National

Selina Robinson quits B.C. NDP, citing antisemitism in caucus

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Mar, 2024 05:16 PM

Former British Columbia cabinet minister Selina Robinson has quit the NDP, citing antisemitism in the ruling party's caucus.

Robinson, who is Jewish, says she can no longer remain in the party because it is not properly addressing antisemitism in the province or among her former colleagues.

Robinson told an impromptu news conference in a hallway of the B.C. legislature that she will now sit as an Independent.

She resigned her cabinet post as minister of post-secondary education last month after saying modern Israel was founded on "a crappy piece of land."

The Jan. 30 remarks sparked an outcry from pro-Palestinian groups that called them racist and Islamophobic.

Robinson, who has also previously served as finance minister, says she hasn't heard from Premier David Eby or any other members of the NDP caucus since informing them of her decision.

Eby said last month that Robinson's "belittling" remarks were incompatible with her remaining in cabinet.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C.-based Helijet orders first electric vertical-takeoff aircraft

Vancouver-based Helijet International has placed what it says is Canada's first order for an electric vertical-takeoff aircraft to add to its current fleet of passenger and cargo helicopters. Helijet president Danny Sitnam said Tuesday that the ALIA aircraft built by Vermont-based BETA Technologies would allow quicker, quieter and more efficient landings and takeoffs from hospitals and other emergency zones.

B.C.-based Helijet orders first electric vertical-takeoff aircraft

Medication could have been confused with Halloween treats in Colwood, B.C.: Police

Police in a community west of Victoria are urging parents to check their children's Halloween candy carefully for medication that might have been mistakenly handed out to trick-or-treaters. West Shore RCMP say they received a call from a senior living in Colwood, near the intersection of Bette Drive and Charlotte Drive.

Medication could have been confused with Halloween treats in Colwood, B.C.: Police

B.C. pair accused of neglect in death of North Okanagan youngster in 2020

Two North Okanagan residents have been ordered to appear in a Vernon, B.C., courtroom in January as they face charges of neglect that led to the death of a child nearly four years ago. RCMP Cpl. James Grandy says police were called to the Lumby area east of Vernon on April 4, 2020, after paramedics located a critically ill boy.

B.C. pair accused of neglect in death of North Okanagan youngster in 2020

2 men shot outside South Vancouver nightclub

Police say they're investigating after two men were shot at outside Gallery nightclub in south Vancouver early Sunday morning. They say officers responded to reports of gunfire and found a 44-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his arm, while the other man wasn't injured.

2 men shot outside South Vancouver nightclub

Body found in a Kelowna park

R-C-M-P in Kelowna say a man's body has been found in a park on the city's north side. A statement from the detachment says the body was found this morning in Sutherland Bay Park and it appears the victim may have been there through the night.

Body found in a Kelowna park

Deadly crash in Kitsilano

Vancouver police hope witnesses will have information or dashcam video that could assist the investigation of a deadly crash in the city's Kitsilano neighbourhood. Police say a 53-year-old pedestrian died last Wednesday -- almost a week after she was hit when two cars collided (at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Balsam Street) and slid onto the sidewalk where she and a second pedestrian were standing.