Roger Cyril Simmons, (born June 3, 1939) is a Canadian public policy consultant and former politician and diplomat. Simmons is originally from

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, where he was a politician for many years. He was later based at the

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

office of the Gowlings law firm. The son of Willis Simmons and Ida Williams, he was born in

Lewisporte Lewisporte is a town in central Newfoundland, Canada, with a population of 3,288. It is situated in Burnt Bay which opens on to the Bay of Exploits. Lewisporte has a deep water port and related facilities that serve many communities in the re ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. After studying at the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

College for Officers,

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...

, and

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, Simmons became a teacher in Newfoundland's Salvation Army school system. (At the time, the Salvation Army, along with other denominations, ran its own publicly funded schools.) He subsequently moved to Springdale to become principal of Grant Collegiate and superintendent of the Green Bay Integrated School Board. Simmons married Miriam Jean Torgerson. He became president of the Newfoundland Teachers' Association in 1968 but resigned to run unsuccessfully for the leadership of the

Newfoundland Liberal party The Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a political party in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The party is the provincial branch, and affiliate of the federal Liberal Party of Canada. It has served as the Government o ...

. In 1973, he was elected Liberal member of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...

(MHA) for Hermitage. He was re-elected in 1975 as MHA for Burgeo-Bay D'Espoir. In 1979, he resigned his provincial seat and was elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

in the that year's federal election as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Burin—St. George's. Following the 1980 election, Simmons became parliamentary secretary to the

minister of the environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

, and then parliamentary secretary to the

minister of state Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

for science and technology. On August 12, 1983, he was named to the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

as minister of state for mines. He resigned eleven days later after learning that he was being investigated by the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

on an allegation that he failed to pay

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

on some of his earnings. Simmons thereby set the record for the shortest federal Cabinet career in Canadian history. Simmons lost his seat in the 1984 election. In 1985, Simmons returned to the Newfoundland House of Assembly as the Liberal MHA for Fortune-Hermitage and briefly served as interim

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. Simmons returned to the federal House of Commons in the 1988 federal election. He represented Canada at the Rio Summit in 1992. Simmons was re-elected in the 1993 election, and defeated in the 1997 election by Progressive Conservative candidate

Bill Matthews William Matthews (born July 22, 1947) is a Canadian politician. Political career Matthews was a Progressive Conservative member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 1982 to 1996. During this time, he was a cabinet minister ...

. Simmons was appointed

Consul General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

for Canada in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

in 1998 and served in that position for five years before moving to Vancouver and joining Gowlings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Roger 1939 births Living people People from Lewisporte Canadian diplomats Canadian Salvationists Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada