Stephen Hui/Seven Oaks

Svend Robinson is one of Canada’s best-known members of Parliament. Throughout his political career, Robinson has been an outstanding advocate of environmental protection, human rights, and social equality. He ran for the leadership of the New Democratic Party in 1995. Robinson was first elected to the House of Commons in 1979, and will defend his Burnaby-Douglas seat in the upcoming federal election. Seven Oaks sat down with the MP in his constituency office last Friday, as he gets set to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of his arrival on Parliament Hill.

1. In 2003, Jack Layton was elected the leader of the New Democratic Party. Did the change in leadership signal a shift in direction for the NDP, and where is the party headed?

The party is a much more dynamic and activist party than it was prior to Jack Layton’s leadership. It’s a party that is working very closely with activists in social movements — in the peace movement, in the environmental movement, in the human rights movement, in the feminist movement. We’re reaching out to movement activists across the country, and of course, continuing to work closely with the labour movement. We are not as focused on Parliament Hill. We’re more focused on getting out across the country, and Jack as leader has done that as well.

2. Before the Canadian Alliance and Progressive Conservatives merged to form the Conservative Party, there was a lot of talk about your party forming the official opposition after the next election. Obviously, the situation has changed somewhat. How does the NDP plan defy the media’s expectations, and resonate with voters?

We’ll know very soon whether this has been a merger or a take-over. I think it was a take-over. I think what we saw was the destruction of the Progressive Conservative Party — getting rid of the word “progressive” and progressive policies — and a take-over by the right-wing of the Canadian Alliance. Stephen Harper will almost certainly be the next leader. Does that hurt us? No, quite the opposite — it helps us. I think it means we have two conservative parties in this country, and the space is wide open for a progressive alternative. So, I feel very, very optimistic about our future.

3. Bill Cunningham, provincial president of the Liberal Party of Canada, hopes to unseat you in the coming election. The boundaries for your riding have been redrawn since the last campaign, and Burnaby-Douglas is now home to more families that are middle class than before. Do you think the Liberals are gunning for you, and are you scared?

Yes and no. Absolutely, they’re gunning for me. Am I scared? Absolutely not — I’m proud of my record of service to this community, and I’ll stand on that record of working hard for the people of the community, of being honest in political life, and in providing, I think, a progressive voice for the people of this community.

4. In a February 26 post on his campaign weblog, Blog for Burnaby — perhaps inspired by Howard Dean’s Blog for America — Bill Cunningham wrote:

It will be interesting to see if we can raise the level of political discourse in Burnaby-Douglas to talk about actions and solutions, rather than the rhetoric and partisan posturing that are turning off voters in droves. (Then again, we have an MP who has been playing the political electoral game for over 25 years, so I’m not sure how hopeful of this I can realistically be.) Well, in the battle of actions vs. words, we are told that one speaks louder than the other so I will guess we’ll all see over the period of time between now and the election.

Does Cunningham have a point?

Well, I welcome a battle of actions versus words. My actions over the years that I’ve had the honour of representing this community, I think, have been strong and powerful and progressive. What are his actions? He’s a backroom party hack in the Liberal Party and a banker. What are his actions in this community? So, I welcome that contrast.

5. Will you join the latest trend in politics, and start a campaign blog?

No. That’s not my style. I’m very open; I’m very accountable to the people I represent. But spilling my guts on an Internet blog diary everyday is not something that I’m into.

6. Bill C-250, which you sponsored, would make it illegal to promote genocide or incite hatred against people based on sexual orientation. Groups identified by colour, ethnic origin, race, or religion are already protected by the Criminal Code. The bill passed through the House of Commons in December 2003, and now awaits Senate approval. What would be the impact of this legislation?

Passage of this bill would send out a very powerful signal to Canadians that our country rejects, in the strongest possible terms, the promotion of hatred and violence directed at gay and lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people. If it is wrong to promote hatred and violence and bashing of people on the basis of race, colour, religion, and ethnic origin, it is equally wrong to promote hatred and violence on the basis of sexual orientation. So, that’s the message it would send out to Canadian society. It would also send out a message to gay and lesbian people that our lives — and the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered people across the country — and our security are just as important as the lives of other people. Because by omitting us from that protection now, the signal that is sent is that our lives are less valuable and are less important.

7. In May, you will celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of your first election to Parliament. Reflecting on your many years of public service, what achievements are you most proud of?

I don’t know that I would single out a particular achievement. But I hope that I’ve been able to give a voice to people who have been traditionally voiceless in our country, and a sense of empowerment and hope to people who have felt powerless and lacking in hope. Whether that is gay and lesbian people, by coming out publicly as the first openly gay member of Parliament in 1988; whether it’s Aboriginal people, First Nations people, in standing in solidarity with them in defence of their historic rights; whether it’s environmentalists, by speaking out and in some cases engaging in peaceful civil disobedience and going to jail in defence of our environment; whether it’s global peace and justice issues, confronting the injustice and the appalling inhumanity of the treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territories, or speaking out for peace — those are some of the issues that I look back on and I feel privileged to have been able to speak out on.

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