It is not an exaggeration to state that Bernie Simpson is a successful professional lawyer, social worker, politician, well known for his charitable activities, an amiable person, a noble father, and husband.
By: Sucha Singh Claire
(English Translation by: Dr Jagtar Singh Dhiman)
Bernie Simpson is known as a distinguished lawyer, who meticulously handles cases concerning compensation for car accident victims. However, looking at his life one finds that he is an apt social worker, an excellent politician, a successful professional, and widely known for his charitable work.
He is indeed an amalgam of diligence and positive qualities who possesses outstanding leadership and organizational ability.
I came to know Bernie in 1987 when he led a campaign to raise funds for the British Columbia and Yukon Cancer Society, as its President. I was introduced to him by one of my friends, the late Malkit Singh Parhar in the office of the then Vancouver Mayor the Gordon Campbell. With his extraordinary organizational expertise, Bernie immediately encouraged me to help lead the fund raising activity of the Cancer Society in the Indo-Canadian community. I found him to be a good-humored and amicable human being. Our mutual respect, affection and warmth grew deep with time.
In 1991, he launched a campaign to be elected as a Member of British Columbia Legislature. I was indeed happy to get an opportunity to work with him. Busy all the time, we didn’t get enough opportunity to know about each other’s families or professions. However, recently I had quite an opportunity to discuss with him his background over a cup of coffee while sitting at the Roots Coffee Shop in the Punjabi Market in Vancouver.
He told me that he was born into a Jewish family and that he is an only child. When he was 5 years old, his parents separated and that deprived him of the love and care of his father. From his childhood he was determined to stand on his own feet and to be a self-esteemed individual. He obtained his degrees at the University of British Columbia in Social Work and Law. After articles he worked for 2 years with a well-known law firm, Owen Bird, which was founded by the former Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia Walter Owen.
In 1970 he established his own Law Office, Simpson & Company.
Jewish people are well known for their professional dedication. When he was elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Vancouver-Fraserview in 1991, he had five offices: Surrey, Richmond, Coquitlam and two in Vancouver.
He is known for his dynamism and involvement in working to further the well-being of people from various social economic and ethnic groups. Over and above his interest in the law, Bernie is deeply concerned with raising funds for the welfare of people suffering from poverty and malnutrition.
In 1984-85 when people were dying from starvation and disease in Africa, Bernie organized the “Mayor’s Campaign for Famine Relief” with the Mayor of the City of Vancouver and former classmate, the Honorable Mike Harcourt.
As a result of bringing together various NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations, i.e. The Red Cross, UNICEF, Save the Children, and World Vision) the campaign raised over $10 lakh (million).
He also spearheaded the campaign that was launched in 1987 to raise funds by the British Columbia and Yukon Cancer Society. With his outstanding organizational ability Bernie was able to associate with leaders of the Indo-Canadian community including the late Mr. Malkit Parhar and myself with the campaign which was able to raise $37,37,370, which amount was 16 times more than that collected in 1986. The Indo-Canadian community raised over one lakh dollars for the Cancer Society and for the first time the Indo-Canadian community became involved with the Cancer Society. The success of the Cancer Society campaign was due to a large part to the Indo-Canadian community who mobilized to fight the disease of cancer which has no boundaries and involves people from all social economic classes and from all cultures.
This was the first time that an ethnic community, the Indo-Canadian community played such an important role in the success of the Canadian Cancer Society campaign in British Columbia.
From a very early age Bernie was involved in the New Democratic Party and was encouraged to raise funds by the Honorable Dave Barrett, former Premier of the Province of British Columbia. In NDP circles Bernie was nick-named “the bag man”.
He was the first member of the NDP who reached out to the business community, a community that the NDP refused to seek support from and which resulted in the NDP having a reputation of being against business. He firmly believed that the creation of wealth was the only way to raise the standard of living of those most in need and that was the poor and new immigrants in Canadian society.
The concept of the creation of wealth was widely attacked by the left-wing in the NDP and Bernie finally decided that it was time to seek elective office and to bring the NDP closer to the middle of the political spectrum.
He was encouraged by the leader of the NDP and former Mayor of Vancouver, the Honorable Mike Harcourt and his close friend and former Premier Dave Barrett.
Bernie with the encouragement of his family and key members of the NDP who shared his political philosophy announced that he would seek the nomination for the riding of Vancouver-Fraserview which was the home of the Ross Street Gurdwara.
Also seeking the nomination was Mrs. Connie Munroe, a lawyer who was then married to the leader of the IWA, Jack Monroe which was the most powerful Union in British Columbia. At that time the IWA had a membership of about 40,000 and was led by her husband Jack Munroe who was 6 feet 5 inches and weighed 285 pounds. Munroe was one of the most influential Trade Union leaders and was able to mobilize hundreds of workers and contributors to his wife’s campaign against Bernie for the nomination.
Jack Munroe’s opinions had an impact on every sector of the British Columbia economy including Cabinet Members. Other Unions followed him and he had a gravity in what he was, his social stature was tall.
The contest for the nomination for Vancouver-Fraserview between Bernie Simpson and Connie Munroe was the most hotly contested fight in British Columbia’s history. Handling the election campaign meticulously and prudently Bernie emerged victorious for the nomination and subsequent Provincial election and became a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Province of British Columbia. He credited his victory of the nomination fight and the subsequent election to the hundreds of members of the Indo-Canadian community who worked on his campaign and voted for him.
Bernie was instrumental in having a bill passed in the BC Legislature which would make it compulsory for all cyclists to wear a helmet. However being a member of an ethnic community (Jewish) he appreciated cultural and religious differences and fought for an exemption to the Bike Helmet Legislation for those members of the Sikh community who wore turbans.
The legislation was the most progressive legislation in North America. Despite opposition from within his own party (it was argued that it could not be enforceable and that it would hurt the NDP at election time), he pushed through the bill with the support of fellow MLA’s Dr. Tom Perry and Dr. Barb Coping. When the vote was taken the bill was passed with nearly every Member of the Legislature voting in its favor.
Talking in support of the Bike Helmet Legislation Bernie informed Members of the Legislature that on an average ten non-helmeted wearing cyclists were killed annually and that over one hundred million dollars a year was being spent on medical treatment in British Columbia for those who suffered head injuries as a result of not wearing a bike helmet.
Bernie was one of the founding members of the Trial Lawyers’ Association of British Columbia whose major objective was to help the victims of car accidents and to fight for their right to have access to the Courts and to have an impartial judge determine what settlement the injured party was entitled to.
Since the mid 1980’s several BC governments including the Social Credit government, Liberal, and NDP tried to introduce “no-fault insurance” which would deprive the public of seeking justice and damages in the Courts. These bills never became law as a result of the various groups such as the Coalition of the Disabled and the Trial Lawyers fighting this unjust legislation. In recognition of his contribution in fighting “no-fault insurance” and his services to the public and legal community, he was honored by the Trial Lawyers’ Association of British Columbia.
As a result of his successful efforts in enacting a law making the wearing of bike helmets compulsory for cyclists, Bernie was honored by the Brain Injury Association of America at a dinner in Washington, DC.
Bernie was a strong advocate as a Member of the Legislature to expand trade with India in keeping with his philosophy of the necessity of the creation of wealth to eliminate poverty.
As a representative of the Ross Street Gurdwara, at the time the second biggest Gurdwara outside of India, he successfully encouraged Premier Harcourt to lead a delegation to India, particularly to the Punjab. The delegation included Bernie as the MLA for Vancouver-Fraserview and Cabinet Members Ujjal Dosanjh and Moe Sihota. At the time they met with Dr. Manmohan Singh who was India’s Finance Minister.
Bernie described his visit to the Golden Temple as being comparable to his visit to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem which is the holiest site for members of the Jewish religion. Since that initial visit, Bernie has visited India ten times and has been a strong proponent of trade between British Columbia and the Punjab which he felt would be in the best interest of the Indo-Canadian community, particularly of the Punjabi speaking youth who would be in a best position to encourage trade between our Province and the Punjab.
He served as Member of the Legislative Assembly for only one term; he left active politics as he wanted to devote more time to his young family and to the law profession.
In recognition of his services to Canadian society, Bernie was honored by the Governor General of Canada and approved by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with Canada’s highest possible award for a civilian, the Order of Canada. This prestigious award was given to him as a result of his efforts for the poor in Africa and for his activity with the multicultural community of British Columbia. At that time Bernie was among the youngest of all recipients of the prestigious “Order of Canada award”.
He has also been recognized by several organizations including the International Red Cross and is a recipient of the Queen’s Golden and Diamond medals.
Talking about his legal practice, Bernie shared that he launched his firm, Simpson & Company, with a mission to provide legal help to obtain the best possible medical treatment and compensation for those who were seriously injured in motor vehicle accidents.
He is credited as one of the first lawyers in British Columbia who pioneered Structured Settlements which resulted in a tax-free monthly payment for those seriously injured for the lifetime of victims of car accidents.
In 2001 he joined in partnership with another highly distinguished lawyer in the area of personal injury, Mr. Anthony Thomas and now has offices in Vancouver and Surrey/Delta. The firm Simpson Thomas has 12 lawyers and over 40 support staff. The firm deals only with cases involving victims of car accidents. The firm Simpson Thomas has settled close to 8,000 cases during the period of 2001 to 2013 and obtained compensation close to 350 million dollars.
He noted that his firm was the pioneering firm in British Columbia dealing only with cases involving motor vehicle accidents.
Recently the firm launched a new website which is one of the most comprehensive websites with regards to questions one may have regarding their rights when injured which is comprised of close to 150 pages, www.simpsonthomas.com.
Fighting for the rights of victims of car accidents is not the only passion that Bernie has. When he read that the City Council of Surrey was planning to open up a mega casino in South Surrey, he led the fight which caused its defeat as he felt that such a project would put further stress on those families, particularly in the Indo-Canadian community, that were struggling to survive in Canadian society.
He also noted that such a project was against the religious beliefs of members of the Sikh, Hindu, and Muslim communities. He mobilized leaders of the various Gurdwaras in Surrey as well as the leaders of the Hindu Temples and Muslim Mosques. Over 5,000 names were signed to a petition. Members of Surrey Municipal Council finally received the message that such a project was not wanted in Surrey and the motion was defeated with Mayor Watts casting the deciding vote.
During my interview with Bernie I asked him why he was so concerned about the welfare of Punjabi community. He explained that he was first introduced to the community by Mr. Malkit Parhar and took on a case which resulted in a member of the Indo-Canadian community being killed, his wife becoming a quadriplegic, and his young infant baby becoming a paraplegic. The family had gone to several lawyers who refused to take on the case as it was felt that the driver was at fault for the accident. Bernie successfully settled the case for the policy limits and soon developed a reputation within the community of taking on cases that other lawyers refused to take.
A more recent example is the famous Jaggo wedding case where his firm Simpson Thomas represented 27 out of 30 people who were seriously injured, 6 of whom were killed. The police put the entire blame of the accident on those who were participating in the Jaggo. As a result of the efforts of the legal team at Simpson Thomas and after the expenditure of close to ¾ of a million dollars the cases were successfully concluded by Mediation under the leadership of the former Chief Justice of British Columbia, the Late Mr. Justice Brenner. Today Bernie Simpson and his firm Simpson Thomas is a well-known name among the Punjabi community with more than 60% of the clients coming from the Indo-Canadian community. He is proud of the fact that the firm represents the second and third generations of Indo-Canadians in British Columbia and that many of the younger clients within the community had their parents and grandparents as former clients.
He believes that the Punjabi community is the most progressive and influential ethnic community in British Columbia and that the community’s influence is at every level of the economic spectrum.
He recalls among his first clients were immigrants from the Punjab who came primarily to give their children a better life. Most of his early clients worked in the saw mills, farms, or were taxi drivers. They made tremendous sacrifices all for the sake of a higher standard of living and for a brighter future for their children.
Through their determination and hard work, the community grew and has greatly influenced the political, economic, and educational levels of society. Just recently he noted that the new President of the University of British Columbia is from the Indo-Canadian community.
Bernie was pleased to share how in the mid-1990’s when he was appointed by Premier Harcourt to be a Senator at the University of British Columbia, that one of the roles that he had was to participate in the University graduations.
He derived great satisfaction to see Punjabi boys and girls receiving their degrees as a result of their diligence, determination, and sacrifices that their parents made. He believes that the Jews and members of the Sikh community have similar values and want to find their rightful place in society and not held down by any other community or what he refers to as the “Wasp” community – the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant community.
Both ethnic groups are determined to maintain their distinct identity, religion, and values and not to assimilate into the greater society. The struggles and hard work that the two communities go through is primarily for the better future of their children. He notes that many of the children of both communities forget their roots and not giving the respect to the parents and grandparents who made tremendous sacrifices for these children to be where they are today.
Bernie married a nurse, Lee and is blessed with two daughters and a son. He and his wife, like parents in the Sikh community, were determined to give their children the best of education. His son Jory became a surgeon in Toronto, his daughter Samantha is a lawyer in the area of Family Law, and his oldest daughter Annie has a doctorate degree in Child Psychology.
It is not an exaggeration to state that Bernie Simpson is a successful professional lawyer, social worker, politician, well known for his charitable activities, an amiable person, a noble father, and husband.
