From Chantal Hebert's column, Oct 8, 2004

Via Toronto Star:

Liberals blind to new realities

CHANTAL HÉBERT

It has only taken four days but all the glib summer assumptions about the House of Commons going about its business mostly as usual under a slightly reconfigured makeup have been replaced by a strikingly different set of certainties.

Here are some of them:

• The Liberals, who avoided the closest of calls in the House last night, are their own worst enemies. The disunity and the lack of discipline of the caucus will make it hard for the Prime Minister to focus on the survival of his government and on securing a majority in the next election.

• Conservative leader Stephen Harper is willing and ready to step into Martin's shoes and try to make this Parliament work despite its perilous fractures.

• The Bloc Québécois has a better grasp of the limits of its recent election victory in Quebec than the Liberals have of theirs across Canada.

• There are reasons why the NDP has become increasingly irrelevant over the past decade and they were very much in evidence this week.

Let's take them in order.

If minority governments have any silver linings, it is in offering those who run them an excuse to reinvent themselves and, in the case of returning governments, to get out of the inevitable groove that results from too many consecutive years in power.

That's what both Ontario premier Bill Davis and prime minister Pierre Trudeau did when they ran minority governments in the 1970s.

To succeed, Davis and Trudeau made some of the better ideas of their opponents their own, co-opting essential opposition allies in the process but also making their own tent larger in time for a subsequent election.

None of that was in evidence this week as Martin served up his recent Liberal platform under the guise of a throne speech.

During the campaign, the platform was a one-day wonder. Translated into a throne speech, it outlived its usefulness as a consensual mechanism within minutes.

Not only was there precious little fresh material for the opposition to like, but the government also missed a golden opportunity to revamp its tired image at the expense of the other parties.

Moreover, Martin eliminated all references to one of the few acts in office that distinguished him from his predecessor.

To appease his restless Ontario caucus, he cut out his recent decision to embrace asymmetrical federalism from the throne speech, sacrificing in the process his best hope that the Bloc would be under enough pressure from Quebec — where Martin's approach to the health accord was popular — to support the government's agenda rather than risk an election on it.

The notion that the Liberal caucus is recklessly unaware of the new realities the government is operating under was further reinforced when its first post-throne speech meeting featured pointed complaints from some MPs about the Prime Minister's decision to cancel a 10 per cent pay raise for parliamentarians.

Meanwhile, if Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson needed another signal that Harper is eager to pick up where Martin would leave off if his government died an early death, the substance of the amendments the official opposition brought forward on Wednesday provided it.

The Conservative package of amendments gives every party, including the NDP, more solid reasons to buy into it than the Liberal throne speech itself.

Each of Harper's proposals could have been in the Liberal speech, a signal that the Conservative leader has been doing the kind of homework Martin has avoided all summer.

For its part, the Bloc amendment removed doubts that Duceppe might have missed the main point of his Quebec victory last June; that is, that Quebecers want him to look beyond sovereignty in the Commons.

Far from reflecting the sovereignist credo of the party, the Bloc amendment that passed last night could have been drafted by the federalist premier of Quebec (until it was amended to secure all-party support, it actually included Jean Charest's name).

Finally, Tommy Douglas and David Lewis must have turned over in their graves when NDP leader Jack Layton claimed that they inspired his decision to support the Liberal throne speech. This in the face of a Conservative amendment that clearly does more to advance his party's objectives on proportional representation, unemployment insurance and the U.S.-sponsored anti-ballistic missile project.

While the NDP has a history of propping up Liberal minority governments, its past leaders won significant concessions in exchange: medicare in Douglas' case and a made-in-Canada energy policy in the case of Lewis.

But this week, a miserly line in the throne speech on democratic reform and the promise of a debate, but not a vote and certainly not a commitment, on missile defence were enough to keep Layton's NDP on side.

Of the four parties, the NDP is clearly the most spooked by the prospect of a snap election.

At this rate, by the time an election does come, voters may have a hard time telling the difference between the New Democrats and the Liberals.

From Kinsella's blog, September 17, 2004

September 17, 2004 - I am so depressed.

My daughter was holding my hand as I was walking her to school this morning. When we got nearer to the schoolyard, she shook my hand lose - and she wouldn't take it back.

Some of you had warned me this moment was coming, but I am still totally, completely devastated.

The only way to cheer myself up is by going to the Ontario PC convention tonight and driving them all crazy.


+++++
Original URL at http://www.warrenkinsella.com/musings_sept04.htm

Svend Robinson avoids jail (August 6, 2004)

Canadian Press report:

Svend Robinson avoids jail

VANCOUVER (CP) - Svend Robinson, the distinguished politician who stole a diamond ring and unravelled a 25-year career, walked out of court without jail time or a criminal conviction after pleading guilty to the embarrassing offence Friday.

Robinson has suffered intense humiliation, has been shamed out of public office and Justice Ron Fratkin said that's punishment enough. "In Canada, we don't kick people when they're down," he said.

Instead, he gave Robinson a conditional discharge and sentenced him to 100 hours of community service.

Robinson "has fallen far further than most, all for a bauble, a trinket, a ring," said Fratkin.

Sparing him a criminal conviction will make it easier for Robinson to get a new job.

He had been sliding towards a breakdown, Fratkin noted, and people close to him could see it coming. He was falling apart, showing up at his office with circles under his eyes, shaky, his skin grey.

"His lawyers say it was a one-off, a result of pressure that was somewhat self-imposed and pressure brought on by others seeking his help," Fratkin said.

"He ran himself ragged."

Famous Canadians, including environmentalist David Suzuki and the Peter MacKay, deputy leader of the Conservative Party, wrote letters asking the judge not to torture Robinson further.

Stephen Lewis, an envoy to the United Nations, sat down and hand-wrote Fratkin a two page letter of appeal while travelling in Africa.

"It seems to me that in coping with the avalanche of public ignominy, he has already experienced the force and weight of judgment.

"I profoundly hope that the end of his ordeal is in sight."

Robinson said he cracked after a visit with his sister who is struggling with multiple sclerosis.

Emotionally unstable, he went to a public auction over the Easter long weekend in April, according to an agreed statement of facts read out in court.

Earlier in the week, he had been shopping for a diamond ring for his partner, Max Riveron. He looked at one sparkler worth $10,000 and told the sales clerk he would have to go check his bank balance to see if he could afford it.

The rings at the auction were in the "Dynasty" category, priced at over $50,000.

Robinson signed in, said Hello to the attendants, some of whom he recognized, and handed his driver's license over to the security desk. Patrons were allowed to handle the merchandise and Robinson asked to see three rings.

"He put two back and surreptitiously put one in his jacket pocket," special prosecutor Len Doust read.

"He was very calm and very cool. He knew exactly what he was doing. Then he gets rid of it, he hides the ring in his car and locks it."

Robinson went back inside and browsed for another half hour, asking questions before departing.

Riveron told police his partner was like a madman that weekend. The two were at their home on Galiano Island and Robinson worked frenetically outside. He put on new clothes and began chopping wood, refusing to eat or drink, ignoring blood on his hands when he had cut himself.

Riveron said it was like watching Robinson work as an MP, at a relentless pace and to the point of exhaustion.

"I said 'I think you did this, and maybe you weren't conscious, but this was your way out. You should ask for help,' " Robinson's lawyer Clayton Ruby quoted Riveron as saying in a police interview.

Robinson was wracking his brain, trying to come up with a way to return the ring anonymously, Doust said. In fact, the politician told police he was hoping there might be some place he could send it and escape being implicated.

But as the days passed Doust said Robinson realized he had been caught on camera and the consequences would be severe.

"If he had truly wanted to turn himself in and take responsibility, he could have done it right away and simply gone to the police station.

"He chose to turn himself in just before the RCMP caught up with him," Doust said.

Robinson, looking gaunt and nervous, pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000.

"This has been a shattering experience for me," Robinson told court.

"I feel remorse and shame for a totally unthinkable act."

Whatever his motives, Robinson "fell on his sword," Fratkin said, "something few people have the innards to do."

Robinson will go to his grave as the only person who will ever know if the crime was calculated or a freak impulse and lapse in judgement by an unstable man, the judge said.

"On balance, the credits outweigh the debits for Mr. Robinson. . . I'm satisfied that what he has gone through is enough. He's fallen a long way and embarrassed himself."

After the proceedings, his high-profile Toronto lawyer, Clayton Ruby, addressed reporters. Robinson, who stood behind Ruby, did not speak.

"This cry for help does require the imposition of a criminal conviction," Ruby said.

"He is grateful the court's judgement reflects an understanding of the role of the exceptional stress under which he has laboured and the role of a life of unusual accomplishment," Ruby said.

Robinson left without answering questions.

A sketch of Svend Robinson, the former Member of Parliament for Burnaby Douglas who pleaded guilty to theft over $5,000 Friday:

Name: Svend Johannes Robinson.

Birth: March 4, 1952, Minneapolis, Minn. Robinson is 52.

Education: Bachelor of Laws from University of British Columbia followed by post-graduate work at the London School of Economics. Robinson was the first student elected to the UBC Board of Governors.

Career: Barrister and solicitor called to the B.C. Bar in 1978. First elected to House of Commons in 1979. Re-elected seven times becoming the senior MP from B.C. Served as NDP spokesman on Health, Justice, External Affairs and International Human Rights. He was a member of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Sub-Committee on Human Rights and Democracy and had also served on the historic Special Joint Committee on the Constitution in 1980-81 and the 1985 Special Committee on Equality Rights. Elected NDP deputy house leader in 2003. Ran for NDP leadership in 1995 but stepped aside for Alexa McDonough.

Current occupation: Working with the B.C. Government and Service Employees Union through August in its advocacy department.

Family: Parents Wayne Thomas and Edith Jensen Robinson. Partner Max Riveron.

Hobbies: Sea kayaking, hiking, cycling, travelling.

Quote: "The highest duty of a member of Parliament is love. I really believe that. What that encompasses is love and respect for the environment, love and respect for those who are dispossessed and powerless, and those who have traditionally been voiceless."

Some incidents involving Svend Robinson in his 25-year career as an MP for the New Democratic Party:

1979: First elected to Parliament.

1985: Fined $750 for participating in a demonstration against logging of old-growth forest on Queen Charlotte Islands.

1987: Heckles President Ronald Reagan when the then-U.S. president addressed the House of Commons.

1988: Announces he's gay, becoming Canada's first openly gay MP.

1994: Pleads guilty to criminal contempt of court for participating in an anti-logging blockade on Clayoquot Sound. Was at bedside of Sue Rodriguez, who was suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease, when a doctor helped her commit suicide.

1997: Severely injured in a near-fatal hiking accident.

1999: Tables a petition in the Commons advocating removal of the word God from the Constitution. The next day, then NDP leader Alexa McDonough demotes him to back benches.

2001: Robinson among protesters teargassed at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City. He says he was hit with a rubber bullet fired by the RCMP.

2002: McDonough removes the Middle East from his responsibilities as foreign affairs critic after he says Palestinian suicide bombers and the military offensive of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon are both forms of terrorism.

2003: Parliament votes 141-110 in favour of Robinson's bill to extend hate-crimes protection to gays and lesbians.

April 2004: Robinson tearfully announces he "pocketed" a ring at a Richmond auction house. He also announces he would step aside as member of Parliament for Burnaby-Douglas.

June 2004: Charged with theft over $5,000.

June 2004: Constituency assistant Bill Siksay replaces Robinson as NDP member of Parliament for Burnaby-Douglas.

July 2004: Lawyer Michael Bolton says Robinson "has indicated from the outset he'll be accepting full responsibility for his actions."

August, 2004: Pleads guilty to theft over $5,000.

From Bourque NewsWatch, August 26, 2004

In late August 2004, Pierre Bourque created a list called BLOGGER'S OLYMPIC LOSERS, of which Warren Kinsella's name was oddly on the very top.

Update June 20, 2005: I am having problem uploading the screenshot.

Update August 12, 2005: Screenshot added.

My comment on Andrew Coyne's web site, April 12, 2005

The reason is perhaps even when they knew there was a murder cover-up in Cecilia Zhang case, journalists chose to look the other way.

Why do I think there was a cover-up?

Posted by Jim Yu Email 4/12/2005 9:14PM