Mike believes in using his voice in Parliament to amplify our community’s priorities. Find a summary of Mike’s work across priority areas, from housing affordability to electoral reform, below. If you’d prefer an overview of all of Mike’s work in Ottawa, including his complete voting record, you can find that here.
Mike believes in and advocates for policies that reduce the income and wealth inequality that have only been made worse since the pandemic. This has included his advocacy for ending legislated poverty for folks with disabilities, as well as funding essential affordability measures by applying windfall profit tax on the excess profits of the oil and gas industry.
Find Mike’s Motion 92, addressing affordability and the climate crisis, here, and Mike’s Motion 48, to fast-track the Canada Disability Benefit, a guaranteed livable income for Canadians with Disabilities, here.
Find Mike offering solutions to wealth inequality in the House of Commons, here.
June 15, 2023 CityNews Local MP reacts to Bill C-22 passing in House of Commons
Mike believes everyone deserves a safe, affordable, dignified place to call home. Government must do more to address the affordability of housing for everyone: recognizing we need homes for people, not commodities for investors.
As the representative for Kitchener Centre, he is working with all levels of government to address housing affordability – advocating to double affordable housing (a milestone placing us in the middle of the G7 for this measure), ending tax exemptions that incentivize the financialization of housing, and aligning immigration levels to housing starts.
Find Mike’s Motion 71, addressing the financialization of housing, here.
Find Mike offering solutions to the housing crisis in the House of Commons here.
Mike believes that arts and culture are the soul of our society, deeply enriching our lives and our community’s wellbeing. As such, he’s committed to addressing the roots of the challenges faced by artists and creatives, and advancing policies that support a thriving arts community.
Find Mike’s Motion 129, advancing equity in federal arts funding here.
Find Mike offering ways to support the arts in the House of Commons here.
Mike believes we must address persistent gaps in our health care system, with a particular focus on long-term care, pharmacare, dental care, and mental health.
Find Mike offering solutions to gaps in our health care system in the House of Commons here.
Mike believes in support, not stigma. He advocates for addressing the root causes of addiction, and also for harm reduction measures including decriminalization and safe supply.
Find Mike offering solutions to the drug poisoning crisis here.
Violence against women is an epidemic. Mike is committed to helping end gender-based violence by advocating for progressive policies. As the representative for Kitchener Centre, he advocates for sustained, predictable funding for the essential work of local support organizations, supports the rights of sexual assault survivors, and works to address the root causes of violence.
Find Mike offering solutions to end gender-based violence here.
Mike believes that we can do more to set newcomers to Canada up for success through more comprehensive supports. He is committed to advocating for policy changes that would allow our community to be more welcoming to refugees, particularly as the climate crisis deepens, while ensuring infrastructure investments keep up with growth in our community.
Find Mike’s Motion 98, to better support international students while addressing the knock-on effects of significant increases in international student numbers in communities like ours, here.
Find Mike offering ways to better support newcomers in the House of Commons, here.
Mike is committed to walking alongside Indigenous leaders on a path towards truth, healing, and reconciliation. This includes amplifying their calls to act on all 94 Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the Calls to Justice of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report, and advocating for an Indigenous community hub in the heart of Kitchener.
Find Mike advocating for true reconciliation in the House of Commons here.
Mike believes in using an anti-racism lens in all decision-making. He’s committed to rooting out systemic racism and white supremacy in our community, and to centering racialized voices.
Find Mike offering ways to address racism in the House of Commons here.
Mike believes that every vote should count. He supports the creation of a Citizens Assembly on Electoral Reform so a diverse group of Canadians can learn and make recommendations to Parliament on an electoral system to replace first-past-the-post.
Find Mike’s Motion 76, calling for a Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform, here.
Find Mike offering solutions for electoral reform in the House of Commons here.
January 14, 2024 Guelph Politico Trudeau says he still wants electoral reform, but he also wants consensus
May 10, 2023 The Mike Farwell Show Cross party support on Green motion for electoral reform mirrors motion passed at Liberal convention this weekend (starts at 42:30)
Mike supports climate action that matches the scale of the crisis, including efforts that meets or exceeds a 60% domestic emission reduction by 2030, ensuring a just transition where no one is left behind, at the scale of a Green New Deal.
Find Mike’s Motion 77, calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and a just energy transition, here, and Motion 92, addressing affordability and the climate crisis, here.
Find Mike offering climate solutions in the House of Commons here.
