Michelle Simson

Michelle Simson (born July 10, 1953) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to represent the Ontario electoral district of Scarborough Southwest as a Member of Parliament from 2008 through 2011. She is a member of the Liberal Party.

Michelle Simson
MP
Member of Parliament
for Scarborough Southwest
In office
2008–2011
Preceded byTom Wappel
Succeeded byDan Harris
Personal details
Born (1953-07-10) July 10, 1953
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Political partyLiberal
SpouseGeorge Simson
ProfessionVice-President and Manager

Before being elected as an MP, she was the vice-president and general manager of a leasing firm located in Scarborough and was a former president of the Ontario Women's Liberal Commission.

After the election, Simson was a member of the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics and an associate member of the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration, Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. She also sat as a member of the Standing Committee on the Status of Women.

She was also the co-chair of the National Liberal Caucus Communications Committee and Treasurer of the GTA/Ontario Liberal Caucus.

Political career (2008–2011)

On July 7, 2009, Simson made history by becoming the first federal politician in Canada[1] to publicize her claimed expenses for the fiscal year on her website,[2] saying:

"I have been a taxpayer a lot longer than I ever have been an MP, and as a taxpayer this was a real bone of contention. ... It was all about accountability. I may not succeed, but in my little piece of the world, my constituents can go on my website and will be able to see how the money is spent. It's their money. That's the bottom line."

On November 6, 2009, Simson's motion M-354, which called upon the government to develop and adopt a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare, was unanimously adopted.[3]

"This declaration is an agreement among people and nations to recognize that animals are sentient, suffer, have welfare needs, and to ultimately end animal cruelty worldwide. Thousands of Canadians have signed petitions in support of a UDAW and this declaration is actively supported by Canada's foremost animal protection organizations."[4]

Simson was also a founding member and co-chair of the Parliamentary Committee on palliative and Compassionate Care (PCPCC), a non-partisan Parliamentary group aimed at promoting awareness of glaring deficiences in Canada's palliative and compassionate care framework.

After serving for just over two-and-a-half years as an MP, Simson ran for re-election in her Scarborough Southwest riding in 2011. She was defeated, coming in third.

Electoral record
2011 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
New DemocraticDan Harris14,11935.04+16.29
ConservativeGavan Paranchothy12,83031.85+2.34
LiberalMichelle Simson11,69929.05-12.77
GreenStefan Dixon1,6354.06-5.43
Total valid votes/Expense limit 40,283 100.00
Total rejected ballots 218 0.54+0.01
Turnout 40,50159.45+4.71
Eligible voters 68,122––
2008 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
LiberalMichelle Simson15,48641.82-6.06$61,923
ConservativeGreg Crompton10,92829.51+5.37$52,973
New DemocraticAlamgir Hussain6,94318.75-4.15$22,985
GreenStefan Dixon3,5149.49+5.08$588
IndependentM. H. Fatique Chowdhury Kabir1510.40–
Total valid votes/Expense limit 37,022 100.00$80,366
Total rejected ballots 195 0.52+0.07
Turnout 37,217 54.74-7.63
Eligible voters 67,988––
  Liberal hold Swing -5.7

Personal life

Simson is married to husband George and they have one son, Eric.

References
  1. Woods, Allan (July 7, 2009). "MP pulls back expense curtain". The Star. Toronto. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  2. "Michelle Simson, MP's Financial Disclosure". Archived from the original on 2009-12-01. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
  3. "UDAW campaign reaches critical milestone".
  4. "Parliament Adopts Animal Welfare Motion".
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