Veteran New Democrat Svend Robinson is staging a political comeback in his British Columbia hometown, where he will run in the riding next to where NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is vying for his first-ever federal seat.
Robinson, a contender in the 1995 NDP leadership race and Vancouver-area MP from 1979 to 2004, announced Tuesday that he plans to run for the party in Burnaby North—Seymour, home to the terminus of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline. As the only person vying for the nomination, Robinson is expected to be acclaimed as the NDP’s candidate there on Saturday.
The riding is currently held by Liberal MP Terry Beech.
Speaking to reporters outside his boyhood home in the riding, the 66-year-old said he is compelled to return to the political arena by “two huge crises”—climate change and expensive housing. He called for “radical changes” to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and a “massive program” to build affordable housing for people who have been priced out of areas where they grew up.
“I feel a huge sense of urgency about what’s happening,” Robinson told the Star by phone on Tuesday.
“My experience, and it was a pretty long and solid parliamentary career, hopefully that can help to contribute to the next (NDP) caucus.” ...
op:
