On Monday, February 5, BC premier David Eby announced that Selina Robinson was stepping down from her position as provincial minister of post-secondary education and future skills. The news came after backlash against comments Robinson made during an online panel.
On Tuesday, January 30, Robinson—who is also MLA for Coquitlam-Maillardville—was part of an online panel of Jewish public officials hosted by B’nai Brith, an independent Jewish human rights organization. During the panel, Robinson referred to pre-1948 Palestine as “a crappy piece of land with nothing on it.” She furthered her stance by saying that “[t]here were several hundred thousand people, but other than that, it didn’t produce an economy,” as well as saying that “[i]t couldn’t grow things. It didn’t have anything on it” during the panel.
Robinson went on to, when discussing Indigenous conflict in BC, use the term “regular people” when discussing non-Indigenous peoples.
“Would we weigh in as regular people? The answer is no,” she said. “It’s between these Indigenous nations.”
BC Federation of Students (BCFS) chairperson Melissa Chirino says that the BCFS was extremely disheartened upon learning about the comments made by Robinson.
“The statements made by minister Robinson were harmful and do not mirror the provincial government’s commitments to reconciliation, anti-racism, and equity,” says Chirino. “Our minister really shouldn’t play a role in dividing communities but instead encourage campus environments that embrace respectful dialogue and diversity of opinions, an environment that many students are actively trying to build. It was quite disappointing to have our minister putting those comments out.”
Camosun College Student Society (CCSS) external executive Jagjeet Singh says that the CCSS acknowledges that some students could’ve been hurt by Robinson’s comments.
“We were surprised,” says Singh. “None of us expected that. Coming from the position she had at that point… it was really surprising and concerning. We don’t know, really, but we believe that some of our students could be from those regions, and they could’ve felt bad about it.”
Singh says that there is some concern that Robinson is stepping down around the time that provinces are responsible for sending out provincial attestation letters (PALs) for international students. The timeline for the PALs to be issued is March 31.
“It was a bit concerning,” says Singh. “It’s good that she wants to work on herself, and then, mostly the government wants her to work on herself and her beliefs. With all the new changes that are coming, we’re a bit concerned about what’s going to happen with the provincial attestation letters, something that’s needed for the new incoming transfer students.”
The BCFS commends the decision to have Robinson step down from her position.
“[The BCFS] welcomes premiere Eby’s announcement that minister Robinson has made the decision to step down from the cabinet role following the divisive and harmful comments,” says Chirino. “The provincial government did what needed to be done to ensure that no further harm was caused. But it’s also an acknowledgement that more work has to continue to be done around anti-racism and equity.”
After she made the comments, many organizations called for Robinson’s immediate removal from cabinet, including the Muslim student associations of UBC and SFU. The Alliance of BC Students also released a statement sharing concern over the comments made by Robinson. The Selina Must Go campaign gathered 11,000 signatures in support of her resignation within days.
SFU associate professor of global communication Adel Iskander called Robinson’s comments factually incorrect, telling CityNews that “[t]here’s absolutely no history book that would affirm minister Robinson’s articulation of that period in time.”
As well, representatives from over a dozen B.C. mosques and Islamic associations called for Robinson’s removal and said that no NDP MLA or candidate is welcome in their sacred spaces until Eby takes action against Robinson.
The NDP cancelled a fundraiser event planned in Surrey for Sunday, February 4 and a press conference about housing on Monday, February 5, less than an hour before it was to take place. Eby then had a last-minute press conference at 1:30 pm that day, where he announced that Robinson would be stepping down from her position, saying that “[t]he depth of the work that she needs to do in order to address the harm is significant and incompatible with her continuing” in her position.
This wasn’t the first time this year that calls for Robinson’s termination were made; on January 25, Robinson tweeted her disappointment in Vancouver’s Langara College for reinstating English instructor Natalie Knight, who had given a speech at a pro-Palestine rally praising “the amazing, brilliant offensive waged on October 7.” Robinson tweeted that she was “disappointed that this instructor continues to have a public post-secondary platform to spew hatred and vitriol.” On January 26, the college announced that it had parted ways with Knight. The Federation of Post-Secondary Educators told CityNews that it felt that Robinson wrongfully intervened—which Eby has denied—and called for the minister’s resignation.
Although a permanent replacement for Robinson has not been announced, provincial minister of jobs, economic development and innovation Brenda Bailey is temporarily filling the position.
Correction: We originally reported that former minister of advanced education and skills training Anne Kang was temporarily filling Robinson’s position when it was in fact provincial minister of jobs, economic development and innovation Brenda Bailey. We apologize for the mistake.