison for Bermuda’s reputation.

The rule of the schoolyard is that if you keep saying fack you to someone, eventually they will believe you mean it.  Then they’ll say fack you back and go find another group of kids to play with.

You don’t believe Bermuda’s immigration policies are a risk factor?  Funny, virtually every major international company in Bermuda does:

RISK FACTORS
Certain of our senior executives who work in our Bermuda operations are not Bermudian and our success in such operations may depend in part on the continued services of key employees working in Bermuda. Under Bermuda law, non-Bermudians (other than spouses of Bermudians and holders of permanent resident certificates) may not engage in any gainful occupation in Bermuda without an appropriate governmental work permit. A work permit may be granted or renewed by the Bermuda government for a specific period of time, upon showing that, after proper public advertisement, no Bermudian (or spouse of a Bermudian or holder of a permanent resident certificate) is available who meets the minimum standards reasonably required by an employer with respect to a certain position. The government of Bermuda places a six-year term limit on individuals with work permits, subject to certain exemptions for key employees. No assurances can be given that any work permit will be issued or, if issued, renewed upon the expiration of the relevant term or that key employee status will be granted or revoked.

UPDATE:  Huge crowd, couldn’t get in.  Denis is tweeting it at http://twitter.com/21Square.  The large turnout is a rarity for Bermuda – showing the importance of this issue.  It appears that Government is willing to extend term limits to 10-15 years, and even extend it further in some cases.  Which bears the question:  why do we need term limits at all?