OPPOSITION Senator Charles Swan says Government is playing the race card following a stormy debate in the Upper House this week.

The Senator spoke out after being accused of making racist comments by Government Senate leader David Burch (pictured) during a debate on the Veterinary Practitioners Act on Wednesday.

Sen. Swan questioned why the Act allowed CARICOM-trained vets to be registered on the island, pointing out that there were no accredited vet courses in the region and that local vets had opposed the inclusion. Sen. Burch dismissed that concern as racist, claiming that some people were prepared to dismiss anything from the Caribbean as inferior.

But yesterday Sen. Swan hit back, pointing out that he raised his concerns only after speaking to local vets and carrying out hours of research into veterinary training programmes.

Sen. Swan said: "I tend to let my actions and reputation and how I live my daily life speak for me, and I will continue to do so.

"I have had a few calls of support, as well as face-to-face conversations of encouragement. After yesterday's episode in the Senate, however, I felt the need to speak out.

"Our task yesterday was to debate the contents of legislation concerning the practice of veterinary medicine in Bermuda. Their practices has been, until now, included under the Agriculture Act of 1930.

"As a part of my research, I spent time speaking with and obtaining input from colleagues, and speaking with the local veterinarian fraternity. I also spent time on the Internet, mainly to identify the schools that offer accredited veterinary medicine degrees.

"In addition, I gained some perspective on where legislation stands in various jurisdictions with the licensing and practice of veterinary medicine, as well as the accreditation process for schools in these jurisdictions. I spoke with the president of the local Veterinarians Association as well as my colleague, the Hon. Cole Simons JP, MP."

Sen. Swan (pictured) said that, following his extensive research, he concluded that, although he supported the Act, he did have concerns about the inclusion of CARICOM-trained graduates being allowed to practise on the island.

"I made it clear that we support legislation which first protects the interests of the Bermuda consuming public and supports the interests of our practising veterinarians ¿ and that the legislation under discussion fell into this category," he said.

"I also noted that to date, the practice of veterinary medicine in Bermuda, and the protection of our consumers, has been adequately serviced by existing legislation. The only real concern voiced both in the press and to me personally, had to do with the inclusion of graduates from CARICOM countries as a group ¿ with graduates from other bodies such as the UK, United States, Canada and EU ¿ as persons whose qualifications could be acceptable.

"As far as I was aware, the inclusion of CARICOM was the only change in the legislation about which the local veterinary association was unaware. Also, as far as I was aware, this group's inclusion in the legislation was the only one done without consultation, and at the last minute, a week before Parliament debated.

"In my presentation, I proceeded to point out issues that I had been made aware of, either verbally through conversations, via written submission, or through my research, that arise with graduates from CARICOM institutions ¿ for example, no accredited school, the quality of acceptance standards, the infancy of development of vet and animal care standards and of associations governing same, and the lack of recognition by relevant overseas bodies.

"The whole point of this was to pose the following questions. What consultation was made by our Government with the local veterinary association and overseas associations? What reasoning could be provided to cause the decision to be made to include CARICOM in the legislation?

"If one could justify the CARICOM inclusion, why not include most or all other world bodies such as MERCOSUR, ASEAN? As the local association was not consulted on this inclusion ¿ and there had been much mutually beneficial consultation over the years spent developing this legislation ¿ was there a reason why they were not consulted?

"In the interests of all parties, especially the consuming public, I thought that answers to these questions might be helpful. Instead, my view was deemed to come from a perspective of racism, and we were told that this government is committed to building our relationship with CARICOM.

"At the end of the day, my concern is with protecting the Bermudian public, and this legislation will accomplish this by establishing criteria for the practice of veterinary medicine in Bermuda.

"Each applicant's qualifications will be vetted on its merits. Bermudians have come to expect the best, and I aim to continue to work towards us getting just that."

Sen. Swan's concerns were backed up by the Bermuda Veterinary Association, which last week claimed that Government was wrong to allow CARICOM college graduates to practise here ¿ and had altered the draft legislation against professional advice.

BVA president Andrew Madeiros said the CARICOM clause "lowered the bar" and could be problematic in the future.