Government will confirm on Thursday that it does intend to push ahead with associate membership of Caricom.

Caribbean Community general secretary Dr. Edwin Carrington will address a public meeting in Hamilton tomorrow night when Government will state that following the recent town hall meetings and consultation, it has decided membership of the organisation is in Bermuda's best interest.

Making the announcement yesterday, Health Minister Nelson Bascome, who chaired the Bermuda Caricom committee, said critics who alleged Caricom membership was a "done deal" before the consultation meetings were held would always be cynical.

And he said Government would not agree to a request from the Chamber of Commerce, which opposes membership, that the issue would be put to a referendum because, said Mr. Bascome, all of the concerns had been addressed.

Dr. Carrington will address the meeting in St. Paul's Centennial Hall at 7.30 p.m., where he will explain what he sees as the benefits of Caricom. Mr. Bascome, former Environment Minister Arthur Hodgson, and West Indian Association President Trevor Fyfe, will also speak.

Dr. Carrington is also scheduled to hold a lunch meeting with business, community and sports representatives to discuss the issue.

The House of Assembly will debate the matter on July 26 and is expected to approve of the Island pushing ahead for associate membership.

Mr. Bascome said: "The way we are moving now, we are designing it (membership) so that it benefits Bermuda, and all the negative things that have been raised, we have invested (time) to find that if we shape associate membership the way we want it, it will have an advantageous affect for Bermuda.

"Mr. (Chamber president Charles) Gosling can be assured that we have addressed that."

"Based on all the benefits suggested, we are very positive it will benefit Bermuda with all the information we have gathered. You can say it is a done deal, but it still has to go through Parliament, but we are thinking very positively."

In response to those who said Government had decided to join regardless of what happened at the public meetings, Mr. Bascome said: "The cynics will say regardless of what we decided, whether it was yea or nay, that 'we told you so'.

"If we said yes, then we were going down the road to destruction. The cynics will be cynics. In the Caricom debate, we've found several out there who have come out with issues and we have found that a number of issues they have brought out have been non-issues. They are very cynical in their approach."

He reaffirmed that the conditions Bermuda had set for joining would exclude membership of the single Caribbean market.

The Island will also keep its current immigration policies and will not allow a free flow of labour from other Caricom countries.

"Bermuda can at any time withdraw, but also we have immigration policies. There will be no free movement of labour across our borders. We will set our own parameters in terms of what is best for Bermuda," said Mr. Bascome.

"We will not be joining the common market and there will be no free movement of labour. These are two things we have been very clear that we do not support."

He said the further meeting tomorrow night was to ensure members of the public had accurate information about what joining Caricom, which will cost about $90,000 a year, will mean.