You call this patronage? MUN post will cost me, lawyer says
A prominent St. John's lawyer who was tapped this week to take over the board of regents of Memorial University scoffs at suggestions he has received a patronage appointment.
"It's a position that I don't get paid for," said Bob Simmonds, a defence lawyer who will become chair of the board, and responsible for finding a new president for Memorial — a search that was derailed this year amid accusations of political meddling.
"It's a position that where no doubt there has been some difficulties and, you could say, acrimony that's become so public. And believe me, I can pick enough fights in my profession that I don't have to step outside it to do it," Simmonds told CBC News.
"And I'm going to be away from my office for significant periods of time, so I'm going to lose revenue. If that's the definition of a patronage appointment, so be it."
Best known as a criminal defence lawyer in St. John's, Simmonds is the former law partner of Finance Minister Jerome Kennedy. Simmonds was also a key adviser on Kennedy's 2007 election campaign, when he jumped from the courtroom to the legislature.
Like Kennedy, Simmonds is not known for biting his tongue, and Simmonds said no one — including the government — should expect him to suddenly be shy of expressing himself.
Liberal critic Roland Butler said the appointment of Simmonds is clearly a patronage appointment, but added that the party is not objecting to the choice.
"Knowing the character of this individual and his past, he will carry the day here and do what has to be done," Butler said.
Search shut down after minister's involvement
Simmonds takes over as board of regents chair following controversy that developed after Education Minister Joan Burke vetoed the short list of candidates in the previous presidential search.
After Burke revealed that she interviewed and rejected the two leading candidates, the university's board of regents later said that the government had interfered in the search process.
Academic groups across Canada accused the Newfoundland and Labrador government of jeopardizing the academic integrity of Memorial, the largest university in Atlantic Canada.
A key issue of dispute has been the insistence of the provincial government that Memorial's Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, based in Corner Brook, become an independent institution — albeit with a common board of regents.
University officials, including former chancellor John Crosbie and former president Axel Meisen, criticized the plan.
No opinion on Grenfell issue
Simmonds, who said government officials did not ask for his views on Grenfell independence before he was appointed, told CBC News he does not have an opinion on the matter.
He said, though, he expects to field questions about the board's relationship with the provincial government, which provides much of the university's funding.
"Is there going to be autonomy for the university? What about government? Are you going to let them override?" he said. "That's a fair question but I can't answer that right now."
Simmonds said government's opinion is valid in university business, but so too "are the opinions of the academics, as are the opinions of the students as are the opinions of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador."
Simmonds replaces St. John's businessman Gil Dalton as chair of the board of regents. Dalton's term ends on Friday.