Bermuda's lawmakers have voted decisively to ban McDonald's restaurants from the British colony in the northwest Atlantic.
By a vote of 22-13 Friday night, the House passed the bill which did not mention McDonald's Corp. by name but had the sole intent of stopping former Premier John Swan from opening one of the famous fast-food restaurants on the island.The issue erupted when it was revealed that 16 months ago Swan had been granted legal permission by the finance minister of the government he had once led to establish a company with the stated intent of operating McDonald's restaurants.
The bill to stop that plan, which deeply divided both the ruling United Bermuda Party and the opposition Progressive Labor Party, passed the House a year ago but was rejected by the Senate.
Under Bermuda's constitution, the bill cannot be rejected a second time by the unelected upper chamber and it was expected to go to the new governor, Thorold Masefield, later this month for him to sign into law.
Sources close to Swan said he will challenge the legality of the new law in the Supreme Court.
Premier David Saul resigned last March after his December 1995 decision to allow Swan to operate McDonald's restaurants created an uproar among islanders and in his own party.
Opponents of the McDonald's project said Saul's decision contradicted the government's long-term plan to keep Bermuda a conservative, quality resort that eschews the "day-tripper" appearance of other tourist destinations.
"It is not Bermudian. McDonald's cheapens wherever it goes," said Phyllis Harron, 83, a great-grandmother who spearheaded the petition drive against the fast-food chain's presence on the island.
Harron, whose family's Bermuda roots can be traced to the 1600s, objects to the "proliferation of litter and the poor quality of food" that McDonald's produces.
Over the years, severe restrictions have been placed on any attempt to erode the island's image, with billboards and neon signs strictly prohibited.
There had been a McDonald's on a U.S. military base here, but it was usually off limits to Bermudians and it closed when U.S. forces left the island in September 1995.