Defying Expectations and Undoing Generational Curses: Exploring South Asian History and Folklore
2025-03-20 18:15 - 19:15 (America/Toronto) | Octopus Books, 116 Third Ave, Ottawa, Canada
Join bestselling author and award-winning journalist Sadiya Ansari with writer and artist Manahil Bandukwala for a conversation about the impact of relearning their histories as women in the diaspora, as reflected in their work.
Thursday, March 20th
6:15pm to 7:15pm – Doors open at 6pm
RSVP via email: events@octopusbooks.ca
In Exile: Rupture, Reunion, and My Grandmother’s Secret Life is a deeply personal investigation that takes us across three continents and back a century as Sadiya Ansari seeks the truth behind a family secret. Why did her grandmother Tahira abandon her seven children to follow a man from Karachi to a tiny village in Punjab? And though she eventually left him, Tahira remained estranged from her children for nearly two decades. Who was she in those years when she was no longer a wife or mother? For Sadiya herself, uninterested in marriage and children, the question begets another: What space is available to women who defy cultural expectations?
Through her inquiry, Sadiya discovers what her daadi’s life was like during that separation and she confronts difficult historical truths: the pervasiveness of child marriage, how Partition made refugees of millions of families like hers, and how the national freedoms achieved in 1947 did not extend to women’s lives. She sees the threads of this history woven through each generation after, and finds an unexpected sense of belonging in a culture that, at first blush, shuns women for wanting lives of their own.
Sadiya Ansari is a journalist and author based in London. Her work has appeared in the Guardian, VICE, the Irish TImes, The Walrus, and the Globe and Mail, among other publications. She has reported from four continents, and her work has changed legislation and won awards. She is co-founder of the Canadian Journalists of Colour, a 2021 R. James Travers Foreign Corresponding Fellow, and a 2023–24 Asper Visiting Professor at the University of British Columbia.
Heliotropia, Manahil Bandukwala’s second collection of poems, is a meditation on love during times of social and political upheaval. As a sunflower’s growth reaches toward the sun, so, she suggests, is a lover’s growth compelled by the gravitational pull and soul-light of their beloved. Many of these poems are in conversation with other poets and artists, creating a lineage of call and response. Against a backdrop of terrestrial crisis, come, spend your precious minutes in love’s Heliotropia, where we are magnetized by the unfathomable dark matter of another person, and know ourselves as celestial bodies flowering in spacetime, together.
Manahil Bandukwala is a writer and visual artist based in Mississauga and Ottawa, Ontario. She is the author of Heliotropia (Brick Books, 2024) and MONUMENT (Brick Books, 2022), which was shortlisted for the 2023 Gerald Lampert Award, and was selected as a Writer’s Trust of Canada Rising Star in 2023. She is the co-creator of Reth aur Reghistan, a multidisciplinary project exploring folklore from Pakistan through poetry, sculpture, and community arts. See her work at manahilbandukwala.com.
Part of the Authors Unbound Spring 2025 literary event series.

City in Crisis: Dismantling Myths about the Overdose Epidemic
2025-03-20 18:30 - 21:00 | tom brown arena, 141 Bayview Station Road, Ottawa, K1Y 4T1
Increasingly over the past year, conservative and liberal politicians have been manufacturing a moral panic against people who use drugs. Education for Liberation Collective invites you to a community event about the causes of the deadly overdose epidemic as well as actions we can take to help resolve it.
Featuring:

Leila Attar, organizer, Overdose Prevention Ottawa
Tanja Vasalic, harm reduction outreach worker
Alex Fizzard, frontline case manager with lived experience

This panel will challenge many of the myths about the opioid crisis by asking:

What are the root causes of drug addiction?
What are the harmful effects of closing safe injection sites?
How do evidence-based approaches of harm reduction, decriminalization, and safe drug supply work? What concrete actions can we take to support our community members?

We hope to create a space for honest and nuanced conversation about addiction, drug use, and drug policy. Our event will emphasize the need to take action and support local grassroots organizations in solidarity with people who use drugs.

Month of May Day events call-out
2025-03-21 - 2025-04-11 | Online
Punch Up Collective invites organizations to participate in the Month of May Day 2025 by organizing and hosting an event or action during the month of May.
For May Day 2025, Ottawa groups and organizations are planning a month of events and activities. You’re invited to join us!
For those of us in the Punch Up Collective, May Day is one of our favorite holidays, since it honours the power of ordinary people, working collectively, to shape the conditions of our lives. We celebrate it every year. As things get harder and fascism more ascendant globally, we feel inspired to double down on celebrating and remembering that collective struggle is a source of joy and the way that we win.
In previous years in Ottawa, May Day hasn’t been just a single day but has included many different events, marches, celebrations, and more. We’d like to return to this in 2025!
The month will start with a march on May 1st, and conclude with protests of the yearly CANSEC arms fair, the largest gathering of weapons dealers in Canada.
Several local groups are already keen to organize things (more details soon) but we’d like to have even more abundance, fun, and power-building throughout the month of May.
If you’re interested in hosting something, we’d love to hear from you! We’re especially interested in including events, actions, and collective work that:

Connect radical and left history with the present
Expand May Day beyond a focus on wage work and workers
Celebrate working-class culture, art, and experience
Connect with ongoing work in the Ottawa context
Include space for kids and families
Are disability-accessible and address disability work
Highlight migrant justice
Address connections between climate chaos/the extinction crisis and working-class struggles

We’re looking for parties, educational events, cultural events, celebrations, direct actions, art builds, trainings, and more!
We look forward to sharing a month of hopefully very rad actions events across the City.To Host an Event or Action
To host an event or action as part of Month of May Day 2025, please fill out this short questionnaire on the specifics of your event. We’ll ask you for details about what you’d be interested in anchoring, make sure that you’re comfortable with the basis of unity for the month, and collect the information we’ll need for publicizing your event on the May Day in Ottawa website. Deadline for submissions is April 11th, 2025.
Looking for resources and support for hosting something? Check out our handy Ottawa Organizing Guide, which includes an event accessibility checklist, a sample planning timeline, and a list of spaces and places for holding actions and events.
Month of May Day Basis of Unity
Month of May Day is being organized on the following specific principles:

We affirm the collective power of all who labor – paid and unpaid, formal and informal, in care work and field work – and celebrate all of the activities that sustain us and our communities.
We take an international and anti-colonial solidarity approach, and support communities and people’s struggles against borders and jingoism.
We affirm and support trans people and the broader ecosystem of gender and sexual liberation.
These events are in the spirit of the People’s Global Action Hallmarks:

A very clear rejection of capitalism, imperialism and feudalism; all trade agreements, institutions and governments that promote destructive globalisation.
We reject all forms and systems of domination and discrimination including, but not limited to, patriarchy, racism and religious fundamentalism of all creeds. We embrace the full dignity of all human beings.
A confrontational attitude, since we do not think that lobbying can have a major impact in such biased and undemocratic organisations, in which transnational capital is the only real policy-maker.
A call to direct action and civil disobedience, support for social movements’ struggles, advocating forms of resistance which maximize respect for life and oppressed peoples’ rights, as well as the construction of local alternatives to global capitalism.
An organisational philosophy based on decentralisation and autonomy.

Accessibility: Any event participating must allow face masks; be in a venue that does not require stairs to access; be in a place a person could reach via public transit; and (if there is a fee) include a Pay What You Can option of $0.

Tesla Takedown, Ottawa, ON
2025-03-22 14:00 - 15:30 | Outside Tesla Showroom on Carling Ave (by Preston), 835 Carling Ave, Ottawa, K1S 2E7
Elon Musk is destroying our neighbour’s democracy, and he’s using the fortune he built at Tesla to do it. We are taking action at the Tesla dealership to help stop Musk. If he is not stopped in the US, he will set his sights on Canada.
⚡Sell your Teslas, dump your stock, join the picket lines.
⚡ We’re tanking Tesla’s stock price to stop Musk.
⚡Stopping Musk will help save lives and protect our democracy.
Tesla Takedown is a peaceful protest movement. We oppose violence, vandalism and destruction of property. This protest is a lawful exercise of our right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly under Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
#TeslaTakedown #BoycottTesla #ElbowsUp

OSLG x CarletonUNDP Theory Banquet
2025-03-23 13:30 - 15:30
Join the Ottawa Socialist Literature Group (OSLG) and the CarletonUNDP at Carleton University on Sunday March 23rd to hangout and learn about Marxist theory and left wing thought through presentations and discussions. Bring friends and family along to enjoy snacks, tea and theory with the OSLG and CarletonUNDP! For more details about the event such as venue please message the OSLG on Instagram @ottawasocialistliteraturegroup.

Labour 4 Palestine Ottawa CHAPTER MEETING
2025-03-25 19:00 | PSAC Building, 233 Gilmour Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Join Ottawa trade unionists to strategize about how best to advance the cause of Palestinian liberation in our unions and learn about how to get involved in upcoming events and initiatives.
IMPORTANT NOTE: We will be re-introducing a ‘membership renewal’ to ensure that members who want to take a more active role can, and those who want to remain engaged in other ways have the option too. Stay tuned!
Accessibility: PSAC is an accessible building, masks will be made available on site.

Stop the Cuts rally and lunch
2025-03-26 12:00 - 13:00 | Kent Street, courtyard between Slater and Laurier
Job cuts at IRCC will impact services that communities rely on, and other departments may follow. In response, unions are coming together to stand against these cuts and defend public services.
Join union members from CEIU, CAPE, PIPSC, and UNE in Ottawa for a rally to make our voices heard and show the strength of our collective action! Lunch to be provided. Please register here if you are planning to attend.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QVRPLQ8

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Les suppressions d’emplois à Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada (IRCC) auront des répercussions sur des services sur lesquels comptent les collectivités, et d’autres ministères pourraient suivre. En réponse, les syndicats s’unissent pour s’opposer à ces suppressions et défendre les services publics.
Joignez-vous aux membres du SEIC, ACEP, IPFPC, et du SEN à Ottawa lors d’un rassemblement visant à faire entendre nos voix et à montrer la force de notre action collective! Le dîner sera fourni. Veuillez vous inscrire ici si vous prévoyez d’y assister.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QVRPLQ8

Tesla Takedown Global Day of Action
2025-03-29 11:00 - 13:00
Please note: this is a peaceful protest taking place on public property, ie the sidewalks. Do NOT enter the dealership or harass the employees or you will be asked to leave.
Elon Musk is destroying our neighbour’s democracy, and he’s using the fortune he built at Tesla to do it. We are taking action at the Tesla dealership to help stop Musk. If he is not stopped in the US, he will set his sights on Canada.

Trivia Night Fundraiser
2025-03-31 18:00 - 22:00 | Le Poisson Bleu, 610 Somerset St W, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Join us March 31, 2025, at 6PM at Le Poisson Bleu for a trivia fundraiser to support prisoner rights advocacy in Ontario. Tickets are pay-what-you-can, with a recommended $25.00 donation. There is a full-service bar on site for drinks and small plates. Doors open at 6PM, and trivia starts at 7PM. There will be lots of prisoner rights merchandise available for purchase!
Proceeds from this event will help fund the legal information hotline available to provincial prisoners, run by the uOttawa Prison Law Practicum in conjunction with Prisoner Legal Supports.
Tickets available here https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trivia-fundraiser-tickets-1286557691689?aff=oddtdtcreator

Cinema for Palestine: Where Olive Trees Weep
2025-04-02 18:00 - 20:00 | DARC Microcinema, 67 Nicholas St, Ottawa, K1N 7B9, Canada
What does the quest for justice look like in occupied Palestine? 🍉
DARC is proud to present a screening of Where Olive Trees Weep, a powerful documentary about the strength and resilience of the Palestinian people in the face of settler-colonial violence. The film shows the struggles and strength of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation. It explores themes of loss, trauma, and the quest for justice.
This screening is presented in collaboration with Cinema Politica and films4Falasteen and will be followed by a keynote address by human rights activist and co-organizer of films4Falasteen, Monalisa Ghadban.
Learn more about the event and keynote speaker at https://digitalartsresourcecentre.ca/cfp-where-olive-trees-weep/.
We look forward to seeing you there ✊🕊️

CFMAs to Feature SULTANS OF STRING’s Cannes World Film Festival Winning “WALKING THROUGH THE FIRE”
2025-04-05 12:30 - 14:30 | The Mayfair Theatre, 1074 Bank St, Ottawa, K1S 3X3, Canada
[Ottawa ON] As part of the 20th Anniversary Celebrations, the Canadian Folk Music Awards will present Sultans of String’s film, “WALKING THROUGH THE FIRE”, at the Mayfair Theatre, Sat April 5, 12:30pm (doors at noon).
Winning Best Musical Film and Best Soundtrack at the Cannes World Film Festival, this powerful film production is unlike any other, bringing the magic of collaboration to the screen with award-winning First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists from across Turtle Island in performance with 6x CFMA winners Sultans of String.
2 min. Official Film Trailer:

This Special Screening is open to the public and also includes a Q&A with Sultans of String bandleader/film producer Chris McKhool and artists from the project, including elder Shannon Thunderbird, Marc Meriläinen, and Josée Bourgeois.
From Métis fiddling to an East Coast Kitchen Party, rumba to rock, to the drumming of the Pacific Northwest, experience the beauty and diversity of music from Elder and poet Dr. Duke Redbird, the Métis Fiddler Quartet, Ojibwe/Finnish Singer-Songwriter Marc Meriläinen (Nadjiwan), Coast Tsm’syen Singer Shannon Thunderbird, The North Sound from the Prairies, Blues singer Crystal Shawanda, Heavy-Wood guitarist Don Ross, Northern Cree pow wow group, Dene singer-songwriter Leela Gilday, Inuit Throat Singers and more!
A central theme running through Walking Through The Fire is the need for the truth of Indigenous experience to be told before reconciliation can begin in earnest. Embedded in the title is the energy of rebirth: fire destroys, but it also nourishes the soil to create new growth, beauty, and resiliency. Walking Through The Fire ensures that we emerge on the other side together, stronger and more unified. Experience in full DOLBY ATMOS. 80 Minutes.

Say No to the PRGT Pipeline
2025-04-05 13:00 - 14:00 | sidewalks adjacent to RBC branch at 99 Bank St., 99 Bank St, Ottawa, K1P 6B9
Decolonial Solidarity invites you to stand up to Trump in support of Land Defenders opposing the PRGT pipeline.
Join us to Say NO! to LNG expansion and to tell RBC not to finance the PRGT pipeline.
This project does not have consent of the Gitxsan and Gitanyow Nations. Developing more pipelines and LNG infrastructure would destroy precious ecosystems, worsen the climate crisis and profit U.S. billionaires who are close to Trump.
This will be a peaceful demonstration. If you are inspired to make a sign, please do. And if you can bring along friends or family, so much the better.
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Joignez-vous à nous pour dire NON! au GNL et pour dire à RBC de pas financer le gazoduc PRGT.
Les nations Gitxsan et Gitanyow s’opposent à ce projet. Construire encore plus de pipelines détruirait de précieux écosystèmes, aggraverait la crise climatique et profiterait à des milliardaires américains amis de Trump.
Ce sera une manifestation pacifique. Si vous aimeriez faire une pancarte, faites-vous plaisir. Invitez votre famille et vos amis à vous accompagner.

Hands Off! Ottawa CANADA Fights Back
2025-04-05 13:30 - 15:00 | Major’s Hill Park and US Embassy, Sussex Drive, Ottawa
MEET at 1:30 at the steps next to the US Embassy on Sussex Street, walk around the Embassy and join up with the Rally at Major’s Hill Park to say
– No to the 51st State!
– No to Trump and Musk
– Yes to Democracy
This mass mobilization day is our message to the world that we do not consent to the destruction of democracy and longstanding alliance and friendships for the benefit of Trump and his billionaire allies. We are rallying and protesting along with many across the US and Europe to demand a stop the chaos and build an opposition movement against the global rise of fascism. This rally is in solidarity with 50501, Indivisible Ottawa and Toqueoff.ca
A core principle behind all Hands Off! events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.
Bring signs, flags and your voice.

Collaborative zine making night at the Ottawa Trans Library
2025-04-05 14:00 - 17:00 | Ottawa Trans Library, 1104 Somerset St. West, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 3C8, Canada
Come work on zines with us as we work on the next issue of The Dragon Flyer, the Ottawa Trans Library’s community zine. Write, draw, scan, cut, and paste with us on our community zine or your own project, or just come hang out with us. We are collecting stories, jokes, poems, art, and more from the trans and non-binary community in Ottawa and our friends and families.
The zine workshop is a collaborative event to discuss, share, and work on zines together.
Come tell your story.We will provide paper, templates, and whatever art supplies we have. No experience necessary. All ages welcome, children under age 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
Masking the day of the event is encouraged. Accessibility note: There are two stairs at the door entrance. We have a ramp we can bring out for the door on request. There’s a washroom but it’s not large enough for many mobility devices.

The Leveller April Story Meeting
2025-04-07 19:00 - 20:00 | Online
Do you want to be involved in power-challenging, community-based journalism?
Community members and students are welcome to our Story Meetings! We pay per story, as well as photojournalist, illustration and editing contributions.
Story Meetings are where you can pitch article ideas, help brainstorm content, or be assigned a story. They’re also a way to learn about the Leveller and introduce yourself.
Learn how to get involved and sign up to our newsletter as a contributor for updates in you inbox.
Our next story meeting is Monday, 7 April at 7pm on Google Meets. We are planning to hold in-person meetings in the near future.
If you can’t make it but want to pitch a story, email us: operations@leveller.ca
Production Cycle is monthly, with the story due date on 21 April and publishing on 28 April.
Visit our site to read the Honourarium Policy, Submission Guideline & Checklist, and News & Analysis Writing Guide in order to be published. There are also many other ways to get involved with The Leveller, sign up to our newsletters and read our latest articles.

Book Launch: The Poilievre Project, by Martin Lukacs
2025-04-10 17:30 - 18:30 | Delta Hotels by Marriott Ottawa City Centre, 101 Lyon St N, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Join journalist Martin Lukacs and Press Progress publisher Romy Garrido in the Chaudiere Room at the Delta Hotel for a conversation about the 2025 federal election and Martin’s new book “The Poilievre Project: A radical blueprint for corporate rule.”
The book reveals the playbook behind the Conservative leader’s rise and exposes his radical vision for reshaping Canada. It’s published by Breach Books, the new publishing arm of The Breach.
For more info about the book: breachbooks.ca
The event is hosted by the Broadbent Institute’s Progress Summit.
Bios:
Martin Lukacs is an award-winning journalist and the managing editor of The Breach. He’s a former environmental writer for The Guardian, and has written for The New York Review of Books, Toronto Star, Walrus, CBC, and other Canadian publications. He’s the author of The Trudeau Formula: Seduction and Betrayal in an Age of Discontent.
Romy Garrido is the Publisher of PressProgress, an award-winning non-profit news organization known for its in-depth, investigative journalism. With a background in project management and strategic communications, she has spent the last decade working across various sectors including local government, private, and non-profit.

STOP THE GENOCIDE! National March on Ottawa 2025
2025-04-12 14:00 | Parliament Hill, Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A9, Canada
For over 16 months, Gaza has endured a relentless genocide carried out by the Zionist occupation, fully backed by the U.S. and its allies, including Canada. Even after a so-called ceasefire was announced, the Zionist occupation continued its assault, imposing a total blockade on March 1st, cutting off all food and aid, and launching a new wave of bombings and ground invasions in the following days.
On April 12th, we are mobilizing on Parliament Hill to confront Canada’s role in this genocide. We refuse to let politicians get away with hollow statements while they continue arming and funding Israel’s massacres. As the election nears, we are sending a clear message: Canada must end its complicity by demanding a ceasefire, the lift of the siege on Gaza, the flow of humanitarian aid and imposing a full two-way arms embargo.
🇵🇸 Be part of this historic march, join thousands traveling to Ottawa to hold those in power accountable.

Barrhaven Mutual Aid Meet and Greet
2025-04-14 16:00 - 16:30
The inaugural meeting of the Barrhaven Mutual Aid organization, dedicated towards interconnected reliance within the Barrhaven and South Nepean area. Join us to start rebuilding community and fostering real change from the ground up.

Queer Death Salon - Loss by Suicide
2025-04-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join us for a virtual gathering for people who have lost someone or multiple people to suicide and who are loooking to share space with people who have experienced similar circumstances.
Loss by suicide brings particular griefs related to stigma, invalidation of the loss, failure to ‘save’ a loved one, guilt, confusion, anger and more.
This is a facilitated drop-in discussion space, with the purpose of building connection, skill, and resources for 2SLGBTQIA+ people navigating end of life in our personal lives and in our communities.
Attendees are welcome to come with questions, stories, or special objects to share with the group.

My Thievery of the People: Ottawa Launch
2025-04-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Octopus Books, 116 Third Ave, Ottawa, Canada
Join us for the Ottawa launch of My Thievery of the People, a short-story collection by former Ottawa resident Leila Marshy.
Marshy’s distinctive style and untamed strength guides the reader in an electrifying high-wire act through the inner lives of refugees, queers in love and grief, wives, workers, and so many others fighting their way out from under.
Leila Marshy is of Palestinian-Newfoundland parentage, which might explain a lot. She has worked for the Palestine Hospital in Cairo, the Palestinian Mental Health Association in Gaza, and Medical Aid for Palestine in Montreal. Her first novel, The Philistine, was published in 2018. She lives in Montreal.
RSVP via email: events@octopusbooks.ca

Our Power Our Planet: Working Together for the Next Generations
2025-04-23 12:30 - 15:00 | Knox Presbyterian, 120 Lisgar Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P 2L7, Canada
SCAN Earth Day event with the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg – Nagadjitòdjig Akì Land Guardians. Part of Canada wide Seniors for Climate events.

After an opening by Claudette Commanda, the Guardians will talk about their work and how it could inform urban Ottawa. The second speaker will be our newly elected MPP Catherine McKenney. There will also be musical performances.
We are inviting our many ally organizations to table at this event. Help support our efforts by donating via the Zeffy platform https://www.zeffy.com/donation-form/donate-to-make-a-difference-6104 or by etransfer to ottawa@seniorsforclimateactionnow.org
Seating is limited so we recommend you reserve your place.

Author Meets Readers - Criminalized Lives: HIV and Legal Violence
2025-04-24 17:30 - 19:00 | Irene’s Pub, 885 Bank St, Ottawa, ON
Register here: https://fpga.youarein.ca/author-meets-readers-apr24
Canada has been known as a hot spot for HIV criminalization where the act of not disclosing one’s HIV-positive status to sex partners has historically been regarded as a serious criminal offence. Criminalized Lives describes how this approach has disproportionately harmed the poor, Black and Indigenous people, gay men, and women in Canada. In this book, people who have been criminally accused of not disclosing their HIV-positive status, detail the many complexities of disclosure, and the violence that results from being criminalized.
Accompanied by portraits from artist Eric Kostiuk Williams, the profiles examine whether the criminal legal system is really prepared to handle the nuances and ethical dilemmas faced everyday by people living with HIV. By offering personal stories of people who have faced criminalization first-hand, Alexander McClelland questions common assumptions about HIV, the role of punishment, and the violence that results from the criminal legal system’s legacy of categorizing people as either victims or perpetrators.
About the Authors
Alexander McClelland is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Criminology, Carleton University. He is the author of Criminalized Lives: HIV and Legal Violence, released in 2024, from the Q+ Public Series at Rutgers University Press, which includes illustrations from queer comic artist, Eric Kostiuk Williams, with a foreword from US-based HIV activist and movement leader, Robert Suttle. The book examines the histories and experiences of people living with HIV in Canada who had been criminalized due to allegations of HIV non-disclosure, and it also chronicles the vibrant and vocal social movement calling for justice, and change, under the slogan #HIVISNOTACRIME.
Eric Kostiuk Williams is a cartoonist and illustrator based in Toronto, Canada. He has several comics publications, including 2AM Eternal and Our Wretched Town Hall.
About the Panelists
Lara Karaian is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Carleton University. Her research examines the intersections between sexuality, technology, representation, affect, and law. Her current SSHRC funded research, titled “Sex/Crime in the Era of Immersive, Interactive, and Intelligent Technologies,” examines the relationship between emerging sexual technologies and legal constructions of ‘sex crime’. Dr. Karaian serves on the editorial board of the journal Porn Studies. Her research has been published in an array of peer-reviewed legal, sexuality, and criminology journals and edited collections. Dr. Karaian is currently writing a sole-authored manuscript on deepfake pornography panics.
Ryan Conrad is an Adjunct Research Professor at the Feminist Institute of Social Transformation at Carleton University where he also teaches in the Human Rights & Social Justice program. Ryan is an artist, and cultural studies scholar whose research, teaching, and cultural production interests in the study of sexuality include queer studies, queer of colour critique, affect theory, archival practices, film and media, HIV/AIDS, sex work, migration, and social movement history. Conrad’s current SSHRC funded research project titled Sex Worker Self-Authoring in the Canadian Women’s Movement Archive explores the holdings of the CWMA housed in the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Ottawa. The project will locate and animate written and visual materials produced by sex workers and the sex workers’ rights movement in Canada from 1977-1992.

Global Day of Action for Gaza
2025-04-25 17:30 - 19:30 | Human Rights Monument, 220 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
OTTAWA GAZA IS CALLING WE MUST ANSWER

Friday April 25, 2025
Human Rights Monument
5:30pm

Join us on Friday, April 25, at 5:30 at the Human Rights Monument to answer the global call to action from the journalists, doctors, and civil society of Gaza. For 18 months, the people of Gaza have been subject to a horrific genocide carried out by israel, in partnership and with the complete support of Canada, the United States, and its western allies.

We echo Gaza’s call for all people of conscience across the globe to mobilize and demand an immediate end to the genocidal onslaught and an arms embargo now!

Barrhaven Mutual Aid Meetup
2025-04-30 16:00 - 16:30 | Online
Bi-weekly meeting for Barrhaven Mutual Aid. This meeting will be to discuss potential actions for us to take as a community and conduct basic feasibility tests

Ottawa May Day March 2025
2025-05-01 17:00 - 19:00 | Confederation Park, Elgin at Laurier, across from City Hall, Ottawa, ON, K1P 5J2, Canada
As a longstanding international holiday, May Day is a day to celebrate the collective power of all who labor – paid and unpaid, formal and informal, in care work and field work – all of the activities that sustain us and our community. It’s a day to recommit to forging solidarity across borders against exploitation and dispossession. Above all, May Day honours the power of ordinary people, working together, to shape the conditions of our lives.
Things are getting harder. People are struggling to get by, the rich are getting richer, the ecological crisis is intensifying, Palestine is enduring unspeakable horrors, authoritarianism is growing more ascendant globally, and ruling officials are offering us little more than flag-waving and immigrant-blaming. In these circumstances, it’s all the more crucial to remember that collective struggle from below is a source of joy and the way that we win.
So, this year, we in Punch Up Collective are resuscitating the tradition of the Ottawa May Day march and we invite you to join us!
March Details

Date: Thursday, May 1st, 2025
Start location: Confederation Park (Elgin St @ Laurier Ave)
Time: 5:00pm – 7:00pm

March Route and Points of Interest
The specific march route is currently being determined, but will include several stops at points of interest along the way.
Contingents
Participating organizations and individuals are encouraged to organize contingents for the march. Your banners, flags, signs, and matching onesies are welcome! A bike bloc? A stroller squad? A marching band? All are welcome!
Permits, Police, and Safety
Our goal is to organize and host a march that is as welcoming and accessible as possible to everyone, including kids, families, people pushing strollers, people with mobility challenges, animal companions, and anyone else committed to building a better, more equitable world for all. We’ll move at a pace workable for everyone there, making sure that the front of the march isn’t racing ahead and leaving the back trailing.
The march will have marshals, who will be there to assist march participants and help ensure our collective safety throughout the event.
However, the march will not be coordinated with police or security agencies in advance, and will not have a permit. There is no legal requirement to secure a permit to hold a protest or march. In our view, doing so would only further entrench the harmful idea that police are allowed to determine when, where, and how we organize and come together.
List of Endorsements (so far …)

ACORN Ottawa
Autistic and Neurodivergent Liberation Front of Ottawa
Bank Block Tenants
Canadian Association of Professional Employees
Canadian Centre for Women’s Empowerment
Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union Local 225
Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 4600
Carleton Climate Commons
Carleton Public Interest Research Group
City for All Women Initiative
Climate Justice Ottawa
Coalition Against More Surveillance
Criminalization & Punishment Education Project
Education for Liberation Collective
Free Transit Ottawa
Horizon Ottawa
Independent Jewish Voices – Carleton
Indivisible Ottawa
Labour4Palestine
Ontario Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines
Ottawa Abortion Doula Collective
Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women
Ottawa Mental Health Workers for Palestine
Ottawa Peace Council
Ottawa Transformative Justice Collective
Public Service Alliance of Canada – National Capital Region
Punch Up Collective
Revolutionary Communist Party – Ottawa
Rosa Luxemburg Club – Communist Party of Canada
Sandy Hill Tenants
Science for the People
Young Communist League Donalda Charron Club

If there is an organization you feel might like to take part and/or endorse the march, please share the details and have them get in touch with us at punchup@riseup.net.
More information
If you have questions or require more information, please contact us at punchup@riseup.net.
We look forward to seeing you on May 1st!

Beats & Boards Games Night!
2025-05-02 18:00 - 21:00 | The Grove, 280-18 Louisa street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Queer + Social – DJ del Pilar spinning low-decibel Afrohouse/beats, funk & RnB. We’ll provide some classic board games – feel free to bring your own! Canteen with non-alcoholic drinks, inc beer, cocktails, & seltzers. This is a covid-safer event.
❤️ N95 or equivalent are required. Some free masks (overhead straps) will be available at the door.
❤️ We monitor CO2 throughout the night and will announce if the monitors reach 1000.
❤️ The new Grove space is much bigger than the last one, with 2 small windows that open, a central HVAC system, and high ceilings. We will have at least 3 air purifiers running at max at all times.
❤️ 18 Louisa St. does not have easy access to the outside, so we ask you to enjoy beverages in the hall outside the main space.
Sliding scale tickets start at $5 but free tickets are always available if needed. Just message to get on the guest list 😍
New Space Info:
💫 18 Louisa, unit 280, is on the 2nd floor and is accessed by the elevator or stairs.
💫 The exterior doors are automatic, and the door to the studio is manual. If the exterior door is locked, buzz 2800 to enter.
💫 There are accessible washrooms on the same floor. The (gendered) washrooms are shared with the whole floor but after hours it’s unlikely anyone else will be on site.
💫 The studio is over 800 square feet of open space with an 11 ft ceiling and 2 small windows that open.

NO OTHER LAND - A community-led film screening and panel discussion
2025-05-03 18:30 - 21:30 | St. Paul Amphitheatre, 233 Main Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S1C4, Canada
We are pleased to invite you to a special screening of the Oscar-winning documentary, “No Other Land”, followed by a community-led panel discussion to unpack the film’s powerful themes and explore what they mean in the context of Palestine today.
Date: Saturday, May 3, 2025
Location: Saint Paul University Amphitheatre, 233 Main Street, Ottawa
Doors Open: 6:00 PM
Program Begins: 6:30 PM
Co-hosted by several local Palestinian/solidarity organizations, this event is a chance to learn and reflect on the urgent realities portrayed in the film, and discuss meaningful ways to take action.
No Other Land is a 2024 documentary that offers an intimate and unflinching portrayal of life under Israeli occupation in the West Bank. Directed by Basel Adra (Palestinian), Yuval Abraham (Israeli), Hamdan Ballal, and Rachel Szor, the film chronicles the destruction of Palestinian homes in Masafer Yatta—an area declared a military training zone by Israel.
Through a combination of contemporary footage and archival material, it follows the personal and political journey of Basel Adra, a Palestinian lawyer, and Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist, as they document the relentless displacement of Palestinians and the deepening of their unlikely friendship.
Official Website for “No Other Land” https://nootherland.com/
No Other Land tells the story of resistance and resilience in the face of brutal Israeli occupation and displacement – a reality that has taken a backseat as Israel commits genocide in Gaza. The film offers a rare, deeply personal look at the struggle for justice in Masafer Yatta — a region in the occupied West Bank targeted by the same ethnic cleansing occurring throughout Palestine.
More about Masafer Yatta https://nootherland.com/about-masafer-yatta
Following the screening, a moderated panel of community organizers and experts will lead a conversation on the film’s key messages and what they mean for us here in Canada.
Please note: seating is limited, and we expect high interest in this event. Register early to secure your spot! We hope that you’ll join us for what promises to be a moving and thought-provoking evening!

YINTAH Film Screening
2025-05-04 13:00 - 16:00 | The Grove, 280-18 Louisa street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Please join us for a free screening of YINTAH , the documentary about a decade of Wet’suwet’en resistance.
When: May 4th 2025 from 1-4 PM
Where: The Grove – 18 Louisa St Unit 280.
This event will be mask-mandatory. We ask that any eating or drinking take place outside of the space/in the hallway. KN95/N95 masks are encouraged and will be provided.
The second floor can be accessed by elevator and has accessible washrooms. More accessibility information is available at grove613.ca/accessibility.
When you arrive at 18 Louisa, head to the main entrance and someone will be there to greet you and provide masks until 1:15PM. If you arrive a little late, you’ll need to use the buzzer “2800” to be let in.
Although this event is free, pre-registration through Eventbrite is required as limited spots are available. If you are no longer able to attend, please let us know so that we can open your spot back up for someone else.
YINTAH is 1 hour and 50 minutes. We will be taking a washroom/drink break around the one hour mark.
Event Schedule
1:00PM – doors open
1:15PM – introductions and start of film
2:15PM – 10 minute intermission
3:15PM – end of film and 5 minute break
3:20PM – small group discussion and reflection period
4:00PM – event end
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This screening is being facilitated as a response to the call to action by the Gidimt’en Checkpoint Divestment Team, with partners Change Course and Decolonial Solidarity. The purpose of this screening is to educate and take action within the community to oppose the construction of Coastal GasLink (CGL) Phase 2 and the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline. Our communities can have a big impact by putting pressure on financial institutions to refuse to finance these projects.
To learn more about the film and how else you can watch it, you can check out its official website https://www.yintahfilm.com/.

Kokums of Sisters in Spirit
2025-05-05 12:00 - 13:00 | Parliament Hill, Wellington Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A9, Canada
Prayers. Smudge. Songs.

Red Dress Day 2025
2025-05-05 12:00 - 13:30 | Jean Pigott Place, City Hall, 110 Laurier Ave West, Ottawa ON
The Ottawa Aboriginal Coalition invites all community members to our annual Red Dress Day Gathering. This event honours the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) and brings the community together in remembrance and advocacy. The gathering will feature educational displays, art installations, commemorative activities, and creative projects to foster healing and unity.
The official program (12:00pm-1:30pm) will begin with a Call to Come Together by the Ottawa River Singers and an opening prayer from OAC Elders. From there, we’ll hear welcome remarks and take time to recognize the important healing work happening in our community, especially around the Inuit VAW Shelter and Family Healing Lodge initiatives. The program includes cultural performances, a Jingle Dress ceremony, and the honouring of Karen Green with a scholarship announcement and blanket ceremony. We’ll close the event with an Honour Song from the Hand Drumming Group.
