Robinson remembers his roots

RCMP boss was born in the Valley

Trisha LaCarte, SWAN VALLEY STAR AND TIMES

From playing Tigers football to becoming commanding officer (CO) of the RCMP ‘D’ Division, Assistant Commissioner Bill Robinson finds himself at the top of his game with the heart and soul of small town roots.

Although he has made his way back to his home province, Robinson’s RCMP career didn’t begin in his hometown.

“I had applied in Swan River in ’76 but because of the Olympic games that were going on I was deferred. I ended up in Regina where I was sworn in and went to training in ’79,” explains Robinson.

His early days in the Valley are remembered with fondness, from a simple farming lifestyle to his days as a teenager at the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School.

“I enjoyed growing up in Swan River. Our family farmed around the Bowsman area and Birch River. It was a good place to grow up,” says Robinson. “My dad was Charlie (Charles) Robinson, his family was from Birch River, and my mom was Marjorie (nee) Petheram, they were in Bowsman,” he says with a audible smile.

Robinson’s wife, Carol Klein-Robinson, also has ties to the Valley, albeit separate from his own.

“Her father was a bank manager in Birch River,” he said.

“They were in Benito, too. Carol went to high school for a short time at the SVRSS and then they were transferred to Saskatchewan. I met her after she was transferred, but we are kind of connected through those sets of communities.”

Despite being currently located in Winnipeg, Robinson has tried to remain connected to the Valley, through friends and family.

“I try to get up as much as I can. My aunt and uncle still live there and I have some other relatives in Birch River,” he says. “I’ve been up there to a regimental dinner, and I think it was 2006 when I took the salute at the musical ride. That was a nice occasion, everyone was quite excited about it.

The path leading Robinson to his current position was filled with adventure, the truly Canadian kind.

After spending some time in Fort McMurray, Alta., with his wife, Carol, he found himself moving to a community with a unique claim to fame.

“We moved up north to Fort Chipewyan in northern Alberta on the border of the North West Territories. It’s an isolated community, and in fact that’s the oldest community in Alberta.”

Robinson then began a series of moves landing himself and his family in a variety of locations across Canada, including the Yukon and, after a few in between locations, to Edmonton’s Major Crimes unit.

“I did five or six years there, travelling around Alberta, and then I went to Red Deer as a watch commander. I did a year there and then I got commissioned,” he says with an easygoing tone.

With his new title in tow, Robinson and family moved to Nova Scotia where he served as the contract policing officer and eventually made his way to Prince Edward Island where he was appointed officer in charge of criminal operations in 2001.

“I was there for a couple of years and then I was lucky enough to come back to Manitoba as the chief superintendent in charge of criminal operations. That was a really exciting job,” Robinson says.

In 2006, he was promoted and began developing alternative policing methods for various ranks and units as a national project leader from the client service enhancement project (CSEP). Robinson spent two years in Edmonton working on advancing different strategies still in keeping with the RCMP’s policing mission.

“Some of the work that we did is being piloted now in the lower mainland of B.C. and in New Brunswick, and then we’re going to get started hopefully sometime in the next year on the Community Officer Aboriginal Program in Manitoba, and in a couple of other provinces,” says Robinson, obviously enthusiastic about the progress he was such an integral part of.

Robinson’s time was well spent on the CSEP, however, he was called to a new priority. “Times flies – in April ’08 I took command of the province,” he says, even though the official welcoming ceremony happened in September of the last year.

“So it’s been quite a ride, we’ve been a lot of places, and we’ve really enjoyed ourselves. We had a good experience everywhere we went, but it’s really special coming back to your home province. To be the commanding officer for the force, it’s very much an honour. It was one of those things when you join you never ever dream about, but once you start moving through the ranks you wonder if it would be a possibility and as it turned out it worked out for me.”

And through the countless moves, the Robinson family has taken only the best from their experiences.

“We moved to some pretty special spots. It’s not everybody that gets to live on P.E.I. or go holiday in Kluane National Park in the Yukon, or to go into the mountains and see grizzly bears. I was seconded to the FBI National Academy and I completed their training in the 204th session, so my kids got to experience Washington,” he says with the passion of his experiences evident in his voice.

“Just the variety that the force offers I don’t think you can get anywhere else. It’s really quite remarkable.”

He has also found the experiences have given his sons strength and wisdom as they build their own lives.

“We have two sons; my oldest son Lance is in the RCMP in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and he’s a civilian member in the informatics and computer area, and my youngest son Jason is a regular member stationed in Grimshaw, Alta.”

“So, I couldn’t have done that bad a job if they both wanted to join,” says Robinson laughing good naturedly at what has become a family affair.

When he took command of the RCMP ‘D’ Division, the transition was smooth and his objectives clear cut.

“I think taking over as the commanding officer in Manitoba was made a great deal easier for me because I was here as the criminal operations officer (previously) and so a lot of the processes had started.”

“It was watching the things you had planted two years before grow. I also had the benefit of knowing the people, all of my staff. The fit was very good and the transition wasn’t difficult,” Robinson explains. “So really for me it was like a homecoming.”

Immediately, he set his sights on encouraging continued positive growth throughout the many facets of the RCMP ‘D’ Division. “My role when I got here was quite straight forward, it was to build a police service that could adequately handle the the workload both in our northern communities and in the south. We wanted to build a police service that focused on transparency and accountability in order to ensure that we were providing a meaningful service, otherwise both a culturally and community orientated service,” says the commanding officer whole-heartedly, adding effective communication also topped his priority list.

“(It was) also important to me that we worked closely with our policing partners and with our community social agencies because in some cases, in some communities, the RCMP particularly in the north, is often the only agency in that is there full time and able to provide the type of support these communities are looking for. We wanted to make sure that we were able to do that appropriately,” he states emphatically.

Robinson isn’t going it alone, however. He’s grateful to find a responsive attitude within the RCMP force and in the people he serves.

“We get good support from the citizens of Manitoba, there’s always criticisms in whatever service you provide but I think one of Manitoba’s strengths is that we try not to be defensive, we try not to look at criticisms of our service delivery as personal attacks but rather as learning experiences. (As a result) we try to develop programs, systems, and policies that address those shortfalls if in fact there are things that we can improve on.

“I think in the years that I’m here much will change, but one thing that will never change is the ethical transparency and professional policing service for Manitoba. That will remain my focus,” he says conclusively.

Once the small town boy, Robinson has maintained his humble values and moral beliefs, which carry into his professional career.

“What drives me more than anything is my personal belief that we have the opportunity to make things better. I think some of the things that we’re able to do with the support of the provincial government and the support of the communities will really enable us to make a difference,” says the dedicated CO.

“The pride in our membership to do the job, the real benefit that I see coming out of the work that we’re doing, and it’s the personal challenge – I want to make things better,” he explains.

Being CO of the RCMP ‘D’ Division can be a stressful, time consuming job, but Robinson likes to maintain a certain level of balance in his life, finding time for both work and play.

“I enjoy fixing houses, even though my wife laughs at me because we always buy houses that need lots of work and we probably sink way too much money into them,” says Robinson, chuckling.

“I try to work out everyday for my own personal health and I try to pass that message onto others. I’m also involved in the community. I do enjoy watching an hour of television every night, and I probably snack too much but my jogging keeps those taco chips at bay,” he says laughing.

“I do a lot of things and I try to be diverse. I quite enjoy myself.”

When he’s not renovating or attending the myriad events he often finds himself at, Robinson
has found joy in his grandchildren.

“I have two grandkids now with a third on the way and I must say that probably a big piece of my future is going to be trying to situate ourselves around (them). It’s a very exciting time – I had no idea that grandchildren could be so much fun, although when they start to cry I just give them back to their parents, so maybe that’s why,” he says, entertained by the role reversal.

A long way from his childhood in Swan River, the CO has not forgotten where he comes from. He plans on passing his Valley pride through the generations.

“I used to play for (the Tigers football team), I still have my jacket – it’s in pristine condition. I’ll give it to my grandson when he grows up,” he says with a chuckle.

Reprinted with permission from the Swan Valley Star and Times