NDP MLA Selina Robinson was, until very recently, also the provincial minister for post-secondary education and future skills, but she showed her bias and was asked to step down.
This is something that as a college student I 100 percent approve of. I would not want Robinson to be in charge of any ministry again, unless she receives lengthy bias training and proves change has occurred. Only then should she be given a chance as a deputy minister.
Robinson was dismissed from cabinet on Monday, February 5 for comments made during an online event hosted by B’nai Brith Canada (see page 3 for more information). They were ignorant and incorrect comments about the land Israel was founded on: “It was a crappy piece of land with nothing on it,” she said during the event. “There were several hundred thousand people, but other than that, it didn’t produce an economy.”
Robinson also made statements using Indigenous conflicts here in BC as a parallel to the conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians, and asking whether or not “regular people” should weigh in on those issues.
After hearing Robinson’s comments, I was at first surprised. She should have known better. I’m a student affected by her government education portfolio. Robinson has a master’s degree in counselling psychology, not education; she should have consulted the staff around her before making these comments. They should help the minister of the office they hold. So, I was surprised, but I shouldn’t have been. I learned in my 33 and a half years in my job, before I retired and came to Camosun College, that sometimes people are blind and think they know best.
People in public positions need to think through what they say before they say it, especially if it’s about a sensitive topic. If something is pulling at the back of your mind, you should consult the people around you.
Robinson did attempt to backtrack and apologize after the video started making rounds. As a minister with her education portfolio what she said was… yikes. And these comments were not made in isolation.
Langara College English instructor Natalie Knight made comments on the war in Gaza in October last year at a pro-Palestinian rally. At the rally, Knight referenced “the amazing, brilliant offensive waged on October 7” by Hamas.
Knight was put on paid leave after making the comments; once an investigation by the college was complete, Knight was reinstated on January 18.
Robinson retweeted a call by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs to have Knight fired, and Robinson admitted to a meeting with the college about Knight. Knight was terminated from her job on January 26. (Premier David Eby has said that this was not due to Robinson.)
Knight is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ right to freedom of expression and academic freedoms, but her statements during the rally were abhorrent.
Robinson’s statements at the online event and her activity through retweeting show she is pro-Israel. So do the efforts of Robinson to fire Knight because of Knight’s views on the Gaza conflict mean there is history of bias? Yes.
Robinson—who announced that she will not be seeking re-election as an MLA, a decision she said she came to before this controversy began—has been temporarily replaced by provincial minister of jobs, economic development and innovation Brenda Bailey.
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.