INDEPTH: SVEND ROBINSON
Profile
CBC News Online | Updated Oct. 21, 2005
Svend Robinson (file photo)
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It's been a tumultuous ride for Svend Robinson. More than a year after a tearful news conference in which he announced he would step away from 25 years in federal politics because he stole an expensive ring, Robinson announced he was back and ready to return.
His website proclaims he's "Back....stronger than ever."
Svend Robinson was born in the United States in March 1952 to Edith Jensen and Wayne Robinson. In the 1960s Wayne Robinson, an English professor, was opposed to the Vietnam War and brought his family to Canada to begin a new life. They eventually settled in British Columbia.
Svend Robinson attended school in Burnaby, B.C. Even as an 11-year-old, he courted controversy. After winning an award in his class, Robinson refused to shake the principal's hand. Robinson remembered that the principal once said he would never shake the hand of an Indian because it was dirty.
In his teen years, Robinson was selected as the best debater at Burnaby North Secondary School and leader of the opposition in the school's model parliament. His first political experience came when he accompanied his mother as she canvassed for NDP Leader Tommy Douglas.
In 1972 he married his high school girlfriend Patricia, an artist and musician. At the time, he was studying science at the University of British Columbia. The marriage fell apart after he told his wife about his first serious relationship with a man.
The same year, Robinson's mother died of heart failure. Robinson turned to alcohol as he struggled to deal with his sexuality and the death of his mother. Despite these problems, he graduated from UBC with a law degree in 1976 and left Canada to study for a year at the London School of Economics. He was admitted to the bar a year later but soon abandoned his law career for a path in politics.
1979: Robinson represents the NDP and wins the Burnaby seat in the federal election at the age of 27. He will remain undefeated in the next six elections.
1983: He is thrown out of the House of Commons after accusing Speaker Jeanne Sauvé of being "in cahoots" with the government. That year, he is also temporarily stripped of his job as justice critic after he tells a Vancouver TV show that he supported the establishment of red-light districts and houses of prostitution.
1985: Fined $750 for participating in a Haida anti-logging blockade in the Queen Charlotte Islands.
1987: Leads some NDP members in heckling U.S. President Ronald Reagan during a speech to Parliament. NDP Leader Ed Broadbent reprimands him.
1988: Robinson, 35, announces on national television that he is gay. He becomes the first openly gay member in the House of Commons. He says he wants to push for gay rights. A few months later, he leads the Gay Pride parade in Toronto.
1994: A judge sentences the MP to 14 days in jail after he is found in criminal contempt for defying a court order prohibiting the obstruction of logging at Clayoquot Sound. Robinson serves nine days. That same year, he draws attention to doctor-assisted suicide. He holds a news conference describing how Sue Rodiguez, who had Lou Gehrig 's disease, died in his arms.
1995: Loses to Alexa McDonough in the NDP leadership race.
1997: Survives a near-fatal fall while hiking, breaking his jaw and ankle. He crawls 400 metres through rugged terrain to a cottage. Robinson credits his love for partner Max Riveron with inspiring him to get to safety.
1999: Alexa McDonough relegates Robinson to the backbenches after he tables a petition calling for the word "God" to be removed from the preamble of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
2001: At the Quebec Summit, Robinson joins protestors. Police fire tear gas into the crowd and Robinson says a plastic bullet tore his pants. He calls for a public inquiry into the way RCMP treated demonstrators.
2002: Robinson travels to the Middle East, where he tries to get past Israeli border guards to visit Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at his compound in Ramallah. He never gets to see Arafat. Upon his return, Robinson declares, "The Israeli government and the Israeli military are guilty of torture and murder." He resigns as NDP foreign policy critic.
February 2003: Elected as NDP Deputy House leader.
2003: Robinson succeeds in getting the House of Commons to pass a law to include sexual orientation in the hate propaganda sections of the Criminal Code of Canada.
Svend Robinson is comforted by NDP MP Libby Davies.
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April 2004: Robinson holds teary news conference with his partner at his side. He announces he's on temporary medical leave from his job as an MP after stealing a ring at an auction in Vancouver. He says he's been battling severe stress and has sought help for his problems. Robinson says he returned the ring to police a few days after the theft.
May 2004: Robinson's long-time constituency assistant, Bill Siksay, becomes the NDP candidate for Burnaby-Douglas.
June 22, 2004: With one week to go in the federal election campaign, Robinson is charged with theft over $5,000 for stealing the ring.
June 28, 2004: NDP candidate Bill Siksay wins the riding of Burnaby-Douglas.
July 8, 2004: After a brief court appearance, Robinson's lawyer says his client plans to plead guilty to the charges when his trial begins Aug. 6.
Aug. 6, 2004: Robinson pleads guilty in a Vancouver court to a charge of theft over $5,000. He is given a conditional discharge, meaning he will have no criminal record. He is put on probation for a year and is ordered to continue psychiatric counselling and to do 100 hours of community service.
Sept. 3, 2004: B.C. announces it will not appeal Robinson's discharge. Robinson applies for readmission to the Law Society of B.C. He worked as a lawyer for two years in the 1970s.
Oct. 21, 2005: Robinson says he's ready for a political comeback. He holds a news conference to say he will seek the NDP nomination in Vancouver Centre. The riding has been held by Liberal Hedy Fry, since she defeated former prime minister Kim Campbell in 1993.
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