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NewsScott Simser - Green Party candidate

Scott Simser – Green Party candidate

The Millstone will profile of all provincial election candidates who were present at the All Candidates' Meeting at the Almonte Old Town Hall on September 15. The first candidate to reply to the Millstone is Scott Simsur, the Green Party Candidate. The Millstone will ask all candidates the same six questions it asked Mr. Simser.

  1. Tell us about yourself
  2. What motivated you to become a candidate for your party?
  3. What is the most compelling aspect of your party's platform?
  4. What is your greatest personal strength?
  5. What is your greatest weakness?
  6. Why should we vote for you?

Here are Mr. Simser's responses to those questions:

Scott Photo  
I  am a long-time resident of this riding and grew up here. I am married with three young sons, aged 12, 8, and 4. I am deaf, my wife is hard of hearing, and all three of our children have normal hearing, so it makes for interesting dynamics when communicating in the home. I regularly speak and lipread, but am also fluent in sign language. I have a Bachelor of Commerce, a MBA, and a law degree. I am licenced as a lawyer and also as a professional accountant (CMA) in Ontario. For eight years, I ran my own law and consulting practice, advising small businesses and individuals. I have advocated for my clients in tribunals and courts in this province, including the courts of appeal. For my education, I was fortunate in being able to get real-time captioning in law school so I could better follow the courses. In courts, I also have access to real-time captioning which allows me to understand everything everyone is saying. There seems to be a growing trend in courts to adopt live transcripts of the proceedings, even if there is nobody with a hearing loss.

I was motivated to be a candidate for the Green Party of Ontario because the Green Party is very focussed on community. In our approach to health care, energy, and land use planning, we see the community as the focal point. As well, I was attracted to the Green Party because it is both fiscally conservative and socially progressive. For example, it is the only main party that advocates a zero deficit as early as fiscal 2015-2016.

 To me, the most compelling aspect of my party's platform is its promise to save $30 billion in additional debt and $2 billion in annual interest expenses by committing to a zero deficit in 2015-2016. The world economy is very fragile and Ontario is not immune. Sooner or later, we will have to face economic reality, which is why being proactive with our government spending is so important.

 

My greatest strength is my determination to achieve goals and accomplish success. For example, I left a well-paying career in the public service several years ago to set up my own law and consulting practice. It was a great leap of faith at the time, but I felt very satisfied being self-employed and in a position to assist several clients with navigating the complex rules and regulations of government. I also advocated for clients in tax and human rights in the tribunals and courts of this province. Some of my victories in the human rights field have been national precedents.

 

My greatest weakness is my struggle to overcome barriers to communication as I am deaf. That's why I trained, at a very early age, to speak and listen so that I can communicate with anyone. Despite my skills, some situations such as the phone and large group meetings remain challenges for me. This is where technology and support services, such as real-time captioning or sign language interpreters, come in very handy and enable me to achieve equality. Blackberries and smartphones, as well as Internet and email, have been a great boon for my communication! I can even handle radio with the support and technology we have, listen to this radio interview: http://lake88.ca/lake88/media/110912.mp3 

 

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