Svend Robinson Accountability Session April 4th, 2004
By Richard Eriksson on April 4, 2004 - 4:41pm
Svend Robinson is the Member of Parliament for Burnaby-North, so even though this fits better as a suburban Vancouver topic, Robinson is among the most well-known politicains in the Lower Mainland, not to mention Canada. Today he held what he calls an Accountability Session, where he meets with people from the community to give them an update and to discuss the issues that are pressing to his constituents. The following is from my notes—no verbatim quotes, since my pen doesn't write as fast as he talks (yes, I'm blaming the tool, not the operator)—and I can be reached if any corrections are necessary.
Although this is the first Accountability Session I've known about and attended (through no fault of Svend's), Robinson noted that he holds them two or three times a year, holds special community forums on specific issues, sends out newsletters with a calendar as well as the the Burnaby Douglas Update, has a cable TV show on an irregular basis and tries to stay visible in the community, for example visiting the recent Open House at BCIT. (A quick search turns up a listing of Robinson's constituency services.) He said he assumed the Accountability Session he held today would be his last before an election is called, which he believes will be in three weeks, just after Chuck Guité is scheduled to testify in the sponsorship inquiry. That way, Robinson figures, Paul Martin can feel he kept his promise of no election before knowing "everything" about the sponsorship scandal. In other words, look for an election call sometime around April 25th.
He listed a few priorities that he and the New Democratic Party will be emphasizing in the coming election: the Romanow health care report, especially home-care provisions as an alternative to acute care, and post-secondary education, where universities are having to turn away qualified applicants because of lack of space (read: funding). He also had some remarks about Ujjal Dosanjh quitting the NDP to run for the Liberals, and wondered aloud who the candidate for the Liberals will be in Burnaby-North now that the Liberals aren't saying if they will appoint a candidate. Robinson said he felt not only political betrayal for Dosanjh's quitting but also personal, and he said he could not understand why someone with such a long and distinguished career of activism could be so opportunistic.
There were only about a dozen people who attended the session, and only after getting permission to take photos did I find out that the batteries were dead. (That's what I get for letting my parents take my camera on their trip to Cuba.) Despite the low turnout, the questions from the floor covered topics such as the politics of water, with Robinson arguing for a renegotiated NAFTA which explicitely includes water; the electoral system, with Robinson arguing for a system like New Zealand's electoral system (I myself am partial to Germany's electoral system, but I didn't bring it up at the session); and the nature of debate in the House of Commons, with Robinson saying that decisions to pass a bill are effectively made by the Liberal whips before the MPs have a chance to debate the legislation—even the committee system is severely flawed because, as Robinson said, even if a committee member gets a Liberal committee member to change their mind, the Liberal party can simply replace that memeber—and that any eloquence in debate about the important issues of the day is wasted. (As disclosure, the question about the nature of debate in the House was mine.) Another question had to do with the recent Taiwan election, and Robinson expressed his support for the Taiwanese people to determine their own future without coercion from Mainland China, and that, somewhat paradoxically, if Taiwan were more independent, because each country shares not only common interests but a common heritage, that it's possible that Taiwan and Mainland China can have a closer relationship. He also congratulated President Chen on his re-election and for running a "courageous" campaign.
It was a short session, scheduled for two hours but, because of a low turnout, only lasted about 45 minutes to an hour. I found it interesting that more people didn't take advantage of the opportunity to meet their Member of Parliament on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It's almost as if the bosses (i.e. voters) of a company (i.e. the government) aren't interested in what their employees (i.e. elected representatives) are doing. A mother brought in her young daughter, so at least I wasn't the youngest person in the room, but it was mostly the party faithful plus some (e.g. myself) whose membership had lapsed and wondered whether getting a little more interested in politics was worth my time.
Svend Robison is one of those politicians who, whether you like him or not, at least puts an effort into keeping the people he represents informed about what he and and his party is doing as well as has an interest in what his constituents think. If only they'd take advantage of the opportunity.
Nice work, Richard.
This is the kind of first-person reporting that I hope to see more of on UV. Too bad about the pictures, would have been a nice addition.
Photos would have been neat too, because the setting was very informal. It looked like he planned to sit down at the table in front, but instead decided to alternate between standing in front of the table and sitting on the table. It would made a good photo, Svend at ease talking with his constituents, but alas it was not to be.