Vancouver, Canada -- Svend Robinson has been a member of Canada's parliament for 19 years and an openly gay MP since 1988.

He represents the working-class Vancouver suburb of Burnaby for the left-wing New Democratic Party.

Robinson is recovering from a serious hiking accident last December in which he broke his jaw and ankle, among other injuries.

We spoke August 2 as he waited for the step-off of Vancouver's 20th gay-pride parade:

Wockner: I'm so glad to see you're in one piece.

Robinson: Well, yeah, I'm in one piece; I'm still hobbling.

Wockner: Is everything working?

Robinson: No. I've still got problems with my foot -- I'm doing lots of physio -- but I'm feeling a lot stronger. I've got braces [on my teeth] now which is like a massive regression to childhood.

Wockner: Canadian gays and lesbians have really seen a ton of successes and comparatively few setbacks in the last few years. What's the function of a pride parade in this kind of environment?

Robinson: I think, for me, there are two main reasons to have a pride parade in this environment. One is to celebrate. We've made incredible progress over the last 20 years on a lot of different fronts. But also to remind ourselves that there's still a lot of work to be done. It's a time to celebrate a sense of community -- being out, being proud, being everywhere -- but also remembering those who are not able to be here, in other countries.

I always remind people that we are a global movement and in many countries this would be unthinkable. We're still criminalized, beaten and ostracized, and our young people are still too often alienated and alone. There's still too much gay-bashing, too much violence. Our family relationships still aren't recognized as equal. So there's still lots of work to be done -- but today, especially, is a day to celebrate and rejoice.

Wockner: What are the top two or three items on the Canadian gay political agenda in the next couple of years?

Robinson: For me, at the national level, full recognition of our families and our relationships. We've made major progress in pension legislation, on health and dental benefits and others. But we still have work to do on immigration, for example, and a number of other areas. So, recognition of our relationships as fully equal, our families as fully equal.

Wockner: Registered partnership or marriage?

Robinson: Well, I think that as long as the institution of marriage is open to heterosexuals it should be open to our communities as well. I've tabled a bill that would change federal legislation to allow that but I think that the major issue now is full equality and also full funding in the fight against AIDS. There's still a lot of work to be done there.

Secondly, I think the biggest challenge for all levels of government is gay youth. There's still huge, huge barriers facing young people and we've got to deal with that. If I had to identify one area that is my top priority it's reaching out to young people, challenging reactionary school boards and the religious right to recognize that as long as our kids are feeling alienated and are dying and committing suicide, we are not fully equal.

Wockner: In the U.S. gay organizations and gay people are sometimes afraid to reach out to gay youth because of the molestation myth; is that a problem here too?

Robinson: I think our communities too often have internalized homophobia and aren't reaching out enough to young people. So I personally think it's one of the biggest challenges.

Wockner: Thanks.

Robinson: Good seeing you.