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Mayor’s foster son finds himself in spotlight with a warrant out for his arrest

December 30th, 2011 · 14 Comments

The Richmond RCMP charges against five people accused of running a dial-a-dope-and-gun operation in Richmond, New West and Vancouver likely would have been a short story in the Richmond paper, except for one thing: the name of one of the accused, which rang a bell for Richmond Review reporter Martin van den Hemel.

It turned out that the bell that rang when he saw Jinagh Navas-Rivas led him to the news that this was Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson’s former foster son.

As a result, all media, including the Globe, quickly picked up on the story.

Robertson had told me about his foster son back in the spring of 2008, when he was preparing to run for mayor, as I was doing the standard checking on biographical information. It was clear to me that Robertson’s wife, Amy, had been the mover on that one — something that didn’t surprise me, as I ran into various people during that 2008 campaign who had been offered temporary accommodation or other help by Amy.

I was interested to note that in the subsequent years, the Robertsons always included Jinagh in their biographical information, never making any differentiation between him and their other three children. I know it must be saddening for all of them to hear the news about these charges.

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  • Roger Kemble

    Why is this news?

  • EastVanEd

    All of this rubbish is reminiscent of the infantile crap written by DannyBoy at CityCaucus. It is unworthy to print.

  • Silly Season

    I disagree. The Mayor is a public figure, so anyone in his family who finds themselves in a compromised position, will most certainly make the news.

    Look at it this way: no one has the exact key to turning out perfect kids. The fact that this young man possibly came with his own baggage makes it all the more difficult. Hats off to the Missus for trying to help.

    I am sure that many will empathize, rather than jeer. At least they tried to help.

    Now, what should be done with this young man?

  • brilliant

    Of course its news, don’t be so naive. How did someone attending PW get to be essentially homeless? Where are Jinagh Nivas-Revas’ parents?

  • Roger Kemble

    brilliant @ #4

    Gossip old pal . . . not news!

  • Silly Season

    What makes something news/newsworthy? Because…

    1) Whale spotted in False Creek: Unusual

    2) New strain of flu arrives: People NEED to know about it

    3) Mayor’s foster son charged with gun/drug offenses: People WANT to know about it

    4) Canucks win the win the Stanley Cup: Lots of people interested in it (and, it also constitutes a miracle)

    5) Junk food ban in schools: Important

  • Jason

    Yes, it’s news…but one hopes no one tries to make something political out of it. As a parent, whether foster or biological, I don’t wish this on anyone.

  • Guest

    About as “newsworthy” as Brian Tobin’s son driving drunk and killing a friend.

  • brilliant

    If you want to put a political spin on it, you could say its indicative of the mayor’s naive idealism.

  • Jason

    Well that didn’t take long…

    http://t.co/eBJ2l8Oi

    I wouldn’t have guessed that Robertsons people would be the ones to try and make this political….

    Poor judgement if you ask me…the focus should be “it’s incredibly saddening for this to happen”…. Not “Gregor is such a saint for taking in a troubled youth”

    Removes my sympathy when it turns into “aren’t we wonderful”

  • Jason

    Sorry…I got the link from a mike Magee tweet…if this was a genuine third party editorial, then I was wrong to label robertsons people as pushing it. My bad.

  • Michael Geller

    When I first heard the story I felt sorry for the Robertsons and thought that credit must go to the family for taking in a foster child. There is a need for many more ‘good’ families to take in foster kids. I tweeted this out.

    From his tweets, I could tell that Mike Magee was very upset with the prominence the story was given in the media, and I must say I can understand his concern. It seemed to be the lead story on CBC and CKNW for a considerable amount of time, as well as front page in the Province.

    I guess the fact that the boy was able to mingle with dignitaries at the Olympics and was on the stage with the Robertson family the night of the election added to the drama of the story for some.

    While others haven’t commented on this publicly, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one also struck by the sad irony of the Mayor joining with other former mayors in calling for legalization of marijuana in order to curb violence, at the same time as his foster son is being monitored by the police for possession of a firearm and illegal possession of drugs.

    Let’s hope the boy does turn himself in.

    Let’s also hope the story does help put a spotlight on, and perhaps improve the situation with respect to foster parents and foster children in the Province.

    Let’s also hope that this incident will help put a spotlight on the young people who are getting involved in drugs and firearms at such a young age. We need to get at the root of the situation.

  • Mira

    Thoughtful post. You are totally right about Amy. A tough and sad situation, no doubt.

  • Max

    What I found fascinating, how certain media and Visionistas were one step away from suggesting that Robertson be ‘Sainted’ for taking this kid in.

    It makes a mockery of all those families that have fostered kids as a life’s work.

    This boy landed in a better situation than many could only hope for.

    And if the police were tracking him for 6 months prior to the arrest, I would suggest he was on their radar before that.