by arthur Weinreb, associate Editor,
July 23, 2004
It won’t happen of course. Former NDP MP (he really is "former" now) Svend Robinson appears in a B.C. court on august 6 to answer a charge of theft over $5,000. Robinson was charged after he attended an auction last april and "pocketed" a ring worth $64,500 that he intended to give to his same sex partner, Max Riveron.
after Robinson left the auction he spent the entire long Easter weekend trying to decide what to so. Perhaps not realizing that police work during weekends, he waited until Tuesday and turned himself in to the RCMP.
On april 13, the MP from Burnaby-Douglas held a tearful press conference where, alternatively leaning on Riveron and fellow MP Libby Davies for support he whined, moaned and cried about the stress he was under and indicated that he was taking a leave of absence from Parliament to take care of his medical and legal problems.
Fearing accusations of special treatment, a special prosecutor was brought in and in June, Robinson was formally charged with one count of theft. He indicated through his lawyer that he will be pleading to the charge when he appears in court next month.
I was initially somewhat sympathetic to Robinson. Many people do impulsive and stupid things, especially when they are stressed out. People in their 50s who lead productive lives and who commit a single act of "shoplifting" can usually manage to walk in and out of court with few others finding out what they did. The publicity surrounding Svend’s crime seemed to be punishment enough. and Robinson was true to his word when he stayed on a leave of absence even though he had won his riding’s nomination and could have run for re-election.
I even had some sympathy for him after a B.C. jeweller had revealed that Robinson had been in his shop and had a ring designed, only to balk at the high cost. The theft was obviously not the spontaneous act that Robinson first led the public to believe. It seemed that some form of discharge that would spare Robinson from having a conviction for theft registered against him would have been sufficient.
But that was then and this is now. after the June election when his term had expired, Robinson attended a junket to Scotland at the taxpayers’ expense and the emotionally devastated and stressed out former MP was reported as looking tanned and relaxed. He must have been cured. If Robinson had even the remotest connection with God he would no doubt be shouting, "it’s a miracle, it’s a miracle". although a technicality allows for MPs to work on the taxpayers’ dime for a period of 30 days after they leave office, Robinson allegedly hadn’t been working since the middle of april. But he’s well enough to travel, socialize and attend meetings in Europe at the expense of the Canadian public.
It makes his whole tear-studded press conference a farce for those who thought that he had some genuine medical issues. He is, as is his former leader alexa McDonough, just another silver spoon socialist feeding at the trough. at least McDonough can’t be accused of stealing the spoon.
His actions in taking a taxpayer-funded trip to Scotland after his term ended and three months after he went on medical leave makes Svend Robinson just a regular run of the mill, garden variety thief, no different than the many that grace the halls of the country’s criminal courts every day.
Robinson should not be the recipient of any sympathy. Neither should he receive any credit for pleading guilty. He is a well known public figure who was recognized by many of those who attended the auction. His theft, oops, "pocketing" of a valuable ring was caught on security tape in which he was clearly visible. and he had the stolen piece of jewellry when he handed it over to the RCMP. He was caught red handed.
Of course Svend won’t go to jail. He’ll more than likely make a tearful plea to the judge and walk away relatively unscathed.
and if he’s still interested in a career in politics, rumour has it that his good buddy Yasser may have an opening for a new prime minister.