Career
Before being elected as an Member of Parliament, 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. She was also the Company-chair of the National Liberal Caucus Communications Committee and Treasurer of the GTA/Ontario Liberal Caucus. 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 Member of Parliament, and as a taxpayer this was a real bone of contention.
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lieutenant 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. lieutenant"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 Company-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 Member of Parliament, Simson ran for re-election in her Scarborough Southwest riding in 2011.
She was defeated, coming in third.