Interview with Svend Robinson

November 10, 2005

Svend Robinson was a longtime NDP member of the Canadian parliament, representing the city of Burnaby from 1979 to 2004. Well known thorough the country for his controversial views and left-wing activism, his career came to an abrupt end in the spring of 2004 when he resigned after admitting to stealing a $21,000 ring. I first interviewed Svend Robinson for the Other Press in 2004, shortly before his resignation. He has since announced his intention to return to politics, and thus I felt a second interview was in order.

OP: Mr. Robinson, on behalf of the students of Douglas College I'd like to thank you for once again agreeing to an interview with the Other Press.

First off, how are you feeling these days?

SVEND: I'm feeling great. I mean, I've lived through the year from Hell, and I'm feeling strong, I'm feeling healthy, and glad to be back in public life.

OP: I want to ask you to respond to a charge we've been reading in a lot of newspaper editorial pages across the country since you announced your intention to run in the next election.

Many are asking how can Svend Robinson claim he is mentally ill to the point where he can steal without taking responsibility, but simultaneously NOT be mentally ill enough to prevent him from being able to serve as an MP?

SVEND: Well, first of all I have never used mental illness as an excuse for my actions. Never. Explanation? Yes. Excuse? No.

We're talking about an event that took place 18 months ago- almost two years ago, on Good Friday, 2004, at a time that quite clearly I was struggling with some significant mental health issues. I hadn't dealt with them and I should have, a long time previously. I didn't know that I was living with mental illness at that time. Since then, I've been very fortunate to have had therapy from a very skilled therapist. I've become aware of the reality of my own health and living with mental illness. I've been recovering from that, fully recovered, in fact.

So there is absolutely no dichotomy, there is no contradiction. At the point at which the ring incident occurred I stepped down. I stepped down from public life precisely because at that point I felt, look, I wasn't in a position to carry on.

This is a year and a half later and we're now in a very different context in which I'm feeling strong and healthy. Part of what is important in my running is to demonstrate clearly that there is tremendous amount of stigma and fear and misunderstanding about mental illness. And the reality is that there are many, many people in our society, in all walks of life, in all levels, in journalism, in politics, in the arts, who in fact are living with mental illness, just as there are people who are living with physical illness and physical disabilities. They are able to not only do a great job, but to play leadership roles. And that's what I intend to do.

OP: Do you think this whole experience has noticeably changed you? In other words, do you think the world will be seeing a different, perhaps a "calmer, gentler" Svend Robinson in the future?

SVEND: (laughs) I don't know about calmer and gentler. Does it change you? Of course it changes you. I mean, I don't know if you saw the interview I did with Gary Mason in the Globe, but I talked to him about that. You can't go through this terrible, painful, traumatic experience that I went through... I mean giving up a job that I loved, that I did for 25 years, and I think I did well, the circumstances in which I gave it up were devastating, and very humbling.

So in terms of my relationships with other people, whether it's with my family, with my partner, with my colleagues, with my friends, of course that changes in an important way, and I'd like to think in a positive way.

OP: There have also been rumors that your return to politics is not being enthusiastically welcomed by the NDP party establishment. Do you still feel as welcome in the party as ever, or do you think the NDP has started to move away from the sort of strong- some would say hardline- democratic socialist ideology that you are known for?

SVEND: I've had tremendous response since I announced that I was coming back to public life. In fact part of what led to my decision to return to public life was the support that I got from people, whether it was from former colleagues, constituents, Canadians across the country who wrote and emailed to encourage me that they wanted to see my voice back in public life. In terms of my own colleagues, Jack Layton has been tremendously supportive from the beginning. From day one he has been a huge supporter for me both personally and politically. Libby Davies, the House Leader, has been just an absolute rock, incredibly solid, again as a friend and a former colleague.

Will there be some people within the party and outside who won't be thrilled to bits to see Svend Robinson returning to public life? Absolutely. They weren't happy when I was in public life, and they've be just as happy if I was appointed ambassador to Outer Mongolia, but that's not going to happen. I believe I still have an important roll to play, and the issues that I've fought for for many, many years in public life, whether it was human rights issues or environmental issues, issues around peace and global justice, issues around the terrible abuse of so-called anti-terrorism laws, those issues are just as important today as when I was involved.

OP: An interesting fact I recently learned about you is that you were actually born in the United States, and that your family immigrated to Canada in the 1960's. I was wondering what personal relevance, if any, being an American by birth had for you, especially in respect to your activist work protesting the United States.

SVEND: Well, aside from First Nations people Canada is a nation of immigrants, some of us more recent than others. My values obviously were shaped in a very important way by upbringing, by my childhood, by the influence of my parents, both of whom were socialists and humanists. They took the very difficult- and I think courageous- decision that they would not support an immoral war in Vietnam, and they pulled up their roots, and moved with the children, four of us, to move north to British Columbia.

Those values were very important to me. From a very young age I was an activist. I refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag in grade three, because I said there wasn't yet liberty and justice for all. That shaped me in an important way. I think Canada was very fortunate to have received thousands and thousands of people who left the United States out of conscience, along with the people who left Chile after Pinochet's coup who also chose to come to Canada. I think those families have made this country a much richer place. I feel very fortunate that I had that background.

OP: Have you renounced your US citizenship?

SVEND: I think probably technically I still am a dual citizen. I haven't really explored that.

OP: You have no interest in exploring that?

SVEND: No, I don't really think about that.

OP: Moving on to your election campaign, when I last interviewed you, at one point you quite vigorously denied the allegation that you were in any way trying to politicize homosexuality, or the gay community. Yet you are now running for election in the Vancouver Center riding, which obviously is home to Vancouver's largest gay district.

In that same interview you also criticized that riding for having elected, what you described as a "right wing Gordon Campbell clone" in the form of Liberal MLA Lorne Mayencourt. So, if the riding is not reliably safe NDP territory, isn't your candidacy there simply an attempt to mobilize the gay community in your favor?

SVEND: No, not at all. Is it a challenge? Of course it's a challenge. The NDP has never won Vancouver center. But we did run a very strong campaign in the last federal election in 2004. I think [NDP candidate] Kennedy Stewart had 32% of the vote Hedy [Fry, the incumbent Liberal MP] had 40% of the vote. Hedy barely survived a nomination challenge herself, and I think there's a real sense in Vancouver Center that it's time for a change.

Yes, there's a significant gay community there, but there are 100,000 people there. Vancouver Center isn't just the west end. Vancouver Center in fact takes in all of False Creek, in takes in a big area of Mount Pleasant, it goes right down to 16th Avenue on the other side of the water. So the gay community is an important part, but it's just one community. There's a very significant seniors community in Center as well, and I've fought for many years on behalf of seniors, whether in Burnaby or nationally. There's a very ethnically diverse community in Vancouver Center as well. There's some really challenges in Vancouver Center around privatization of healthcare, I mean the False Creek Surgical Center is where a number of private healthcare facilities are located.

Most importantly, I lived almost half my adult life in Vancouver. I lived for almost a decade in the west end. I worked in Vancouver Center, I drove taxis, Black Top Cab and Diamond Cabs in downtown Vancouver, it helped put me through school. I worked as an all-night desk clerk in the Silvia Hotel, right in the heart of Vancouver Center. I represented the city of Vancouver for almost ten years, as well as Burnaby. Many people don't know that, but my riding included it. I was one of the five MPs that represented the city of Vancouver.

Obviously I'm not going to go back to my old riding because it's now represented by my former assistant, Bill Siksay, who's doing a great job. So Vancouver Center is an obvious alternative for me.

OP: At this point, with the NDP holding the effective balance of power in a Liberal minority government, do you think your party has achieved a "peak" of sorts, in terms of power and relevance? Is there really much more the NDP can aspire to?

SVEND: Absolutely. There are two things we can aspire to. First, in the next election we should elect many more New Democrats, to have the real clout in that parliament. We don't fully have the balance of power in this one, it's a knife edge. What I'd say to people is "look what we've been able to achieve with 18 New Democrat members of parliament." We've been able to achieve a huge amount. Imagine how much better public life would be in this country if we had many more New Democrats.

So step one is to elect a lot more New Democrats. And step two is to form a government in this country. I believe with every bone in my body that in my lifetime we're going to see that happen, absolutely.

OP: (laughs)

SVEND: You may think that's evidence of absolute delusion (laughs).

OP: Well at least you're ambitious.

Having been an outsider to this minority government saga, and the NDP's role in it, did you ever see Mr. Layton do something and think "gee, if I had been there I would have been arguing with him to take a way different approach?"

SVEND: It would be totally inappropriate for me to try and second-guess what Jack has done, or what the caucus has done.

I haven't been at the table but I look forward to returning to that table and having a voice. I have tremendous respect for Jack Layton. I think he's done just a terrific job as leader, he's put us on the map in this country, and he's put issues that certainly that I care about passionately and New Democrats care about passionately front and center on the political agenda. Whether it's issues around privatization of healthcare, post secondary education and increasing funds- that was part of the balanced budget as you know, earlier this year- housing and homelessness, aboriginal peoples and the absolutely immoral, obscene, and shameful treatment of First Nations people in this country... Jack has been front and center on those issues. Especially human rights issues and same sex-marriage issues. He was the only leader that said this is an issue of basic human rights, and not a sort of "free vote." Would you have a free vote on whether or not women should have equality, or whether there should be racism accepted in this country? Of course not, but you know, gay people, somehow you have a free vote because somehow it's a "moral issue." I don't buy that. Jack didn't buy that, and every New Democrat but one voted for same-sex marriage, and the one that didn't isn't going to be running as a New Democrat in this election.

OP: You must have felt left out. I mean, this was the highest relevance of the NDP in a really long time, and ironically it was the one time when you weren't a member of parliament.

SVEND: It was tough. Absolutely. Of course it was tough, I mean it would have been great to be there, to be part of all that, but it wasn't possible, and the time that I have taken out has been very important time for me, personally, to rebuild my life, and become stronger, and certainly a part of why I'm getting back into public life is to be able to speak out around the failure of the federal government to show leadership on issues of mental health and mental illness.

Nobody wants to have to go through what I went through. God knows I wouldn't wish that on anybody. But having said that, it's been a transformational time for me, it's been a growing time for me, it's been a healing time for me, and I come out of it a better person.

OP: Finally, I thought I'd end with a rather open-ended question.
You're obviously a very out in the open, controversial sort of character...

SVEND: Me? (laughs)

OP: Well I'd say you're easily one of the best-known MPs. But I'd like to know, what do you think is the biggest misconception you think people have about you?

SVEND: Well, I think there are two, if I can take liberties with your question.

One is the accusation that I'm not a team player, and the second is the accusation that I'm a media slut. Those are the two that are both dishonest and hurtful

I've been a New Democrat since I was 14 years old. That's my team, and I have been a loyal and hardworking member of that team. There have been times when I have challenged the leadership, and times when I have challenged my own caucus colleagues when I felt that they took stands that were at variance with our core values as a movement and a party, and I'd do that again tomorrow. Whether it was on Palestinian rights or other issues. So I have been a team player and I've worked with the team.

In terms of the media slut charge, you hear that more than anyone else from people in the media. The irony in it is that I have been, and I say modestly, probably one of the most effective members in actually getting the message out, sometimes creatively, sometimes controversially. I've been on the front lines, whether it's been at Clayoquot Sound, or whether it's been with Sue Rodriguez, whether it's been on anti-war activities, and you pay a price for that. But ultimately I've put those issues on the political agenda in this country, sometimes almost alone. I think that's doing your job effectively and making a difference.

One of my favorite quotes that I've quoted many times- I may have even quoted it you- was Margaret Mead's quote "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Well, along with many I've been one of those citizens that have tried to change the world and get the message out effectively. I know that that can give rise to some of those kinds of criticisms, but I think at the end of the day I can look back and say I've made a difference, and more importantly now that I'm back in public life I'm going to keep making a difference.

OP: Well Mr. Robinson, another good interview. Thank you sir, and best of luck in the future.