deliberate harassment after a father and his six-year-old son were held overnight at Toronto airport on a false charge.

Yesterday Mr. Philip Perinchief claimed this was not the first time that passengers of African origin were targeted by overzealous Canadian immigration officials.

Anyone trying to enter Toronto who was not Anglo Saxon was given a "rough ride'' Mr. Perinchief claimed.

He added he had even heard of black Bermudians who by-passed Toronto altogether because the treatment they received by immigration officers made a poor start to their vacations.

His comments were sparked off by a recent incident involving a black Bermudian who was accused by immigration officers of kidnapping his son (who bears a different surname) when they arrived together for a vacation at Lester B.

Pearson International Airport on Tuesday evening.

But when checks with the child's mother Ms Tanya Swan in Bermuda revealed this was not the case, Mr. Stoneham was then told that both he and his son were "inadmissible'' because of a previous conviction dating back almost 20 years.

Both father and son, Cody, were fingerprinted, photographed and their bags searched. After just four hours rest in a detention room, they were put on a morning flight to Bermuda -- a gruelling sixteen hours after arriving at Toronto airport.

Yesterday, Mr. Philip Perinchief, representing Mr. Stoneham claimed his client should have at least had a hearing before he was sent back. An old conviction was not sufficient to have Mr. Stoneham stamped inadmissible.

Even Mr. Stoneham's request that his son be allowed to join waiting relatives was turned down. As a minor, the boy was also classified inadmissible.

Inadmissibility, unlike deportation, is an order that can be more easily overturned.

"They did not go through the proper procedures of investigating inadmissibility,'' Mr. Perinchief said. "They have penalised both Mr.

Stoneham and his son.'' The officials' behaviour was aggressive and unprofessional and amounted to harassment, Mr. Perinchief claimed.

He added he was appalled at the insensitivity with which the young boy had been treated especially after he had his heart set on a vacation in Toronto Mr. Perinchief added he hoped the Deputy Governor Mr. Peter Willis would get a statement from the Canadian officials explaining why his client had been sent home without a fair hearing.

"We won't let it rest,'' he warned.