The majority of people polled about a Canadian’s work permit being revoked after a row with a Government MP were too frightened to speak publicly.

Although The Royal Gazette only spoke to ten people about what happened to Curtis Macleod, nine of them cited fear of reprisals in asking to remain anonymous.

However, the majority told us they believed it was wrong to revoke the expatriate worker’s permit and eight said they felt it could hurt Bermuda’s international reputation.

Mr. Macleod’s permit was withdrawn last week as a result of an argument with Government MP George Scott in October. This allegedly involved racial slurs — although both men are black.

Mr. Scott denied making any racial comments and Mr. Macleod, a construction site manager, refuted Mr. Scott’s allegation that he insulted his children.

Last week in an interview with The Royal Gazette>Mr. Scott said he took exception to disrespect allegedly shown to him by the Canadian. He wrote to the Department of Immigration describing the incident after he left the construction site, and it subsequently revoked Mr. Macleod’s permit citing “unsatisfactory character and conduct”.

The Royal Gazett$>stopped five Bermudians on the street yesterday to seek their views, plus five guest workers.

A personal assistant in a law firm, who is from the UK, said: “I think it’s absolutely ridiculous. As an expat we know we don’t get treated as well as Bermudians, and we expect it, but this is just too far.

“I read that the MP said people need to respect Bermuda and its workers. What about respecting expats as well? Doesn’t everyone deserve to be respected? Sometimes I think we are treated like second class citizens on this Island.”

Another British woman, who works as an accountant, said the situation was “ludicrous”.

Referring to claims from Mr. Scott that there were other complaints about Mr. Macleod, she said: “It just doesn’t make sense what the MP said. If they had complaints, why did they wait seven months?

“Every expat knows that if a complaint is made against you, Immigration deals with it right away. I don’t think it’s good for the Island. I should be able to say what I want like I would be able to in any democratic country.”

A Bermudian who works for the Government said he believed Mr. Macleod’s permit was revoked over a “petty issue”.

He said: “It should have been dealt with in another way. I also think it was wrong that Mr. Scott went to the site with his BIU hat on and then switched to his Government MP hat mid-way through when he said ‘do you know who I am?’.

The man added he was worried the incident would hurt the Island’s international reputation, as companies could find it more difficult to recruit people in the future.

A retired Government worker said he believed the MP should have identified himself first before the row started — which Mr. Macleod claimed he did not — and that this type of behaviour would reflect negatively on the Island.

A Bermudian in the hospitality industry said: “I think it will hurt this Island. Expats don’t have to come here and if we continue to treat them this way, they won’t. Yes, it’s sunny here and the money is good but now that the dollar is low the money is not as good as it once was. Plus the rent is really high.

“So if we Bermudians continue down this road we could be in trouble. We rely on them — they don’t rely on us. If Bermuda doesn’t work out they can work in other nice locations.”

A British accountant said he did not think the work permit row would hurt the Island if it was a one-off event but if the Government made a habit of revoking permits under similar circumstances people would grow weary of holding their tongue and watching their back and choose to work at other offshore financial centres.

The only person who would allow his name to be used was retired construction worker Digby Smith. He said the decision was wrong, but was not surprised people would not go on the record.

When asked why he wasn’t worried he said: “I’m old and I am retired, what can the Government do to me?”

Of the five Bermudians asked to participate in the poll, all said the decision was wrong. Four out of the five expats said the Government was in the wrong. However, an American accountant said: “I think they were right to do it. We get to work in Bermuda and some people just try and push it too far. If an expat is rude to a Government MP then they should have to leave the country.”

Yesterday, Mr. Scott said he did not know why people would think the situation had blemished Bermuda’s reputation.

“Every case has its own specific issues and the average person should not be concerned,” he said. “People should have no fear if they comply with the laws of this country.”

Of the situation with expatriate workers being worried about losing their work permits for speaking out on controversial topics, he said he felt they were often unsure of their rights.

“Everyone has freedom of speech. The Bermudian Industrial Union fought for it,” he said. Mr. Scott added that while he felt people needed to exercise “self control” over what they say, “people should be able to speak out without fear of the consequences”.