Svend Robinson

Early life

Robinson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, of Danish descent, to Edith Jensen and Wayne Robinson. His father opposed the Vietnam War and brought his family to live in Canada. Robinson attended high school at Burnaby North Secondary. He later obtained a law degree from the University of British Columbia, and completed post-graduate work in international law at the London School of Economics. He was awarded the highest overall honour at the University of British Columbia in 1972, the Sherwood Lett Memorial Scholarship. He was also active in university politics, serving on the Senate and the first student to be elected to the university's board of governors.

He was called to the BC Bar as a barrister and solicitor in 1978, and practised law with Robert Gardner and Associates until his election to the House of Commons in May 1979.

Prior to coming out as gay, Robinson was married to Patricia Fraser, his high-school girlfriend, from 1972 to 1975.

Politics

Robinson was the New Democratic Party (NDP) Member of Parliament (MP) for ridings in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby, British Columbia, the third-largest city in British Columbia.

As the longest-serving British Columbia MP of his time, in office from 1979 to 2004, Robinson is notable for having been the first Canadian MP to come out as gay, in the spring of 1988. He was the only openly LGBT member of the Canadian House of Commons until Bloc Quebecois MP Real Menard came out in 1994.

Robinson, a self-described socialist, is commonly regarded as being one of the most left-wing figures in Canadian politics. He is best known for his negative views on American foreign policy, especially towards Cuba, his challenge of corporate power, his strident criticism of Israel, and his strong support for Palestinian leaders. Party leader McDonough briefly removed Robinson's portfolio over Middle East issues in 2002 for comments he made criticizing the Israeli government for alleged war crimes in Jenin.

One of his earliest political activities was leading a group of NDP MPs who heckled former US President Ronald Reagan while he was speaking at the House of Commons in support of the Strategic Defense Initiative and aid to the Contras. He was a long-time activist in the anti-apartheid movement and was a member of the official Canadian delegation to the 1994 South African election. Robinson has also been critical of the Chinese government for its treatment of political dissidents and for its policies in Tibet. He was a founder of the Canadian wing of Parliamentarians for East Timor. He was active in international parliamentary groups, including serving as rapporteur and chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Parliamentary Assembly Human Rights and Development Committee.

Robinson was a leader in the movement for the right to physician-assisted suicide, fighting for the right of well-known ALS patient Sue Rodriguez to choose when to end her life with the assistance of a physician. He was ultimately present at her bedside at the time of her physician-assisted death.

A strong environmentalist, he engaged in peaceful civil disobedience to block logging of old-growth forests at Lyell Island in Haida Gwaii in 1985 and at Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in 1993. For the latter action, he was sentenced to 14 days of imprisonment. Robinson was also an outspoken advocate of the rights of aboriginal peoples both in Canada and internationally. He stood at barricades with the Penan people in Sarawak, Malaysia and was condemned by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. He was adopted into the Haida Nation, and given the Haida name "White Swan" by Haida elder Ada Yovanovich.

Robinson ran to succeed Audrey McLaughlin as leader of the NDP at the 1995 NDP leadership convention, but withdrew in favour of Alexa McDonough after the first ballot; even though he had received the most votes on that ballot, and had won regional primaries in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, he felt that he could not win on the second ballot as last-place candidate Lorne Nystrom's delegates were moving disproportionately to McDonough rather than Robinson.

On December 31, 1997, Robinson was injured in a hiking accident on Galiano Island, breaking his jaw and ankle.

Robinson was involved in the New Politics Initiative, an effort to build a new progressive political party in Canada closely linked with social movements and labour, and the NDP's renewal process, although he remained committed to the party after the NPI's defeat at the 2001 general convention in Winnipeg. He was an early and strong supporter of former national NDP Leader Jack Layton.

In 2003, Liberal Senator Jerry Grafstein suggested that September 11 be designated as "America Day" to commemorate the American victims of September 11, 2001. Robinson proposed that the day also be designated as "Chile Day", to mark the overthrow of Chilean president Salvador Allende's democratically elected government on September 11, 1973. Neither proposal was accepted.

Robinson successfully sponsored legislation in Parliament in 2004 to include sexual orientation in federal hate crimes legislation. He was also active on HIV/AIDS issues from the start of the epidemic in the early 1980s.

Admission to theft and end of political career

In April 2004, shortly before 2004 election, Robinson admitted to the theft of an expensive ring from a public auction site. He turned himself in to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and returned the ring shortly after police visited his home and office, wishing to speak with him. While the auction company publicly stated that they did not wish to pursue charges, Robinson was charged and pleaded guilty. The Crown and defence both agreed that he was undergoing major personal stress and mental health issues at the time; Robinson was given a discharge, meaning that he would have no criminal record, but he volunteered for some time at the Burnaby Wildlife Centre as part of a public service commitment. He terminated his candidacy and was replaced by his longtime constituency assistant Bill Siksay, who won the election.

Robinson was subsequently diagnosed as suffering from bipolar disorder, and began to speak as an activist on mental health issues.

Robinson attempted a comeback and ran as an NDP candidate in the 2006 federal election, challenging Liberal MP Hedy Fry in the riding of Vancouver Centre. Despite an improved result for the NDP provincewide, Fry easily won reelection in her riding, where the NDP vote fell by 3.6 per cent.

Post-political career

Since leaving politics, Robinson was employed by the British Columbia Government and Service Employees' Union as an arbitrator and advocate. He also served on the NDP's federal executive as co-chair of the party's LGBT Committee.

Robinson took a position in 2007 with the global trade union federation Public Services International in Switzerland, where he moved with his partner Max Riveron and their two dogs. He led PSI's work on a range of issues including climate change, pensions, and trade. In 2009, he was co-chair of the International LGBT Human Rights Conference in Copenhagen, and received an award from the Conseil quebecois des gais et lesbiennes for his human rights activism.

He is currently a consultant with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, coordinating their parliamentary relations.

Biography

Svend Robinson: A Life in Politics, written by Graeme Truelove, was released on October 17, 2013 by New Star Books. In the book, Truelove argues that Robinson was the single most influential Member of Parliament in Canadian history never to have served in the Cabinet of Canada.

Awards and honours