He has been a consultant for the federal, Northwest Territories and First Nations governments in areas of law reform and child welfare.

He is rumoured to be one of thirteen provincial caucus members who forced the resignation of Carole James from her position as leader of the BC NDP.

[6] Simons declared his candidacy in the subsequent leadership race on January 5, 2011,[7] but withdrew on April 7 and threw his support behind John Horgan.

[9] With the announcement of Premier David Eby's new cabinet on December 7, 2022, Simons was replaced in that role by Sheila Malcolmson,[10] and was instead named NDP caucus chair.

[12] Simons is a cellist, whose musical credits include several tracks on Rise Against's 2004 album Siren Song of the Counter Culture.