Pointing to Baha Mar CEO Sarkis Izmirlian's public criticism of the Christie administration over the last month, Labour Minister Shane Gibson yesterday said it may be a good idea to carry out psychological evaluations on future investors.

"All of a sudden this one man, because he has a couple dollars, believes he could come into The Bahamas and talk to us and the prime minister any way he feels like," Gibson said as he led debate in the House of Assembly on a resolution to increase the minimum wage.

"That brings to mind, maybe as a part of our overall assessment when we are looking at allowing developers to come to The Bahamas, we don't discriminate. We need to look at having a psychological evaluation. That may be something that we need to consider."

In a series of statements to the media and various letters to Baha Mar employees, Izmirlian has repeatedly hit out at the government on a number of issues related to the project. In his latest letter to Baha Mar employees, Izmirlian chastised the Christie administration’s actions over the last month, charging that what was once a commercial transaction has been “usurped for political reasons”. Izmirlian also categorized the government’s refusal to pay Baha Mar’s foreign workers’ salaries as "deplorable".

The ongoing back and forth between Baha Mar and the government erupted after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. District of Delaware on June 29.

Izmirlian, who appeared as a guest on the Star 106.5 FM radio show “Jeffrey” last week, said he doesn’t believe that Christie is doing what is best for the Bahamian people. Izmirlian added that he believes the “voters of The Bahamas will decide how they feel about the actions of the government” regarding the entire ordeal.

Gibson suggested that Izmirlian went too far. He noted that the government hasn't had this kind of issue with any other major developer.

Speaking to reporters outside the House, Gibson added the government cannot allow developers to come into the country and disrespect the government.

"We expect them to respect our leaders in this country," he said. “They will not come to this country disrespecting the prime minister of The Bahamas and expect us to sit idly by."

Gibson’s call for foreign developments to undergo psychological evaluations was called into question by Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner, who added it may send the wrong message.

"Mr. Speaker, what sort of signal are we sending to the wider Bahamian public?" asked Butler-Turner, who was speaking in the House of Assembly on a point of order.

"I mean we can very well say that the people who sit in this place might very well need a psychological analysis. And the reality is, are we standing here to offend those individuals whom we court to come to our country to be a part of the development of this nation?"

Gibson maintained that it is his opinion that investors may need to be psychologically analyzed and agreed that members of Parliament should be subject to the same analysis.

"We should include members of Parliament as well. Have a psychological evaluation on members of Parliament and also developers, because when you put people like us in key positions Mr. Speaker, the country must make sure that we are mentally stable," he said.

"So it may be a good idea, as a part of the process of selecting members of Parliament as with developers, we have psychological evaluations done. That may be a good idea when you look at how some of us carry on in here."

Gibson’s statement came two days after Immigration and Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell warned the developer to “cease and desist” in his criticism of Christie and to be reminded that it is within the power of the Immigration Board to revoke his permanent residency status.

Izmirlian, who is a citizen of Switzerland, said he still believes in Christie, but likened their relationship to a marriage in which the developer is a spouse sleeping on the sofa.