A judge will decide if the Ministry of Immigration was right to revoke the work permit of a Canadian construction worker who was involved in a heated row with a Government MP.

Today a Supreme Court judge will hear the appeal of Curtis Macloed, who was booted off the Island after a fight with PLP MP George Scott. He is appealing Minister of Immigration Derrick Burgess’ decision to revoke his permit on the grounds that he did not get a fair hearing and the Minister was not just.

In January The Royal Gazette revealed that Mr. Macleod would be leaving the Island as a result of a row with Mr. Scott in October 2006. Mr. Scott, who is also a union organiser, has said he showed up on a Global Construction building site to investigate a complaint against Mr. Macleod. An argument between the two men ensued.

It is alleged words such as “racist”, “ignorant” were used and Mr. Scott’s children were called uneducated by Mr. Macleod, who denies saying anything about the children. He also denied knowing that Mr. Scott was a Bermuda Industrial Union representative or MP. Mr. Macleod, who is black, admitted “losing his cool” and shouting at the MP after asking him to leave the property three times.

He says he did not know who he was speaking to and was reacting to alleged racial comments Mr. Scott made. The MP denied making any racial comments.

Soon after the spat Mr. Macleod’s employers received a letter from the Ministry of Immigration informing them that he was under investigation because he “conducted himself in the workplace in a manner that is offensive” and mentioned comments made during Mr. Scott’s October visit to the Church Street site. In an interview with The Royal Gazette>in January, Mr. Scott said the disrespect shown to him was appalling and that he attempted to give Mr. Macleod his business card so the foreigner could realise with whom he was speaking but that Mr. Macleod refused to accept the card.

Mr. Scott admitted: “After he said what he did about my children I said ‘you do not know who I am, but I will see you off this Island’.

“I am a member of Government. Nowhere else in the world would he be able to get up in the face of an MP. If I was another staff member of his he could have got away with it.

“It will be an example to anyone who is a guest worker in this country that they better respect what is here, the people and the Government.”

Soon after Mr. Scott’s interview the Bermuda Industrial Union held a press conference and announced that they had also received several complaints about Mr. Macleod’s behaviour from workers prior to Mr. Scott’s visit to the work site. And Minister Burgess said that the complaint went through all the proper procedures and abided by the laws.

However, the complaints mentioned in the press conference were never revealed to Mr. Macleod and he said he was appealing because he did not have a fair hearing and did not have a chance to defend himself.

Yesterday, his lawyer Richard Horseman would not go into the particulars of the case but said he was optimistic.

He added that Mr. Macleod is currently in Canada but hopes to return to finish off the remaining time on his work permit.