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.