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I was cautiously optimistic after reading Immigration Minister David Burch's pledge to be flexible with the Government's term limit policy and apply it in ways that will not prejudice "the successful operation of business in Bermuda."

The overall statement from the Minister was in stark contrast to the antagonistic tone and posture the Government has taken with international business for the past 8 years, especially on the subject of term limits. That is why I am cautious about Government's new tone because one upbeat, congenial statement does not neutralize years of friction and disquiet. I think the prudent approach is to wait and see if government holds to its new stance.

Let me be clear that I welcome the Government's intention to revisit the term limit policy and to starting a more positive conversation with international business. This shows that the Government is listening and prepared to make positive adjustments. That's definitely a good thing! However, I am not quite ready to join the chorus of jubilation by some business community stakeholders that followed the Minister's statement.

Since the introduction of the six-year term limit policy in April 2001, there have been persistent calls from the United Bermuda Party and international business leaders that such a policy would hurt Bermuda's ability to attract the best talent and intellectual capital required to sustain and grow our international business sector. That the Government has apparently now accepted that argument and offered to "do all it can to support international business" is a step in the right direction. But it also begs the question: Why not just get rid of the policy? It was ill-conceived in the first place and is proving to be detrimental to the island's reputation as a place to do business.

I understand the PLP's political calculation behind the term limit policy - win popular support by appearing to stand strong for protecting jobs for Bermudians. But two facts reveal the emptiness of that stance. Fact 1: Despite the years of bluster and rudeness, Senator Burch said the government had approved 95 per cent of all term limit waiver applications. Fact 2: Since 1998, the percentage of non-Bermudians in the work force has grown by a third, from 23 per cent to more than 31 per cent.

While these facts indicate the government has had a hands-off approach to international businesses, the existence of the term limit policy and the antagonistic manner in which it has been handled by the government has turned it into a strong negative against Bermuda.

Unnecessary anxiety

It has created unnecessary anxiety and burdens for companies already on the island and undue uncertainty for companies thinking about locating their offices here.

These developments work against our continuing economic success and, in the deepest irony, threaten Bermudians' jobs and Bermudian incomes. We have to remember that international business is not really about foreigners. It is about Bermudians - the thousands who work in the international sector and the thousands in businesses that service international companies, whether they be the companies that supply them, the law firms that advise them, the accounting firms that support them, the restaurants that feed their people or the landlords who house them.

The negativity that surrounds the term limit policy is a threat to Bermudians. We need to get rid of it. We cannot afford any weakness as we head into what will be the most challenging economic year in more than a generation, particularly as the competition to lure away our international business intensifies.

Bermuda has to be at the top of its game in the period ahead. We need to be realistic about what we are doing and sensible in how we do things. Minister Burch has indicated the government sees the light, but we will need to keep a close watch to make sure he and his colleagues live by their words.

Shawn Crockwell is the United Bermuda Party Shadow Minister for Immigration.

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