by The Honourable John C. Crosbie, PC, OC, ONL, QC
All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts.
— William Shakespeare, As You Like It (Act II, Scene VII)
I was an actor on the Newfoundland and Canadian political stage through much of Roger Simmons’s political career, which spanned from 1973 to 1997. Always astute and sharp-witted, he’s a wily character whom I have known for many years for his commitment to public service and as an untiring and dedicated soldier of the Salvation Army and, of course, the Liberal Party.
Roger and I were political contemporaries who first met in the late 1960s, and although we were most of the time in different parties, we enjoyed a mutual respect for one another, engaging in rigorous debate as is necessary in our democratic process. Always ready with a sharp rejoinder, Roger, I recall, one time referred to me in the House of Commons as:
“the bionic mouth not attached to any known intelligent life form!”
I am honoured to have been asked by the Honourable Roger Simmons, PC, to provide this foreword to his engaging and wonderful account documenting the ups and downs of a successful and colourful Newfoundland politician. Roger consistently displayed tremendous resilience and has left an enduring impact on just about every organization that he has been associated with along the way, whether it be in the education system, Parliament, or the foreign service.
He also possesses an uncanny ability to, despite adversity, seemingly always land on his feet and move forward without missing a beat. He is widely admired in disparate circles for his tenacity and cleverness.
As the Member of Parliament for the sprawling coastal rural riding of Burin–St. George’s along the south and southwest coasts of Newfoundland, Roger was a tireless advocate of constituents residing in over 150 far-flung communities. As Member of Parliament, he very ably fulfilled the role of political successor to long-serving parliamentarians Chesley Carter (1949–1965) and Donald Jamieson (1966–1979).
He has certainly enjoyed a fascinating career, and he has produced an excellent book that’s well worth a read for anyone with an interest in Canadian politics and how a successful politician might operate. It is good fortune that he has decided to document in a most entertaining and interesting manner his remarkable career from how things modestly began for him, as part of a large family in Lewisporte and Bishop’s Falls, to how he succeeded as an educator, administrator, entrepreneur, politician, diplomat, and consultant.
Roger Simmons has faithfully served in the political arena, and my knowledge of him as a co-combatant reminds me of the following quotation by United States President Theodore Roosevelt:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly;
Who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds;
Who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;
Who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and
Who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,
So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.1
I trust that you will enjoy as much as I have this well-written and engaging account of a life in progress that has been well-lived thus far.
1 Excerpt of a speech delivered by Theodore Roosevelt at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, on April 23, 1910