Punch Up Collective

Book Launch: From Havana to Hollywood
2024-10-02 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Toronto) | Wise Town Cafe, 329-A Elgin St, Ottawa
Join us to celebrate the release of Philip Kaisary’s new book, From Havana to Hollywood: Slave Resistance in the Cinematic Imaginary. Philip will be joined in conversation with Adrian Harewood, Stacy Douglas, and Aubrey Anable.
Wednesday, October 2, 6pm – 8pm
Wise Town Cafe, 329-A Elgin St.
Space is limited, please RSVP by email to bridgetrielly@cmail.carleton.ca
From Havana to Hollywood examines the presence or absence of Black resistance to slavery in feature films produced in either Havana or Hollywood–including Gillo Pontecorvo’s Burn!, neglected masterpieces by Cuban auteurs Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Sergio Giral, and Steve McQueen’s Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave.
Kaisary argues that, with rare exceptions, the representation of Black agency in Hollywood has always been, and remains, taboo. Contrastingly, Cuban cinema foregrounds Black agency, challenging the ways in which slavery has been misremembered and misunderstood in North America and Europe. With powerful, richly theorized readings, the book shows how Cuban cinema especially recreates the past to fuel visions of liberation and asks how the medium of film might contribute to a renewal of emancipatory politics today.
Philip Kaisary is the 2023–2025 Ruth and Mark Phillips Professor of Cultural Mediations and Associate Professor in the Department of Law and Legal Studies, the Department of English Language and Literature, and the Institute for Comparative Studies in Literature, Art, and Culture at Carleton University. He is the author of The Haitian Revolution in the Literary Imagination: Radical Horizons, Conservative Constraints.
Event made possible with support from ICSLAC and the departments of English, Law and Legal Studies, and the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program at Carleton University.
Part of the Authors Unbound Fall 2024 literary event series.

Liberating land from ecocide: “An Island and One Night” (“Une Ile et une nuit”)
2024-10-01 18:30 - 21:00 | Social Innovation Atelier, 95 Clegg St, Ottawa
Social Innovation Atelier, 95 Clegg St.
“ZAD,” or “zone à defender,” has entered the European lexicon as a general term for militant direct collective action against large-scale development projects. First coming into prominence in the collective opposition airport construction in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, France, (still the largest self-organized autonomous zone in Europe) the approach and tactic has spread widely. To be a “zadiste” is defined in the Le Petit Robert dictionary as “a militant occupying a ZAD to oppose a proposed development that would damage the environment.” In the Canadian context, we know relatively little about these concrete fights or the conceptual formation of this idea. Come hear from a visiting European radical who has spent time on many ZADs over the last years and will share insights and an autonomously created film illuminating this tendency.
What does life feel like in zones liberated from ecocidal capitalism? Will its residents – moved together by war and climate change – develop a kind of relation with the land they live on that simply abandons the bureaucratic methods of the last “green capitalists”? Residents of the Quartier Libre des Lentillières in Dijon, one of the most famous occupied zones in France, have produced an auto-fictional cinematic firework in a self-managed and collective manner, which makes the desire for radical-ecological change sensually comprehensible. It gives a magnificent insight into current radical French activist scenes around the strategy of the ZAD and can serve as a generous starting point for a trans-Atlantic discussion on how liberatory strategies of reclaiming territory can look and feel like in a world tainted by settler-colonialism, fascism and other toxic forms of exclusion.
The film An Island and One Night (“Une Ile et une nuit”) has screened widely in the European context, but is normally only shown when one of the activists from Lentillieres is with it. Activist/artist Kilian Jörg will be visiting North America for two months in the Fall of 2024, and was invited by the group who made the film to share it with us. Ottawa is one of the very few screening sites in North America!
About the film: An Island and One Night (“Une Ile et une nuit”) is a fictional film made collectively over the past two years by the residents and users of the Quartier Libre des Lentillères, a self-organized area on the last remaining market garden land in the city of Dijon. These eight hectares have been occupied and recultivated since 2010, in resistance to a concrete “ecocity” project that still threatens them today. In the middle of the city, these fallow spaces and abandoned houses have been transformed into a self-managed, multi-purpose district, where collective housing, market gardening, self-construction, festive and cultural events, etc. intermingle. It’s a place of struggle and solidarity of all kinds, as well as a veritable reserve of biodiversity.
In this film, we use the prism of the imaginary to talk about reality, about what we live here, how we got here, what we’re looking for and what we’re fighting against every day. It’s a musical and danced fiction, without heroes or heroines, with houses that are boats (and vice versa), pirates of all kinds and as many different languages… In short, the Quartier Libre des Lentillères is a treasure island into the eye of cinema!
Self-produced, self-distributed and based on volunteer participation, this film shot on 16mm silver film was built up over the course of the area’s life, in correlation with it, to the rhythm of events and seasons. From writing to filming to editing, each stage of the process was collective and participatory, with everyone sharing their know-how.
The film’s music is made up of original tracks composed during the making of the film, as well as pre-existing tracks from supportive bands who have played at the Quartier in the past.
The distribution of An Island and One Night will initially take the form of itinerant screenings – either free or on donation base, in keeping with this non-mercantile spirit. On the technical side, the film can be screened in digital or 16mm, depending on the location and the motivation.
Beyond the pleasure of sharing this creation with a large and diverse audience, this tour will be an opportunity to pass on through encounters our experience of struggle, self-organization and the invention of forms of collective life geared towards a good life for all, and respectful of all living beings.
www.piratesdeslentilleres.net/en
Space Accessibility:
The Atelier has a barrier-free entry with an automatic front door. The space is all one level, except for a very small lip to get onto the wood floor in the lounge area. There is one accessible washroom, and both washrooms are gender-neutral. There is dim lighting throughout the space. We are also a scent-free space.

National Seniors for Climate Ottawa event
2024-10-01 13:00 - 16:00 | Knox Presbyterian Church Ottawa, 120 Lisgar, Ottawa, Canada
Join us at Knox Presbyterian for the National Seniors for Climate Ottawa event!

Pacinthe Mattar: Objectivity, Press Freedom, and the Palestine Exception
2024-09-30 19:00 - 21:00 | Richcraft Hall 2228, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S5B6, Canada
Please RSVP at this link
In-person and livestreamed via Youtube.
When Pacinthe Mattar was a producer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, only one story of hers did not make it to air out of the thousands she produced daily over her ten-year tenure. It was about Palestine, and it changed the trajectory of her journalism career.
The so-called racial reckoning of 2020 forced the journalism industry to–however briefly–listen to its Black, Indigenous and racialized peers as they detailed their experiences with systemic racism in media institutions. Mattar wrote the National Magazine Award-winning article, “Objectivity Is A Privilege Afforded To White Journalists,” now a mainstay in syllabi at journalism schools across North America. But while the journalism industry has learned to name and begin to address anti-Black and anti-Indigenous and other forms of racism, it can barely even name anti-Palestinian racism. Meanwhile in Gaza and the West Bank, over 110 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed in the last year, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, making it the deadliest period for journalists in recorded history.
In this talk, journalist Pacinthe Mattar will open her reporter’s notebook and share her experiences covering and talking about Palestine – and explain why it’s one of the most urgent and critical press freedom issues of our time.
About the Speaker
Pacinthe Mattar is an Egyptian-Canadian journalist, writer, producer, host and journalism instructor based in Toronto. She spent ten years at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation producing for national TV and radio programmes. Her work focuses on race and racism, Middle East politics and more, and has appeared in publications including The Walrus, Al Jazeera, Chatelaine, Toronto Life, Three Magazine and The New Quarterly. In 2021, she received a National Magazine Award and Canadian Online Publishing Award for her feature essay “Objectivity Is a Privilege Afforded to White Journalists.”
She was selected as a 2022 Fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. In 2023, she was the Asper Fellow in Media at Western University. She is the host of the monthly Don Talks series at the Don Arts Academy in Toronto. She has taught journalism and writing at Western University, Boston University and Harvard University. She earned her undergraduate degree at The University of Toronto at Mississauga in 2008, and completed a master’s degree in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University in 2010.
To learn more about Pacinthe, visit her website.

SUGARCANE - Special Screening on National Truth and Reconciliation Day
2024-09-30 18:30 - 22:00 | Odawa Native Friendship Centre, 815 Saint Laurent Boulevard, Ottawa, ON, K1K 3A7, Canada
Odawa is proud to announce a special screening of the award winning National Geographic documentary SUGARCANE.
A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native People and their way of life, SUGARCANE, the debut feature documentary from Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is an epic cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning.
Do not miss out on this historical screening.
LIMITED SEATING – DO NOT DELAY. GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY!
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/sugarcane-special-screening-on-national-truth-and-reconciliation-day-tickets-1020522499267

SGaawaay K’uuna (Edge of The Knife) National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Screening
2024-09-30 10:00 - 2024-10-04 17:00 | DARC Microcinema, 67 Nicholas St, Ottawa, K1N 7B9, Canada
DARC is proud to present SGaawaay K’uuna (Edge of The Knife) for the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Set in the 19th century, the film tells the story of Adiits’ii who, following a tragedy, transforms into Gaagiixid – “the Wildman.” SGaawaay K’uuna is the first feature film made in the endangered Haida language.
Watch this beautifully shot film in the DARC Microcinema from September 30th to November 4th. No registration is required for the day-long looping screenings.
DARC’s Microcinema programming is always FREE, donations are welcome.

National Day for Truth and Reconciliation - many events
2024-09-30
There are many events happening in Ottawa and the general region; Inter Pares has assembled a list which includes many that activists in town may find of interest:
https://interpares.ca/news/marking-national-day-truth-and-reconciliation

Short film serenade: A fundraiser for the Ottawa Trans Library
2024-09-29 17:00 - 22:00 | Hintonburg Public House, 1020 Wellington St W,, Ottawa, Canada
Party for a good cause! Join us for a “FUN”draising evening of:• SHORT FILMS presented by the Transgender Media Portal (5-6pm) • BOOKWORM KARAOKE hosted by Mr. Capital Pride 2024 themself: BJ Stroker!! https://www.instagram.com/bj_stroker/ (7-10pm) ($ tip your favourite performers!)• SILENT AUCTION (until 8pm) with amazing prizes from Victoire Boutique, Maker House, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, Little Jo Berry’s, The Merry Dairy, Asinabka Festival, Two Chicks and A Garden, and more!• HPH drinks and eats (throughout)!
**Pay What You Can at the door**
Proceeds go directly to the OTL. Donations can also be made to the OTL through their website: https://ottawatranslibrary.ca/how-to-help/donations/
Film Program:Odehimin, Kijâtai-Alexandra Veillette-Cheezo, Canada, 2020.Hoverboard, Sydney Freeland, Canada, 2012. Genderize, Chase Joynt, USA, 2016. I Am Me, Jazmine Smith, Canada, 2019. Reviving the Roost, Vivek Shraya, Canada, 2019. Her Story, Ep. 1, Sydney Freeland, 2016. How Not To Date While Trans, Nyala Moon, USA, 2022. https://www.transgendermediaportal.org
Please note: The final three films contain some suggestive content including mild language, sexual themes, non-explicit depictions of sexual behavior, and references to alcohol.
Accessibility: Two steps to enter the building. The washroom has handles and room for a wheelchair to turn around.
Chi-meegwetch/Big thanks go to all of our prize donors, to our host venue Hintonburg Public House (https://www.hintonburgpublichouse.ca/) and to The Asinabka Festival (https://asinabkafestival.org/) for providing equipment and prizes.

From Sacred Site to Industrial Wasteland: Colonialism and Class Struggle in the Chaudière District
2024-09-29 10:00 - 15:00
This month, the Historical Society of Ottawa and Workers History Museum celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the September 1924 Strike by “Les Allumettières” at Hull’s E.B. Eddy match factory — the first women to stage a labour strike in the province’s history.
To mark this anniversary, two events have been planned for activists and local residents to learn about this landmark strike and another key moment in the early history of the Ottawa-Gatineau labour movement: the 1891 mass strike by 2400 non-unionized saw mill workers in the Chaudière District.
#1: Striking Moments of Solidarity in the Chaudière District: Community Support for the Sawmill & Match Worker Strikes, 1891 & 1924
Public Lecture by Brian McDougall: Saturday, September 28, 1 p.m.
Ottawa Public Library, Main Branch Auditorium)
Sponsored by Historical Society of Ottawa in partnership with the Workers’ History Museum
Admission is free
#2: From Sacred Site to Industrial Wasteland: Colonialism and Class Struggle in the Chaudière District
Walking Tour, led by Brian McDougall – Sunday, September 29, 10 a.m.
Organized by Peoples’ History Walking Tours
Cost: $35 (Pre-registration is required. Send an email to brian.phwt@gmail.com)
The speaker for both events is Brian McDougall, long-time socialist activist and guide with Peoples’ History Walking Tours.

Pique
2024-09-28 17:00 - 2024-09-29 02:00 | Club SAW, 67 Nicholas St, Ottawa, K1N 7B9
The change of season once again brings an exciting music and arts convergence at Pique’s fall edition, happening on September 28, 2024 at the Arts Court. The 14th edition of Ottawa’s signature underground art party, Pique brings together groundbreaking music, visual, and interdisciplinary artists for a building-wide festival at the Arts Court in downtown Ottawa.
Experimental and underground music, media art installation, drag and ballroom performance, and more will be showcased across eight stages and exhibition spaces, indoors and outdoors. Admission is pay-what-you-can and all-ages.
Featuring performances and presentations by international and out-of-town artists including punk-feminist sound artist Evicshen; ethereal soundscapist and harpist for Kelela, Ahya Simone; commanding punk rave duo Pelada; cutting-edge pop vanguard Cecile Believe; spectral noise-pop songwriter LA Timpa; noisemaker and new music subversive Olivia Shortt; avant-garde tropi-pop producer chiquitamagic; cyberpunk pop star 8485; and alt-jazz/R&B siren M.I.BLUE.
Exploring the edges of art and performance, local artists will present new and improvised works, including experimental alt-pop producer Yolande Laroche, radical sound conductors SUBR (صبر), performance artist Matt Miwa, soundscape improviser Kathryn Patricia Cobbler, CRT frequency modulator crhunchy!, and exploratory percussionist Scott Warren.
Plus, the first-ever kiki ball at Pique curated by Yéila Siriano + Legendary OA Mother Maldita Siriano, and a multi-media exhibition exploring decolonized desire curated by Eva Grant, comes to Pique’s fall edition.
Finally, Topique symposium returns to Pique with a series of artist talks and workshops (to be announced).
With more than 30 artists, curators, and speakers, there is so much to experience at Pique!

Striking Moments of Solidarity in the Chaudière District: Community Support for the Sawmill Match Worker Strikes, 1891 & 1924
2024-09-28 13:00 - 15:00 | Ottawa Public Library – Main Branch Auditorium

Colloquium: "The Native and the Refugee" by Matt Peterson
2024-09-26 14:30 - 16:30 | Loeb A720, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S5B6, Canada
The Department of Sociology and Anthropology’s Colloquium Committee is pleased to invite you to the first event of this academic year’s colloquium series, featuring documentary filmmaker and artist Matt Peterson. He will present on his research from the multimedia project, “The Native and the Refugee”, which investigates and juxtaposes the struggles, communities, and spaces of the Palestinian refugee camp and the American Indian reservation.
For more information on the project, please visit: The Native and the Refugee
Bio: Matt Peterson is a filmmaker and organizer at Woodbine, an experimental space in New York City. He directed the documentary Scenes from a Revolt Sustained (2015) and co-edited the books In the Name of the People (2018) and The Reservoir (2022).
Please find the attached event poster for further details. We look forward to seeing you at the colloquium!

Queer Death Salon - Advance Planning for End of Life
2024-09-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
2SLGBTQIA+ people may face specific challenges in the legal and healthcare systems. You may need extra protections in advance care planning to ensure dignity and avoid conflict or discrimination.
Tuesday, September 24 at 7 p.m. EST
This month we are kicking off a 4-part series where we will discuss Advanced Planning for End Of Life as it relates to us in our communities. Over 4 sessions, we will together go over each section of the LGBTQ+ Advance Care Planning Toolkit published by SAGE (follow the link for the free download).
This month, we will review STEP 1 of the toolkit and discuss:
-health care proxy
-living will
-financial power of attorney
-last will and testament
-funeral pre-planning and disposition rights
There is no need to pre-read the materials. We will discuss the toolkit information together, and help each other work out questions and special considerations around these topics, to better enable us each to make the preparations that work best for us. Each of the 4 sessions is drop-in. There is no requirement to attend all sessions.
Participants are encouraged to bring their own questions, stories, and complexities to share.

Photo exhibition: daughters, mothers, grandmothers, and other sexual outlaws
2024-09-21 14:00 - 2024-10-19 17:00 | Gallery 101, 280 Catherine Street, Ottawa
A new photo exhibit co-curated by Inter Pares and three international social justice organizations documents sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) activism in Bangladesh, El Salvador and the Philippines.
daughters, mothers, grandmothers and other sexual outlaws showcases intergenerational efforts to advance sexual health and rights in contexts that are hostile towards bodily autonomy for girls, women and gender-diverse people. This work is essential—and comes with great risk.
The exhibit will launch in Ottawa on September 21st from 2:00 to 5:00p.m. at Gallery 101 and will be open for public viewing until October 19th. It features the talent of photographers Taslima Akhter (Bangladesh), Jessica Xiomara Orellana Ventura (El Salvador) and Lisa Marie David (the Philippines).
The exhibit aims to deepen understandings of what activism looks like around the world.
daughters, mothers, grandmothers and other sexual outlaws captures strength and creativity in the struggle for sexual health and rights. The exhibit aims to deepen understandings of what activism looks like around the world. We also hope it sparks conversations around longstanding and urgent struggles to access reproductive health services, both globally and in Canada.
Inter Pares, based in Ottawa, is a feminist social justice organization that believes in solidarity, not charity, as an approach to international cooperation. For nearly 50 years, Inter Pares has collaborated with courageous activists and inspiring organizations throughout the world to build peace, advance justice and globalize equality.
Gallery 101 is an artist-run-centre committed to exhibiting self-representations of decolonizing counternarratives.
The exhibit is part of a collaboration between Inter Pares and longstanding counterparts Nijera Kori (Bangladesh), La Colectiva Feminista para el desarrollo local (El Salvador) and Likhaan Center for Women’s Health (the Philippines).
For more information, please contact:
• Nathalia Santos Ocasio, Inter Pares, nsantosocasio@interpares.ca
• Kristina Corre, Gallery 101, office@g101.ca

2024 Ottawa-Gatineau Climate March
2024-09-21 11:00 - 13:00 | Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier, Ottawa
ABOUT THE 2024 CLIMATE MARCH – Exposing the Climate Culprits
For too long, the oil and gas industry has blamed ordinary Canadians for the causes and effects of climate change. We’ve been told to recycle, carpool, and reduce our carbon footprint – all while they lie and rake in record profits.
Individual action certainly has its place, but it has become absolutely clear: preventing the worst of climate change will require systemic change.
So it’s time to take aim at the root of the problem, the institutions and industries that produce the most emissions and try to prevent meaningful change: Canada’s climate change culprits!
Who are Canada’s Climate Culprits?
These culprits invest in and enable the fossil fuel industry, drag their feet on meaningful change, and try to block a just transition to clean energy.
They drive up the cost of living for ordinary people, cause wildfires across Canada, and worsen extreme weather right here in Ottawa-Gatineau. They put profit over people. Every. Single. Day.
Our 2024 Canadian Climate Culprits are:
❌ The City of Ottawa
❌ Export Development Canada (EDC)
❌ The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)
❌ The Province of Ontario
❌ Canadian Gas Association
❌ The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
❌ The Conservative Party of Canada
Join Us: https://www.fridaysforfutureottawa.org/get-involved/

CIRCLE UP: Mothers Seek True Justice for Their Murdered Sons - MOVIE NIGHT & DIALOGUE
2024-09-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Jules Morin Park Fieldhouse – 400 Clarence Street Ottawa, ON K1N 5R8, 400 Clarence Street, Ottawa, K1N 5R8
Come join us for a powerful evening at the Jules Morin Fieldhouse at 400 Clarence St as we watch a thought-provoking movie and engage in meaningful dialogue.
Come watch “Circle Up: Mothers Seek True Justice for their Murdered Sons” outside the criminal legal system due to failures within our current system. We will have a discussion afterwards about transformative justice and ways we can apply these practices in our communities.
This event organized by the Ottawa Transformative Justice Collective and the Lowertown Community Resource Centre.
Access notes: N95 Masks will be available but are not required. Light refreshments will be provided. This space is accessible to wheelchairs and other mobility devices.
Registration preferred but not required.
Contact @ottawatransformativejustice on IG or email ottawatransformativejustice@gmail.com for more information.

WEN Presents: Take Back the Night Ottawa
2024-09-19 18:00 - 21:00 | Minto Park, 315 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Take Back the Night (TBTN) is an annual rally and protest against sexual and gender-based violence. The community comes together to celebrate, support and empower survivors, while creating safer communities and healthier relationships through awareness, activism and advocacy.

#TBTN2024 Ottawa will start with a rally in Minto Park (102 Lewis St) on 6pm. The march will start at 6:45 through Downtown Ottawa and end with an Info fair at Ottawa City Hall (110 Laurier Ave W)
An accessible bus and ASL/LSQ interpreters will be available, so we welcome everyone to join us!

Barrhaven Transit Forum / Forum sur les transports en commun à Barrhaven
2024-09-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Charlie Conacher Building, 30 Wessex Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Welcome to the Barrhaven Transit Forum! Join us for an engaging discussion on all things transit in Barrhaven! Whether you’re a regular commuter or just interested in learning more about public transportation in our community, this forum is for you. Come share your thoughts, ask questions, and connect with fellow residents who are passionate about improving transit options in Barrhaven. We look forward to seeing you there!
Bienvenue au Forum sur les transports en commun à Barrhaven ! Joignez-vous à nous pour une discussion intéressante sur tout ce qui concerne les transports en commun à Barrhaven ! Que vous utilisez quotidiennement les transports en commun ou que vous souhaitiez simplement en savoir plus sur les transports en commun dans notre communauté, ce forum est fait pour vous. Venez partager vos idées, poser des questions et rencontrer avec d’autres résidents passionnés par l’amélioration des options de transport en commun à Barrhaven. Nous avons hâte de vous voir !

Environmental Racism: From Community Stories to Union Action
2024-09-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
This virtual panel will bring together a diverse range of speakers active in communities impacted by environmental racism to generate conversation about the ways in which the labour movement can support resistance efforts.
Host: Larry Rousseau, Executive Vice President, Canadian Labour Congress (CLC)
Panelists:
Vanessa Gray, Anishinaabe, Land Defender from Aamjiwnaang First Nation
Dr. Ingrid Waldron, Professor and HOPE Chair in Peace and Health in the Global Peace and Social Justice Program at McMaster University
Taneeta Doma, Justicia for Migrant Workers (J4MW), lawyer with the Migrant Farmworker Legal Clinic
A question-and-answer period will follow the speaker presentations.
Join us in saying NO to placing polluting and toxic industries in Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities. You will have the opportunity to learn about the generational impacts of the Petrochemical industry in Aamjiwnaag First Nation, how migrant farm workers are affected by environmental racism with differential treatment in Ontario, the legacy of environmental racism and its health impacts in Indigenous and Black communities in Canada, and MORE!
This event will be a powerful call-to-action in support of human rights and environmental justice.
There is no environmental justice without racial justice.

Say No To Racism! Yes to Immigrant Justice!
2024-09-15 14:00 - 16:00 | Human Rights Monument, 220 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Right-wing politicians are scapegoating immigrants for the housing and affordability crisis, diverting attention from corporate greed and government policy failures. All workers, including migrants and immigrants, are suffering from decades of cuts to healthcare, housing, education, and social services. The elite want us divided—citizen against newcomer—so we don’t unite against billionaires, landlords, and climate criminals profiting from our crisis. The federal Liberals are mirroring Conservative tactics, shutting down immigration avenues. Regularization—permanent resident status for undocumented people—was promised in December 2021 but still has not been delivered, while migrants remain underpaid, exploited, and excluded.
Schedule:
– 2 pm: Start
– 2.15-2.30 pm: Speeches from migrant rights advocates and members of various unions and community organizations
– 2.30-3 pm: March to Parliament Hill
– 3.30 pm: Community Gathering at Major’s Hill Park
Ottawa shows up for migrants and says: No to racism! Yes to migrant justice!

20 Years of Defending Civil Liberties from the Impact of Counter-terrorism
2024-09-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Online
Please join us for the launch of “Defending Civil Liberties in an Age of National Security and Counter-terrorism,” a new publication from the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG) featuring 27 pieces from leading experts, activists and ICLMG members reflecting on the past twenty years and the challenges that lie ahead.
Wednesday, September 11, 20247:00PM ETPlease register for the webinar here: https://iclmg.ca/20-years-launch/
The launch event will feature a panel with four of our contributors:
– Dr. Brenda McPhail does research and advocacy at the junction of privacy and technology, and is the Director of Executive Education for the Master of Public Policy in Digital Society program at McMaster University.
– Dr. Monia Mazigh is an academic, award-winning author and human rights activist. She was the ICLMG National Coordinator in 2015 and 2016.
– Dr. Pamela Palmater is a Mi’kmaw lawyer, professor, and human rights expert from Eel River Bar First Nation.
– Tim McSorley is the National Coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group.
More details and registration at: https://iclmg.ca/20-years-launch/
Please share the event and invite your friends. Thank you!

Citywide Protest for Renoviction Protections
2024-09-10 18:00 | 110 Laurier Avenue W, 110 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, ON, K1P 1J1, Canada
Evictions for renovations are often unnecessary or simply cosmetic so the owner can jack up the rent. That’s why we are protesting outside city hall so Ottawa city councillors CAN’T IGNORE the fact that we need REAL protections.

Join the BIG protest to demand city council stops corporate landlords from destroying affordable housing and protect tenants by passing a renoviction bylaw.

Community Rally in Defence of the Bank Block Tenants
2024-09-10 08:00 - 21:30
227 Bank St, Ottawa
Join the rally on Tuesday morning to help our neighbours fight back against our commodified housing system.
The Bank Block Tenants are also looking for donations for their legal defence fund:
Donate to the BBT Legal Defence Fund

more info on the Bank Block Tenants can be found on their website and on their Instagram

Return-to-office solidarity rally/ Rassemblement de solidarité contre le retour au bureau
2024-09-09 07:30 - 08:30
Let’s mark September 9 with a bang to remind the employer that we will not back down!
Join the biggest remote work rally to date alongside members from ACFO, CAPE, PIPSC, PSAC and other federal unions!
September 9 may be the beginning of the new three-day-a-week in-office mandate, but for all of us it’s also the point of no return when it comes to return to office.
All unions will be converging on IRCC – the department with one of the most developed interunion local organizing committees driving the telework campaign.
Let’s show the employer our collective resolve!
When: Monday, September 9
Time: 7:30-8:30 am ET – please be sure to still meet your in-office work hours – come for as little or as long as you can!
Where: 365 Laurier Ave W – in the quad between Jet-S & Jet-N towers
Refreshments: Coffee and donuts will be provided
Campaign apparel: Some unions will have return-to-office campaign forest green t-shirts to hand out if you don’t have one – feel free to wear your own green!
***Soulignons le 9 septembre avec éclat pour rappeler à l’employeur que nous ne reculerons pas!
Participez au plus grand rassemblement sur le télétravail à ce jour avec des membres de l’ACAF, de l’ACEP, de l’IPFPC, de l’AFPC et d’autres syndicats fédéraux!
Le 9 septembre marque peut-être le début de la présence obligatoire au bureau trois jours par semaine, mais c’est aussi le point de non-retour en ce qui concerne le retour au bureau (RAB).
Tous les syndicats se rassembleront devant l’immeuble d’Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada, le ministère dont le comité local d’action intersyndical est l’un de ceux qui ont le plus grand nombre de pétitionnaires dans le cadre de la campagne sur le droit au télétravail.
Montrons à l’employeur notre détermination collective!
Date : Lundi 9 septembre
Heure : De 7 h 30 à 8 h 30 (HE) – Assurez-vous de respecter votre horaire de travail au bureau – Joignez-vous à nous pour le temps que vous pouvez!
Lieu : 365, avenue Laurier Ouest, dans le quadrilatère entre les tours Jet-S et Jet-N
Rafraîchissements : Du café et des beignets seront offerts.
Vêtements de campagne : Certains syndicats auront des t-shirts vert forêt pour la campagne de retour au bureau à distribuer si vous n’en avez pas – n’hésitez pas à porter votre propre vert !

Ottawa Labour Day March and Picnic
2024-09-02 12:00 - 16:00 | Ottawa City Hall, 110 Laurier, Ottawa
March leaves Ottawa City Hall (Lisgar Street side) at 12:00pm sharp.
March Route: South on Elgin Street to Gladstone Avenue, West on Gladstone Avenue to McNabb Park (corner of Gladstone Avenue and Bronson Avenue).
Picnic commences when March participants arrive at McNabb Park (approx 12:45pm).
Picnic includes: BBQ (Hot dogs, corn-on-the-cob, melon pieces, drinks). Live music, face painting, bouncy castle, wading pool with life guards. Everything free.

International Day of Protest Against ABA 2024 - Ottawa
2024-08-31 17:00 - 18:00 | Human Rights Monument, 220 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
August 31st will once again mark the 7th International Day of Protest Against ABA. An international day of action for Autistic self-advocates and allies to organize in their opposition to Applied Behaviour Analysis.
Applied Behaviour Analysis was pioneered in the 1960s by Ole Ivar Løvaas, who spoke at length about his dehumanizing perspective on Autistic people, oftentimes physically assaulting, electrically shocking, and restraining Autistic children. ABA takes behaviours, oftentimes harmless cultural differences such as eye contact avoidance and stimming, and provides rewards and punishments accordingly. Even in its gentlest forms, it is Skinnerian manipulation that teaches a child to place the approval of their peers and authority figures over their own well-being. Many Autistic people refer to ABA as “Autistic Conversion Therapy”, and for good reasons. Ole Ivar Løvaas co-authored a study with George Rekers on gay conversion therapy, and Autistic people are disproportionally LGBTQ2S+.
For these reasons and the lived experiences of Autistic people, we will be hosting a protest on August 31st outside the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights at 5PM EST to make our voices heard, and call upon Ottawa City Council to make the following actions:
1. Prohibit businesses from providing Applied Behaviour Analysis to minors within city limits.
2. Cease the Mayor and members of Ottawa City Council’s associations with organizations that will defend the use of Applied Behaviour Analysis.
3. Implement further measures to work towards the abolition of ABA in the City of so-called Ottawa
In the event that Ottawa Police show up, here is a document detailing your rights when interacting with police: https://ccla.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Know-Your-Rights-Booklet.pdf

International Overdose Awareness Day - End the Stigma
2024-08-30 11:00 - 13:00 | Human Rights Monument, 220 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Join us Friday – End the Stigma!

Anatomical Venus Book Launch
2024-08-25 18:00 - 19:30 | Perfect Books, 258 Elgin Street, Ottawa, K2P 1L9
Join us at Perfect Books to launch Courtney Bates-Hardy’s new book, Anatomical Venus. It’s a visceral collection of poems that invoke anatomical models, feminine monsters, and little-known historical figures.
Featuring readings by Christine McNair and Margo LaPierre. Hosted by Frances Boyle.
Courtney Bates-Hardy is the author of Anatomical Venus (Radiant Press, 2024), House of Mystery (ChiZine Publications, 2016), and a chapbook, Sea Foam (JackPine Press, 2013). She has been shortlisted for the Elgin Award and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is queer, disabled, and one-third of a writing group called The Pain Poets.
Christine McNair has published two collections of poetry –Conflict (Book*hug, 2012) and Charm (Book*hug, 2017). She is the winner of the Archibald Poetry Prize and was shortlisted for the City of Ottawa Book awards. Her hybrid literary non-fiction memoir Toxemia is forthcoming with Book*hug in fall 2024. She works as a book doctor in Ottawa.
Margo LaPierre is a freelance literary editor and writer of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. Her second poetry collection is forthcoming with Guernica in Fall 2025. She won the 2021 Room Poetry Award and the 2020 subTerrain Fiction Award and was shortlisted for Editors Canada’s 2024 Tom Fairley Award for Editorial Excellence. She is Arc Poetry magazine’s newsletter editor and a member of the Ottawa-based poetry collective VII.

Ottawa Run for Palestine 10th Annual Charity BBQ
2024-08-25 13:00 - 20:00 | Vincent Massey Park, Heron Road, Ottawa
Join us on Sunday, August 25 @ Vincent Massey Park (sections C & D) for our Annual charity BBQ in collaboration with the Association of Palestinian Arab Canadians (APAC), the Palestinian Student Associations’ at both Carleton University and Ottawa U and the Palestinian Student Coalition!
Halal BBQ for sale: prepared and served by Sultan supermarket & meatshop.Join us on August 25, 2024 (new date!), from 1-8 PM at Vincent Massey Park (Sections C and D) for our Annual Charity BBQ, where all proceeds go towards helping Gaza through numerous Isalmic relief projects.
Enjoy BBQ (Mashawi) by Sultan Supermarket and Meatshop, Refreshments and coffee and tea station by Second Cup,a knafeh station, Cotton candy and Popcorn for salefacepainting and HennaSports games and activities for the kids,And most importantly, a registration station for the Ottawa Run For Palestine 9th Annual 2K, 5K, 10K walk/Run taking place on Sep 14th @ Hogs Back Park)

Bring your friends and family for a day of delicious food and community spirit.
**Please note that due to the genocidal war on our people in Gaza, we will not be holding our yearly dessert competition, any Palestinian entertainment, or bouncy castles for our kids We will provide sports activities and coloring stations with a mepeoplessage of hope to the people of Gaza, in particular to children.It will be an opportunity for our community to spend some time in solidarity, gather, heal, bond, and reflect.**
Let’s make a difference together!

Justice for Workers Ottawa Summer Camp!
2024-08-24 09:30 - 15:00
Struggling to get your workplace organized? What makes a good organizer? What strategies have been proven to win time and time again?
Want to learn how to make your efforts unstoppable?
Skip the sunburn Saturday August 24th and join Justice for Workers Ottawa’s ‘Summer Camp’ at 233 Gilmour St. from 9:30am-3pm for a day full of workshops specific to worker organizing! Learn about building a fighting labour movement, practical strategies, writing resolutions, effective outreach and follow-up, and much more!!
Program:
9:30am-10:00am:
Welcome and registration
10:00am-11:00am:
How do we build a fighting labour movement?
In order to win demands we need a strong multi-racial working class movement that unites union AND non-union workers. How do we get there?
11:00am-12:00pm
Rise together!: Transnational labour solidarity
Workers’ lives don’t end when they leave the workplace. Sometimes workers deem it necessary to take collective action outside the workplace. What are practical steps workers can take towards this?
12:00pm-1:00pm
LUNCH
1:00pm-2:00pm
Dotmocracy: Justice 4 Workers Demands
Learn about the 10 demands that guide Justice4Workers in fighting for decent work for unionized and non-unionized workers.
2:00pm-3:00pm
Building capacity: Effective outreach & follow-up
If movements don’t grow they can’t successfully leverage collective power to win their demands. Outreach and follow-up are critical in bringing people into the movement. What are the practical steps we can take to bring people into the fight for decent work?
