Chamber president critical of PLP’s Walter Roban’s ‘intellectually bankrupt’ gibeBy Ayo JohnsonThe Bermuda Chamber of Commerce is standing by its view that job creators should be given status.Opposition MP Walter Roban’s characterised those who propose handing out Bermuda status to foreigners to facilitate economic growth as “intellectually bankrupt”during Friday’s motion to adjourn in the House of Assembly.Yesterday, Chamber of Commerce President Ronnie Viera said that the Chamber supports “in principle” granting status to job creators in order “to retain and grow business in Bermuda” and makes no apologies for its stance.“But perhaps more importantly, we have stated on numerous occasions that our economy needs more foreign investment if it is to survive and grow, and that must translate into more non-Bermudians working and spending money in Bermuda,” Mr Viera said in an e-mailed statement to The Royal Gazette.“It has been clearly documented that at least 2,500 expatriate workers and their families have left the island in the last four years (some suggest the number may actually be as high as 4,000) and during the same period we have seen unemployment among Bermudians grow from almost zero to approximately 3,000.“The economic correlation of these numbers is real and cannot be overlooked.“Expatriate workers have to pay rent, utility bills, buy groceries, they typically pay private school fees, hire plumbers, take trips and have family that visit which means planes have less empty seats and can afford to maintain more robust flight schedules.”Mr Viera added that an estimated $150 million had been lost to the economy since 2008 and employment of Bermudians had suffered as a result.“In each industry sector where expatriate workers spent their foreign income, there were Bermudians working, who today many are not.“They are either not working because companies have downsized, they have left Bermuda because of polarising rhetoric, or they have simply gone out of business due to the recession.“Furthermore, the Government’s own birth rate statistics show that by 2030, we will have less working Bermudians in the workforce to support a retiring population.“This is a problem that collectively we as business groups, community groups, Government and Opposition must look at, apolitically, with a view to educating the public on the problem and openly discussing ways to address it.“Indeed, other countries have already started to address this by looking at immigration rules and attracting foreigners.“As the Island’s largest organisation representing commerce in Bermuda, of course the Chamber has well founded ideas on how we can grow our economy. Who knows more about business than business.“We make no apologies for that. No one, or group should ever be accused of being ‘intellectually bankrupt’ for simply floating an idea on how to fix the problems we have in this island, regardless of how controversial it may be.”Economic Development Minister Grant Gibbons said on Friday that Government has no plans to sell status to foreigners.