The Government did not anticipate being hit with a huge level of opposition to becoming a full member of Caricom, according to a government minister.

In the Throne Speech, the Government said the vision of former premier Dame Jennifer Smith was for “Bermuda to strengthen the historic, familial and cultural ties to the Caribbean”.

It said to mark the 20th anniversary of Bermuda’s entry into Caricom as an associate member, “the Government will renew the vision of Dame Jennifer, initiating a consultation process leading to full membership in Caricom”.

The move provoked widespread opposition, with another former premier, Sir John Swan, saying he saw no benefits of full membership, warning that it could actually damage the island’s relationships with the United States and Britain.

Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour, said the island already worked closely with Caricom and enjoyed meaningful relationships at economic and technical levels.

“What we have to clearly set out is what are the benefits between full membership and associate membership and then what that means for Bermuda. The work pertaining to that will be done and we will have a full report of what that looks like,” he said.

“The party said it was going to do consultation. Then a press statement came out from an individual who opposed the whole notion of Caricom and the Government found itself responding to that particular notion rather than setting out our agenda so that people are clear on the framework that exists for Caricom, the relationship that Bermuda currently has and why Bermuda would even seek to expand that relationship.”

Asked why there was no clarification of benefits after the Throne Speech announcement, the minister said: “What I would say pertaining to that is the Government has had a longstanding relationship with Caricom for some time.

“I don't think that the Government anticipated that after it said that it was going to engage in a consultative process to determine whether or not we move into full membership with Caricom, that we were going to be hit with grave levels of opposition.

“That press statement triggered a set of actions and put government on the back foot, but we will do our due diligence as it pertains to having meaningful conversation regarding what does this look like, explaining to the country what is Caricom, how we have benefited from being an associate member thus far and how we can benefit from greater levels of engagement with Caricom.”

• To listen to the full interview, click on the audio file