Michelle Simson (born July 10, 1953) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician, who was elected to represent the

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

of Scarborough Southwest as a Member of Parliament from

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

through

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. She is a member of the Liberal Party. Before being elected as an MP, she was the vice-president and general manager of a leasing firm located in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

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 to publicize her claimed expenses for the fiscal year on her website, 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.

"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."

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

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Personal life

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simson, Michelle 1953 births Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Liberal Party of Canada MPs Living people Politicians from Toronto Women in Ontario politics 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians