Rodney Anthony Allan Zimmer (19 December 1942 – 7 June 2016) was a Canadian politician, businessman, and philanthropist. He was also a significant fundraiser for the Liberal Party of Canada. He resigned suddenly from the Senate of Canada due to ill health on 2 August 2013.
Early life
Born in Kuroki, Saskatchewan, he received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1973.
Business career
From 1979 to 1983, he was Vice President of Corporate Communications for CanWest Capital Corporation. He officially resigned exactly eight years later in 2013. Auditor General Michael Ferguson determined in 2015 that Zimmer had inappropriately claimed $176,012 in expenses which were not repaid before his death.
Personal life
He married Maygan Sensenberger (born 15 April 1989) on 27 August 2011, in Ottawa, Ontario. During an 23 August 2012 flight, Zimmer and Sensenberger had an argument that required the flight crew to intervene. Sensenberger was arrested and charged with causing a disturbance and uttering threats against Zimmer, as well as endangering an aircraft which was later dropped. A court order forbade Zimmer and Sensenberger from communicating in person, restricting them to only phone and Internet, including Skype. Sensenberger pleaded guilty to causing a disturbance on a flight and was given a 12-month suspended sentence with probation and must seek counselling and an addiction assessment. The charge of uttering threats against Zimmer was withdrawn.
Zimmer suffered ill health in 2013 spending three weeks in hospital with pneumonia during the spring and then continuing to go in and out of hospital with respiratory complaints. He reportedly informed Liberal leader Justin Trudeau in July of his intention to resign due to his health and submitted a resignation letter to the Governor General of Canada on 2 August 2013, the eighth anniversary of his appointment to the Senate, with his resignation taking immediate effect. He was 70 at the time of his departure from the upper house.