Queer Bike Club Ottawa's Bike Scavenger Hunt
2025-07-15 18:00 (America/Toronto) | Dow’s Lake
Hey folks! Come on out and join us for our first ever bike scavenger hunt! And bring your friends! This event is ally friendly and kid friendly (as long as kids under 18 are supervised by an adult). We will meet at the Naval Reserve Monument at Dow’s Lake at 6pm.

What will this event look like? Teams (Minimum of 3 people, maximum of 7) will be given a series of clues and challenges to do within a 1.5 hour time frame. Each team to finish and get to the mystery end point gets entered to win a prize!
What if I don’t have a team? Show up a few minutes early, organizers will try and help you join another team!
Is this an intense scavenger hunt? No! It is meant to be a challenge but is meant to be fun, and maybe a little competitive. 1.5 hours maximum to complete. Those who complete all the clues get entered into a draw to win a prize for their team.

As with all QBC events, you must fill out a waiver to participate (link here).

Dead People's Stuff
2025-07-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The dead can leave behind so much stuff, from a few sentimental items, to entire homes stuffed to the brim. What to do with it can be complex and filled with conflicting emotions. This is a space to explore our relationships with the physical objects left behind by the dead, what to keep, what to pass on, what we are having hard feelings about, and what we celebrate.
Queer Death Salon is a community space for all 2SLGBTQIA+ people to come together to discuss death, dying and grief. It 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.
Queer Death Salon takes place over Zoom, in English, with Automatic Closed Captioning

Abbas Wahab LIVE in Ottawa | The Joyride Tour
2025-07-17 19:30 - 2025-07-18 22:00 | LIVE! on Elgin, 220 Elgin St #2, Ottawa, ON K2P 1L7, Canada, Ottawa, NY, K2P 1L7, United States
Catch Viral Comedian Abbas Wahab on his North American Joyride Tour, July 17th and 18th at LIVE On Elgin!
Abbas Wahab is a New York-based, Canadian comedian and actor. He’s been featured on Just For Laughs and Edinburgh Fringe festivals, and is best known most recently for his role as SWAT officer in M.Night Shyamalan’s Trap. Wahab has also appeared in TV shows, such as The Boys, What We Do In The Shadows, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. He has garnered a loyal following of over 125k fans on Instagram and 220k on TikTok. Abbas is best known for his viral “job interview” and “automotive marketing” series, which parody the behind-the-scenes hiring and advertising of major brands. His comedic style has been described as electrifying and sharp, with grounded storytelling. Don’t miss him on the road!
Check out Abbas Wahab on Instagram and TikTok > @abbaswahab

Art in the Park: Climate Connections and Crewel Embroidery
2025-07-19 10:00 - 12:30 | Strathcona Park, 25 Range Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N8J3, Canada
Join us for a morning workshop from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM as part of Art in the Park—a series of outdoor sessions that blend art-making, climate emotion dialogue, and nature connection. This workshop offers a supportive, welcoming space for youth to explore their feelings about the climate crisis through creative expression, storytelling, and community care.
This session focuses on crewel embroidery as a mindful, grounding practice. Embroidery invites us to slow down, notice the small details, and put care into each stitch. In this hands-on, beginner-friendly workshop, participants will be invited to wander the park, observe the local plant life, and choose a plant—such as a dandelion, sumac tree, or goldenrod—that resonates with them.
We’ll provide a selection of fabrics, but participants are encouraged to bring their own fabric items to embroider, such as a tote bag, jacket, or scrap fabric.
Whether you’re brand new to embroidery or an experienced textile artist, this workshop is about more than technique—it’s about slowing down, reconnecting with nature, and making something meaningful.
Spots are limited — register now! https://shorturl.at/FQcqy

Ottawa's Walk for Recovery
2025-07-19 13:00 - 14:30 | Human Rights Monument, 220 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
On Saturday, July 19 at 1 pm at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights, we will march to demand visibility for women and non-binary folks living with addiction, as well as adequate support and funding for long-term recovery services.
Why Walk for Recovery?
Because we need visibility beyond stigma for women and non-binary folks who are concerned about their drug use and/or gambling.
We demand adequate support and funding for feminist and harm reduction organizations, because they save lives.
The struggle for feminism, anti-racism, housing, and labor are all ways of tackling the root causes of addiction. We need solidarity and coalition-building across social justice issues!
If ability, weather and temperatures permit, we will march to Parliament Hill, down Bank St., back to Elgin St. via Somerset St. Otherwise, we will prioritize our safety by staying at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights.
The Merry Dairy will be kindly gifting 30 ice cream coupons to march attendees!
See the schedule and speaker list here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DL_FAmsPeIm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The Zine Scene Market
2025-07-20 10:00 - 15:00 | Shenkman Arts Centre, 245 Centrum Boulevard, Ottawa, K1E 0A1
As part of phase 2 and 3 of The Zine Scene: Tools for Social Change Project, Laughing Radish, Shenkman Arts Centre and Arts Ottawa will be hosting The Zine Scene Market, a zine and small press market celebrating independent publishing works in Ottawa.
This market will officially launch our community collection of zines on various themes around social justice in Ottawa. Celebrate and share our zine collection, build community and network with local zinesters/social advocates!
We are STILL accepting vendor applications with subsidized table fees ($20 or $10 for half-table) thanks to support from Arts Ottawa and the Shenkman Arts Centre. To apply to be a vendor at the Zine Scene Market, please complete the form.
*Personal note from the organizer:
Please spread the word within your networks and on social media, so we get a good attendance at the market! I am a one (wo)man show, so any help to spread the word is greatly appreciated! We will continue to accept vendor applications leading up to the market, so if you have any zinester friends who still want to vend- it’s not too late for them to join! This is also a great low-risk option for people who want to try selling their art at their first market (and it doesn’t have to be zines). So please spread the word far and wide, to help your fellow zinesters out!
Vendor application form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSefU3N17ZXWzXn5eCJv7vk0fPoE8l6DCrWW-qsPicSxLE0IRA/viewform

Community Picnic for Palestine
2025-07-20 14:00 - 19:00 | Vincent Massey Park, Heron Road, Ottawa
*Hosted by community members*
Come join us for an afternoon of community building, connecting and sharing ideas. Whether you’ve been organizing for a while or just have ideas, this is a space to meet others, have real conversations, and think together.
📍 Vincent Massey Park (Section A)
🗓️ Sunday, July 20
🕐 2–7 PM
There will be crafts, and space to chill or chat. Bring a friend, your thoughts, or just come as you are. Everyone is welcome!
Lights snacks and drinks are provided, but feel free to bring something for yourself or to share with the community! We will have a screen printing station, so bring your own t-shirts!

Boiling Point: Tenants Take on Extreme Heat!
2025-07-23 18:30 - 20:00 | Online
Tenants across Ontario are reaching a BOILING POINT.
As heatwaves get longer and more dangerous, thousands of tenants are being forced to suffer through sweltering apartments without A/C, all while landlords dodge responsibility — and the provincial government stands by and does nothing.
That’s why Ontario ACORN is bringing tenants together for a virtual meeting to expose the heat crisis in rental housing and demand action.
Join us to:
🔥 Hear from ACORN members organizing across Ontario —From Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, London & Peel
🎤 Get insights from MPP Catherine McKenney (NDP Shadow Housing Minister) and other guest speakers
💥 Learn about ACORN’s province-wide campaign to win heat protection laws for tenants
📢 Find out how YOU can take action and pressure the provincial government to act now!
Whether you’re sweating through the heat or want to fight for those who are — this meeting is for you.
Register here.

Defend the Land: Lessons from Indigenous experiences of colonization and how to fight back with Mi'kmaw land defender Sakej Ward
2025-07-26 14:00 - 16:00 | Ottawa Public Library – Main Branch Auditorium
Join us at Ottawa Public Library – Main Library Auditorium on July 26, 2025 at 2:00 PM for a free, public, and timely discussion on Indigenous perspectives of colonization and how to fight back with Mi’kmaw land defender Sakej Ward. This event is held in collaboration with the Anishinabe Moose Committee, a grassroots Anishinabe-led committee working to prevent the declining moose population in their traditional territory .
Amidst the growing threats of climate change and recent draconian policies to expand mining, logging, oil and gas infrastructure, this event is a galvanizing call for settlers and climate activities to learn from and support the work frontline land defenders have done to protect the land and water.
Sakej (James Ward) is Mi’kmaw from the community of Esgenoopetitj. He was adopted into the wolf clan. Sakej has dedicated his life to living a warrior life. Sakej served with both the Canadian and American militaries, then after leaving the military, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a specialization in International Relations (Honors program) and a Master’s of Arts Degree in Indigenous Governance. Sakej transformed his military experience and university education into strategies, approaches, and methods to contribute to decolonizing Indigenous people. Sakej has a long history of protecting Indigenous people, communities, and homelands as well as our inherent responsibilities and freedoms. He has spent the last 32 years traveling North and Central America, helping groups pursue Indigenous nationhood and cultural resurgence.
Also presenting will be Waba Mako/Shannon Chief of the Anishinaabe-Algonquin Nation wolf clan. Waba commits to defense of her Anishinabe culture. She contributes at various levels to the decolonization and the restoration of the sovereignty of her people. Waba is an Algonquin Language Teacher who currently works for Kebaweok First Nation to revitalize the community’s language and also works full time as the coordinator for the Anishnabe Moose Committee.
This event is facilitated by Climate Justice Ottawa in collaboration with the Waba and the Anishinabe Moose Committee. Generous support was provided by the Youth Harbour, Research for the Frontlines, CAPE Local 502 (CIRNAC-NCR), and Seniors for Climate Action Now!
This is a free event, with all donations going to the Anishinabe Moose Committee.

Evacuate Gaza Loved Ones from the Kill Zone! Canada Must Urgently Issue Visas to Save Families NOW!
2025-07-30 11:00 - 13:00 | Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, 235 Queen Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Join us at the Ottawa offices of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for a peaceful vigil to demand that Canada immediately complete the processing of all remaining visa applications for the Gazan loved ones of Palestinians in Canada and implement an emergency action plan for their evacuation.
Since the Gaza Temporary Visa program was implemented in January 2024, Canada has assisted in the evacuation of fewer than 40 people out of 5,000 applicants. That’s only 0.7% of program applicants, an astounding number considering the daily risk of being blown to bits or suffering the slow death of starvation.
Right now, Canada is insisting no one can leave without biometrics (fingerprints and photographs). This violates Canada’s own very specific program guidelines: “Given the situation we understand that you won’t be able to give your biometrics or complete a full admissibility check until you’ve left Gaza. If your application passes a preliminary eligibility and admissibility assessment we’ll forward your name to the local authorities to facilitate your exit from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.” (https://www.canada.ca/…/gaza-tr-measures/after.html… )
Canada already has photographs because all applicants sent copies of their passports. In addition, since Israeli apartheid occupation authorities have a registry of all Palestinians in Gaza, they would be the first to say no to the exit of anyone they felt posed some theoretical threat. But Canada is not even willing to take the word of its Israeli allies on this matter. Instead, it is assuming, based on anti-Palestinian racism, that all Palestinians are a threat until they prove otherwise. That includes starving children, grandmothers, school teachers, health care workers, farmers, gravely injured and ill program applicants.
The Canadian government’s assumption of guilt mirrors (indeed, goes far beyond) the Obama assassination-by-drone policy which, as reported in 2012, “in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants … unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.”
Canada can shed as many tears as it likes over the losses of hundreds of program applicants who would be here safe with their families were it not for wrongfully treating every Palestinian as a supposed threat. But that is no consolation for those traumatized for life by these immeasurable losses. It must take action.
The only Palestinians who have made it to Canada (861 as of July 1, 2025) made it out on their own by exhausting life savings to pay border bribes to escape before the closure and demolition of Rafah. In the same 540-day period under the Ukraine program, over 650,000 visas had been approved and 186,454 arrived in Canada. In the first year of the program, over 8,000 Israelis were granted visas to come to Canada.
Clearly, Canada has the capacity to process applications in the same time period it did for Ukrainians (average 14-day turnaround), and it also has the ability to facilitate evacuations. The fact that it has not done so is not a matter of organizational ability or staff resources. Rather it is rooted in systemic anti-Palestinian racism, and the ludicrous racial profiling presumption of guilt that every Palestinian in Gaza is a risk until proven otherwise.
In the meantime, far too many loved ones have been killed waiting for Canada, a shameful reflection of another bleak period in our history when Jews fleeing a genocide were turned away under a None is Too Many policy.
Please join us for this peaceful vigil (ie, no yelling or verbal abuse directed against our opponents) organized by the Gazan Canadians League–Ottawa and the Rural Refugee Rights Network.
More info at tasc@web.ca
Special thanks to Peter Stockdale for the fabulous photo!

Collaborative zine making night at the Ottawa Trans Library
2025-08-02 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.

Urgently Reunite Palestinian Families: Canada Must Evacuate all Visa Applicants from Gaza NOW!
2025-08-06 11:00 - 13:00 | Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, 235 Queen Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Join us Wednesday, August 6 from 11 am to 1 pm at the Ottawa offices of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (300 Slater Street, at Kent) for a peaceful vigil to demand that Canada immediately complete the processing of all remaining visa applications for the Gazan loved ones of Palestinians in Canada and implement an emergency action plan for their evacuation.
We are gathering every Wednesday at this same time throughout the month of August, so please mark your calendars and join us!
Since the Gaza Temporary Visa program was implemented in January 2024, Canada has assisted in the evacuation of fewer than 40 people out of 5,000 applicants. That’s only 0.7% of program applicants, an astounding number considering the daily risk of being blown to bits or suffering the slow death of starvation.
During the final weekend in July, Canada reportedly evacuated 11 Canadian citizens from Gaza. This contradicts their stated position that they are powerless to get families across the border.
Right now, Canada is insisting no one can leave without biometrics (fingerprints and photographs). This violates Canada’s own very specific program guidelines: “Given the situation we understand that you won’t be able to give your biometrics or complete a full admissibility check until you’ve left Gaza. If your application passes a preliminary eligibility and admissibility assessment we’ll forward your name to the local authorities to facilitate your exit from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.” (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/israel-west-bank-gaza-2023/gaza-tr-measures/after.html)
Canada already has photographs because all applicants sent copies of their passports. In addition, since Israeli apartheid occupation authorities have a registry of all Palestinians in Gaza, they would be the first to say no to the exit of anyone they felt posed some theoretical threat. But Canada is not even willing to take the word of its Israeli allies on this matter.
Instead, it is assuming, based on anti-Palestinian racism, that all Palestinians are a threat until they prove otherwise. That includes starving children, grandmothers, school teachers, health care workers, farmers, gravely injured and ill program applicants.
The Canadian government’s assumption of guilt mirrors (indeed, goes far beyond) the Obama assassination-by-drone policy which, as reported in 2012, “in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants … unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.”
Canada can shed as many tears as it likes over the losses of hundreds of program applicants who would be here safe with their families were it not for wrongfully treating every Palestinian as a supposed threat. But that is no consolation for those traumatized for life by these immeasurable losses. It must take action.
The only Palestinians who have made it to Canada (861 as of July 1, 2025) made it out on their own by exhausting life savings to pay border bribes to escape before the closure and demolition of Rafah. In the same 540-day period under the Ukraine program, over 650,000 visas had been approved and 186,454 arrived in Canada. In the first year of the program, over 8,000 Israelis were granted visas to come to Canada.
Clearly, Canada has the capacity to process applications in the same time period it did for Ukrainians (average 14-day turnaround), and it also has the ability to facilitate evacuations.
The fact that it has not done so is not a matter of organizational ability or staff resources. Rather it is rooted in systemic anti-Palestinian racism, and the ludicrous racial profiling presumption of guilt that every Palestinian in Gaza is a risk until proven otherwise.
In the meantime, far too many loved ones have been killed waiting for Canada, a shameful reflection of another bleak period in our history when Jews fleeing a genocide were turned away under a None is Too Many policy.
Please join us for this peaceful vigil (ie, no yelling or verbal abuse directed against our opponents) organized by Ottawa Palestinians with loved ones in Gaza and the Rural Refugee Rights Network.
More info at tasc@web.ca
(Photo: Joury and her brothers and father were evacuated on April 2, but only on condition they leave their mom/spouse Doaa Nashwan behind. They are one of numerous families forcibly separated by Canada’s abusive misuse of a biometrics requirement for exit. Learn more at https://www.change.org/p/these-kids-need-their-moms-canada-must-immediately-evacuate-doaa-and-nariman-from-gaza

Pride is Political Weekend Events
2025-08-08 - 2025-08-10 | Carre de la Francophone de Vanier Square, 282 Dupuis St, Ottawa
Pride is Political is back from August 8–10, 2025 at Carre de la Francophone de Vanier Square (282 Dupuis St, Algonquin Territory)!
Pride is Political is a series of events that centre the political roots of Pride through art, movement, and dialogue. We honour the resistance and contributions of QTBIPOC, disabled people, and sex workers in struggles against gender-based violence.
Join us for a weekend rooted in community care, cultural resistance, and collective joy. This QTBIPOC-centered event uplifts the voices of those often pushed to the margins—centering movement, art, activism, and healing.
This year’s theme: Creating Violence-Free Futures
Unceded, unsurrendered Algonquin Anishinaabe territory
Workshops • Film • Performances • Healing Spaces • Food • Art
We’re proud to be organizing alongside an incredible network of grassroots groups, advocates, and organizations committed to justice and liberation.
Let’s come together to honour the roots of Pride and build new possibilities.

Annual Ottawa Run for Palestine Charity BBQ
2025-08-09 13:00 | Vincent Massey Park, Heron Road, Ottawa
Join us on Saturday, August 9 @ 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.
All proceeds go toward helping Gaza through numerous Islamic Relief Canada projects.
Enjoy BBQ (Mashawi) by Sultan Supermarket and Meatshop, Refreshments and coffee and tea station by 2 amazing vendors: Second Cup and 48 coffee co.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 10th Annual 2K, 5K, 10K walk/Run taking place on Saturday, Sep 13th @ 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 message 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.**

Prisoners' Justice Day 2025 (Ottawa)
2025-08-10 11:00 - 13:00 | Human Rights Monument, 220 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Please join us at the Human Rights Memorial on Elgin Street as we mourn the loss of countless prisoners whose lives have been taken from us by the Canadian Carceral System, and as we celebrate the courage of prisoners who chose to fight it.
Prisoners’ Justice Day, which grew to become International Prisoners’ Justice Day in the 90s, began as a hunger strike on August 10th, 1975 in response to the death of Edward “Eddie” Nalon. Eddie bled to death in the segregation unit of Millhaven Maximum Security Prison located in Bath, Ontario in 1974 because the guards had dismantled his panic button.
Event information:
We will be holding space for anyone who wishes to tell their story, speak about the confinement of their loved ones, or the circumstances surrounding their engagement with the carceral system.
There will also be a speakers list for people who wish to prepare a speech. If you’re not on our email list, please see one of the organizers on the day of the event to be added to the speakers list, or just raise your hand if you would like to say something.
The event will begin at 11am and we will have water bottles and snacks on hand for anyone who needs them. Many people who attend PJD each year have a lot of experience with the intense feelings of mourning that accompany the day, so please feel free to reach out to people for support.
Members of Mothers Offering Mutual Support, The Criminalization and Punishment Education Project, and the Millhaven Lifers Liaison Group will be attending and speaking at the event.
We do ask for patience and humility on this day as people remember and express their memories of isolation and degradation. Discrimination and bigotry will not be tolerated.
Please keep yourself updated on the event by visiting this page or CPEP’s website and social media pages. We would be happy to grow or change the event with your support!
There is also a ride-share that is heading to Kingston to support The P4W Memorial Collective at 9am on August 10th. The sign-up form is here for those interested: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSefA17fmeyWVS…/viewform

Prisoners' Justice Day 50th Anniversary in Kingston
2025-08-10 11:00 - 14:00 | Grounds of the closed Prison for Women (P4W), 40 Sir John A. Macdonald Blvd, Kingston
Prisoners’ Justice Day is an annual day of solidarity and healing that is held on August 10th each year in carceral and community spaces since 1975 to protest deaths in custody and harmful conditions of confinement. This is also a time to recognize human rights for incarcerated people. Each year since 2000, the Prison for Women Memorial Collective has held a Healing Circle on the grounds of the notorious, now-closed Prison for Women (P4W) at 40 Sir John A. Macdonald Blvd in Kingston, Ontario. This public gathering organized by formerly incarcerated people and their allies includes ceremony led by an Indigenous Elder, drumming, singing, a healing circle, firekeeper, speakers with lived experience, and a shared meal. Please come show your support! Note: This is the last year that this event can be held on the grounds of P4W because the property has been sold to a developer and construction has begun.

Fear of Death
2025-08-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Thanatophobia is the fear of death. It can involve fear of the dying process (often a fear of pain or discomfort), fear of the afterlife (or lack thereof), fear of being forgotten, fear that life is meaningless, and fear of missing out! This month we will be talking about our fears around our own deaths, how we manage them, and how we don’t!
Queer Death Salon is a community space for all 2SLGBTQIA+ people to come together to discuss death, dying and grief. It 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.
Queer Death Salon takes place over Zoom, in English, with Automatic Closed Captioning

Evacuate Before it's Too Late: Canada Must Bring Families of Palestinian Canadians From Gaza NOW!
2025-08-13 11:00 - 13:00 | 300 Slater Street.
Please join our weekly vigil to reunite Palestinian Canadians with their loved ones from Gaza on Wednesday, August 13 from 11 am to 1 pm (we meet every Wednesday for the rest of the month) at 300 Slater (at Kent), the Ottawa offices of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (300 Slater Street, at Kent).
Canada must immediately open a humanitarian corridor to urgently evacuate all program applicants to prevent further death and physical and psychological harm to those who, by all rights, should have been in Canada with their families long ago.

One other thousands of examples of those at risk is that of Mamdouh Abusbitan (pictured above), a young man starving to death, his body and soul withering away as he waits for Canadian assistance to exit Gaza and join his parents in Ontario. Although Canada placed Mamdouh on the Gaza evacuation list as of November 19, 2023, Canada has failed to assist him for more than 640 days.

Every week, we bring such images and stories to the headquarters of a bureaucracy that fails to respect the life and death consequences of its failures in the Gaza Temporary Visa program.
Since the Gaza Temporary Visa program was implemented in January 2024, Canada has assisted in the evacuation of fewer than 2% of program applicants, an astounding number considering the daily risk of being blown to bits or suffering the slow death of starvation.

During the final weekend in July, Canada reportedly evacuated 11 Canadian citizens from Gaza. This contradicts their stated position that they are powerless to get families across the border.

Right now, Canada is insisting no one can leave without biometrics (fingerprints and photographs). This violates
Canada’s own very specific program guidelines: “Given the situation we understand that you won’t be able to give your biometrics or complete a full admissibility check until you’ve left Gaza. If your application passes a preliminary eligibility and admissibility assessment we’ll forward your name to the local authorities to facilitate your exit from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.”

Canada already has photographs because all applicants sent copies of their passports. In addition, since Israeli apartheid occupation authorities have a registry of all Palestinians in Gaza, they would be the first to say no to the exit of anyone they felt posed some theoretical threat. But Canada is not even willing to take the word of its Israeli allies on this matter.

Instead, it is assuming, based on anti-Palestinian racism, that all Palestinians are a threat until they prove otherwise. That includes starving children, grandmothers, school teachers, health care workers, farmers, gravely injured and ill program applicants.

The Canadian government’s assumption of guilt mirrors (indeed, goes far beyond) the Obama assassination-by-drone policy which, as reported in 2012, “in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants … unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.”

Canada can shed as many tears as it likes over the losses of hundreds of program applicants who would be here safe with their families were it not for wrongfully treating every Palestinian as a supposed threat. But that is no consolation for those traumatized for life by these immeasurable losses. It must take action.

The only Palestinians who have made it to Canada (861 as of July 1, 2025) made it out on their own by exhausting life savings to pay border bribes to escape before the closure and demolition of Rafah. In the same 540-day period under the Ukraine program, over 650,000 visas had been approved and 186,454 arrived in Canada. In the first year of the program, over 8,000 Israelis were granted visas to come to Canada.
Clearly, Canada has the capacity to process applications in the same time period it did for Ukrainians (average 14-day turnaround), and it also has the ability to facilitate evacuations.

The fact that it has not done so is not a matter of organizational ability or staff resources. Rather it is rooted in systemic anti-Palestinian racism, and the ludicrous racial profiling presumption of guilt that every Palestinian in Gaza is a risk until proven otherwise.

In the meantime, far too many loved ones have been killed waiting for Canada, a shameful reflection of another bleak period in our history when Jews fleeing a genocide were turned away under a None is Too Many policy.
Please join us for this peaceful vigil every Wednesday organized by Ottawa Palestinians with loved ones in Gaza and the Rural Refugee Rights Network.

More info at tasc@web.ca

Draw The Line - National Mass Organizing Call for September 20
2025-08-14 20:00 - 21:30 | Zoom
Join us on August 14th to hear from a powerful cross-movement panel about the interconnectedness of our struggles and why we are uniting on September 20th to Draw the Line and demand that Prime Minister Carney and the Canadian government pick a side: injustice, violence, and climate destruction— or a just and safe future for all of us.
We refuse to stand by while the government and Canada’s richest corporations hoard wealth, gut our public services, fuel climate collapse, attack migrants, exploit Indigenous lands, and prop up a genocide. We are building a historic alliance to fight back.
Panelists:
David Suzuki, Scientist and Environmental Activist
Eriel Deranger, Indigenous Climate Action
JP Hornick, Ontario Public Service Employees Union & NUPGE
Rachel Small, World BEYOND War & Arms Embargo Now
Syed Hussan, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change & Migrant Rights Network
The call will start at 5pm PT / 6pm MT / 7 pm CT / 8pm ET / 9 pm AT. RSVP now to receive the Zoom link.
Learn more about the Draw the Line mobilization and get involved at the world-wide website: drawtheline.world
This call is co-hosted by 350 Canada, Migrant Rights Network, Seniors for Climate, CAN-Rac, Indigenous Climate Action, World Beyond War and more!

Mini-Mass Bike Rides - DRAW THE LINE
2025-08-15 18:00 - 19:30 | Confederation Park, Elgin and Laurier, Ottawa
In preparation for a Mass Bike Action on September 19th (a lead-up event in conjunction with the Draw The Line march September 20th in Ottawa), we are hosting three ‘mini-mass’ bike rides, every second Friday:
August 15, August 29, and September 12.
The meeting point for each is 6pm at Confederation Park.
These mini-masses will serve both as a mini-meeting to discuss planning details of the September 19th bike action, as well as simply an opportunity to take back the streets in a ‘Critical Mass’ bike ride style.
The Ottawa Critical Mass bike rides haven’t been happening this year, but are traditionally the last Friday evening of the month starting at Confederation Park. So these mini-masses take inspiration in scheduling from that; and maybe, the August 29th will be an actual full ‘Critical Mass.’
All are welcome. There currently is no website for these rides, but the Draw The Line organizing for Ottawa is via the Fridays For Future Ottawa website, social media, and email address – to which you can also direct any questions about these mini-mass bike meetups.
The current plan for the September 19th Mass Bike Action is similar to a Critical Mass ride leaving from Confederation Park after 6pm, but with additional ‘feeder’ mass rides that start at 5pm from locations outside of downtown – the east, south, and west – to arrive at Confederation Park by 6pm. The plan is to have a few ‘anchor’ people confirmed in advance for each feeder ride. So these mini-masses in August and September can also serve as ‘entry points’ for anyone who may want to get more comfortable doing take-back-the-streets cycling prior to September 19th. Plus, they’re a refreshing change from meetings on Zoom or sitting at tables.

Tenants of Sandy Hill Yard Sale
2025-08-17 14:00 - 16:00 | Strathcona Park, 25 Range Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N8J3, Canada
Tenants of Sandy Hill (TOSH) will be hosting a yard sale in Strathcona Park on August 17 will all proceeds going to supporting our neighbours. In addition to items for sale, there will be freezies to share and a banner painting station. Hope to see you there!

Open an Evacuation Corridor NOW: Canada Must Bring Families of Palestinian Canadians from Gaza
2025-08-20 11:00 - 13:00 | 300 Slater Street.
Please join our weekly vigil to reunite Palestinian Canadians with their loved ones from Gaza on Wednesday, August 20 from 11 am to 1 pm (we meet every Wednesday for the rest of the month) at 300 Slater (at Kent), the Ottawa offices of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (300 Slater Street, at Kent).
Canada must immediately open a humanitarian corridor to urgently evacuate all program applicants to prevent further death and physical and psychological harm to those who, by all rights, should have been in Canada with their families long ago.
As the apartheid regime threatens a complete takeover of Gaza, it is more important than ever that our voices are heard.
Every week, we bring family images and stories to the headquarters of a bureaucracy that fails to respect the life and death consequences of its failures in the Gaza Temporary Visa program.
Since the Gaza Temporary Visa program was implemented in January 2024, Canada has assisted in the evacuation of fewer than 2% of program applicants, an astounding number considering the daily risk of being blown to bits or suffering the slow death of starvation.
During the final weekend in July, Canada reportedly evacuated 11 Canadian citizens from Gaza. This contradicts their stated position that they are powerless to get families across the border.
Right now, Canada is insisting no one can leave without biometrics (fingerprints and photographs). This violates Canada’s own very specific program guidelines: “Given the situation we understand that you won’t be able to give your biometrics or complete a full admissibility check until you’ve left Gaza. If your application passes a preliminary eligibility and admissibility assessment we’ll forward your name to the local authorities to facilitate your exit from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.”
Canada already has photographs because all applicants sent copies of their passports. In addition, since Israeli apartheid occupation authorities have a registry of all Palestinians in Gaza, they would be the first to say no to the exit of anyone they felt posed some theoretical threat. But Canada is not even willing to take the word of its Israeli allies on this matter.
Instead, it is assuming, based on anti-Palestinian racism, that all Palestinians are a threat until they prove otherwise. That includes starving children, grandmothers, school teachers, health care workers, farmers, gravely injured and ill program applicants.
The Canadian government’s assumption of guilt mirrors (indeed, goes far beyond) the Obama assassination-by-drone policy which, as reported in 2012, “in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants … unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.”
Canada can shed as many tears as it likes over the losses of hundreds of program applicants who would be here safe with their families were it not for wrongfully treating every Palestinian as a supposed threat. But that is no consolation for those traumatized for life by these immeasurable losses. It must take action.
The only Palestinians who have made it to Canada (861 as of July 1, 2025) made it out on their own by exhausting life savings to pay border bribes to escape before the closure and demolition of Rafah. In the same 540-day period under the Ukraine program, over 650,000 visas had been approved and 186,454 arrived in Canada. In the first year of the program, over 8,000 Israelis were granted visas to come to Canada.
Clearly, Canada has the capacity to process applications in the same time period it did for Ukrainians (average 14-day turnaround), and it also has the ability to facilitate evacuations.
The fact that it has not done so is not a matter of organizational ability or staff resources. Rather it is rooted in systemic anti-Palestinian racism, and the ludicrous racial profiling presumption of guilt that every Palestinian in Gaza is a risk until proven otherwise.
In the meantime, far too many loved ones have been killed waiting for Canada, a shameful reflection of another bleak period in our history when Jews fleeing a genocide were turned away under a None is Too Many policy.
Please join us for this peaceful vigil every Wednesday organized by Ottawa Palestinians with loved ones in Gaza and the Canadian Palestinian Family Reunification Project of the Rural Refugee Rights Network.
More info at tasc@web.ca

Palestine Roundtable
2025-08-21 16:30 - 18:30 | Ottawa Public Library – Nepean Centrepointe, 101 Centrepointe, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Due to high demand, we’ll be hosting a second roundtable on the latest issue of the Science for the People magazine on Palestine. JOIN US on Thursday August 21 at 4:30 PM at the Nepean Centrepointe Library (101 Centrepointe Dr.), room 1B.
Our roundtable will take the format of a roundtable talk discussing the “It takes a village to kill a child” report about the F35 program in Canada and Israel, as well as some articles from the magazine.
We hope to see you there! Registration is not required, but it will help us with planning.
RSVP and articles link: https://forms.gle/mAUJy6sgDBpXe8iR6

Ottawa Trans March
2025-08-22 18:00 - 20:00 | Ontario
When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? We organize, we rally, we march! Join us on August 22nd at 6PM at Bank and MacLaren for the 2025 Ottawa Trans March.
Together, we’ll make our voices heard, reject hate and advocate for trans liberation – for freedom, equality and human rights. We invite trans and gender diverse people, the people who love and support us, and other allies to join us as we take to the streets. Bring your friends, bring your family, and let’s show the power of our movement!
The Ottawa Trans March is a community event led by a small organizing committee of trans and gender diverse people in Ottawa. If you’d like to get involved and help make this year’s march a success, send us a message!
Stay tuned for more information: in the coming days, we’ll unveil our 2025 trans march demands, announce speakers, and share everything you need to know to participate, protest and celebrate alongside Ottawa’s trans and gender diverse community.
Let’s do this!

Toast of Tenderness - Dykes of Colour Breakfast
2025-08-23 10:00 - 12:00 | Jack Purcell Community Centre, 320 Jack Purcell Lane, Ottawa, Ontario, K2P1M4, Canada
Come through for waffles, joy, and community vibes before we head. out together to the Dyke March. It’s all about nourishment, connection, and unapologetic celebration of melanin.

Ottawa Dyke March
2025-08-23 13:00 - 16:30 | Minto Park, 315 Elgin Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
This year we’re Showing Up with pride, resistance, solidarity, and community.
Save the date!
Minto Park (102 Lewis St)
Rally + March @ 1PM
Community Gathering @ 2:30PM
✨ Theme: Showing Up
Full schedule and volunteer opportunities to come! ~ Cette année, nous serons présents avec fierté, résistance, solidarité et esprit communautaire.

Evacuate Before It's Too Late: Open Emergency Corridor, Save Canadian Palestinians' Gaza Loved Ones
2025-08-27 11:00 - 13:00 | 300 Slater Street.
Please join our weekly vigil to reunite Palestinian Canadians with their loved ones from Gaza on Wednesday, August 27 from 11 am to 1 pm (we meet every Wednesday at this same time) at 300 Slater (at Kent), the Ottawa offices of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Canada must immediately open an emergency humanitarian corridor to urgently evacuate all program applicants to prevent further death and physical and psychological harm to those who, by all rights, should have been in Canada with their families long ago.
As the apartheid regime threatens a complete takeover of Gaza, it is more important than ever that our voices are heard.
Every week, we bring family images and stories to the headquarters of a bureaucracy that fails to respect the life and death consequences of its failures in the Gaza Temporary Visa program.
Since the Gaza Temporary Visa program was implemented in January 2024, Canada has assisted in the evacuation of fewer than 2% of program applicants, an astounding number considering the daily risk of being blown to bits or suffering the slow death of starvation.
During the final weekend in July, Canada reportedly evacuated 11 Canadian citizens from Gaza. This contradicts their stated position that they are powerless to get families across the border.
Right now, Canada is insisting no one can leave without biometrics (fingerprints and photographs). This violates Canada’s own very specific program guidelines: “Given the situation we understand that you won’t be able to give your biometrics or complete a full admissibility check until you’ve left Gaza. If your application passes a preliminary eligibility and admissibility assessment we’ll forward your name to the local authorities to facilitate your exit from Gaza through the Rafah border crossing.”
Canada already has photographs because all applicants sent copies of their passports. In addition, since Israeli apartheid occupation authorities have a registry of all Palestinians in Gaza, they would be the first to say no to the exit of anyone they felt posed some theoretical threat. But Canada is not even willing to take the word of its Israeli allies on this matter.
Instead, it is assuming, based on anti-Palestinian racism, that all Palestinians are a threat until they prove otherwise. That includes starving children, grandmothers, school teachers, health care workers, farmers, gravely injured and ill program applicants.
The Canadian government’s assumption of guilt mirrors (indeed, goes far beyond) the Obama assassination-by-drone policy which, as reported in 2012, “in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants … unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.”
Canada can shed as many tears as it likes over the losses of hundreds of program applicants who would be here safe with their families were it not for wrongfully treating every Palestinian as a supposed threat. But that is no consolation for those traumatized for life by these immeasurable losses. It must take action.
The only Palestinians who have made it to Canada (861 as of July 1, 2025) made it out on their own by exhausting life savings to pay border bribes to escape before the closure and demolition of Rafah. In the same 540-day period under the Ukraine program, over 650,000 visas had been approved and 186,454 arrived in Canada. In the first year of the program, over 8,000 Israelis were granted visas to come to Canada.
Clearly, Canada has the capacity to process applications in the same time period it did for Ukrainians (average 14-day turnaround), and it also has the ability to facilitate evacuations.
The fact that it has not done so is not a matter of organizational ability or staff resources. Rather it is rooted in systemic anti-Palestinian racism, and the ludicrous racial profiling presumption of guilt that every Palestinian in Gaza is a risk until proven otherwise.
In the meantime, far too many loved ones have been killed waiting for Canada, a shameful reflection of another bleak period in our history when Jews fleeing a genocide were turned away under a None is Too Many policy.
Please join us for this peaceful vigil every Wednesday organized by Ottawa Palestinians with loved ones in Gaza and the Canadian Palestinian Family Reunification Project
of the Rural Refugee Rights Network.

Critical Mass bike ride - and prep for S.19 Draw The Line mass ride
2025-08-29 18:00 - 19:30 | Confederation Park, Elgin and Laurier, Ottawa
People have been asking. But the Saturday morning Critical Mass ‘Parkways For People’ rides of the past two years haven’t been happening this year. And neither have the more traditional last-Friday-evening-of-the-month ‘self-organized’ Critical Mass rides.
So for August, we’re making sure one does happen.
Were you one of the people asking? Be there for this!
Want to take back the streets without anyone’s permission? Be there!
Haven’t done it before and not sure what it’ll be like? Be there!
We will also be making use of this opportunity to prepare for the upcoming Mass Bike Ride action of Friday September 19th, and building our skills at taking back the road.
The S.19 ride is a lead-up to the big Draw The Line march the next day, September 20th, which is part of a national day of action, and part of mobilizations across the world Septembeer 19th-21st. These are multi-issue* actions to address the very serious and interconnected problems we’re now facing as a society. To which we answer: Solidarity, in action!
On August 29, we’ll have posters and flyers** on hand you can take with you to help build the September 19 ride. And we’ll be discussing the September 19 plans, including how we can make the feeder rides*** work.
Let’s roll!
It’s only as much of a success as we collectively make it.
**** **** **** **** **** **** ****
*1: The five highlighted issues are:
🌍 Building a renewable future
🌿 Upholding Indigenous sovereignty
✊ Fighting for migrant justice
🕊️ Standing up for peace and democracy
💪 Investing in people and public services
*2: You can also print the posters and flyers from whereever you are, to put up and pass around. The files are in this google drive folder:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1S2G9PWz3Qbqxs-oINAkQ8m2M58pou3db
*3: The plan is to have some ‘feeder’ rides that start at different locations (including Gatineau) outside of the downtown core and then all come together at Confederation Park for the start of the main ride. We need volunteers to be the 3-4 anchor people at each feeder departure location. Organizations or self-assembled groups can also decide to initiate their own feeder ride, for example from a school/campus or workplace or any desired location.

Ode to Palestine
2025-08-29 19:00 - 22:00 | Club SAW, 67 Nicholas St, Ottawa, K1N 7B9
Ode to Palestine is a one-evening art exhibition and cultural event at Club Saw, 67 Nicholas St. in Ottawa. The event will feature a number of fine Ottawa artists and poets and beats by DJ Yuck! Friday, August 29, 7-10 pm Curated by Palestinian Artist Noura Dawood, this fundraiser has donations going to: Water Is Life Gaza: From Turtle Island To Palestine. For more information, please contact Noura by email: ndawo034@uottawa.ca

Join the Chain Fast for Palestinian Family Reunification: Canada Must Evacuate Loved Ones from Gaza
2025-09-01 - 2025-09-20 | Ontario
From September 1 to September 20, please pick a day to fast to demand the immediate evacuation from Gaza of all remaining Palestinian applicants for Canadian visas and the finalization of all applications for the hundreds of Palestinian genocide survivors still stranded in Egypt. During your fast day, we ask you to:
• Make a selfie with a message (such as Fasting for Palestinian Family Reunification or “Fasting for Urgent Gaza Evacuation”) that you can share with us and on your social media;
• Write a letter and make a call to your MP and the appropriate government officials (samples below) demanding immediate evacuation of all remaining visa applicants from Gaza;
• Share on social media the story of one of the families hugely impacted by the negative impacts of this program (we will pair you with a family and provide pictures and text to share). We can also directly connect you with that particular family to stay in touch with them afterwards and continue advocating for their right to be free of the genocide and joined with their loved ones in Canada.
To pick a date to fast, please email a preferred date, your name and town/city to be shared on our website, to the Canadian Palestinian Family Reunification Project of the Rural Refugee Rights Network at tasc@web.ca
BACKGROUND Each day of the chain fast will represent one of the 20 months that Canada’s None is Too Many Gaza temporary residence visa (TRV) program has been in effect, 20 months of deliberate institutional inaction and lethal obstacle creation, with hundreds of lives lost waiting on Canadian visas. The final week of the chain fast coincides with the return of MPs to Parliament.
Canada does have the capacity to evacuate visa applicants from Gaza. But it has only directly assisted in the evacuation of fewer than 2% of the 5,000 applicants, and in late July evacuated 11 Canadian citizens through the Kerem Shalom crossing. We engage in this fast to highlight the urgent need to evacuate the remaining 98% of applicants.
The punishingly slow pace of visa processing for Gazans – a paltry average of 2 applications completed per day, with a lethal waiting time for some of over a year – stands in stark contrast to the Canada–Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) program. During CUAET’s first year, Canada welcomed 129,000 Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion and approved over half a million visas (an average of 1,400 applications per day), usually within a two-week turnaround. Canada waived security screening for those aged up to 17 and over 61, and dropped a required medical exam despite the Ukrainian population’s much higher risk of carrying tuberculosis, which Ottawa conceded “posed potential health risks to Canada.”
Similarly, Canada welcomed over 8,000 Israeli visa holders during 2024. Palestinian Canadians and refugee advocates point to such figures as clear proof of a painful, discriminatory double standard that fails to adequately respond to what Canadian officials acknowledge are “catastrophic conditions” in Gaza.
The Gaza TRV program eerily echoes one of the most shameful periods of Canadian history, the None is Too Many policies designed to keep Jews fleeing genocide out of Canada during the 1930s and 1940s. Almost 79 years after Canada turned away a boat packed with Jewish refugees (the St. Louis), then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued an apology, noting 254 St. Louis passengers were murdered upon their forced return to Europe, and declaring: “By issuing this apology, it is my sincere hope that we can shine a light on this painful chapter of our history and ensure that its lessons are never forgotten.”
Sadly, different lessons were learned by different people. For those in the government who historically and to this day wrongfully treat certain groups of people with suspicion, the lesson is that they can get away with racist exclusion as long as there is no public outrage. Hence, we have seen Public Safety Canada agencies like CBSA (Canadian Border Services Agency) and CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) treat every last Palestinian from Gaza as a potential risk instead of viewing them through the humanitarian lens of families escaping the worst horrors imaginable. That is why actions like the Chain Fast are so important: another reminder of the many people across this land who stand in solidarity with and recognize the humanity of these Palestinian families.
See available dates and sample letters/call template at https://rrrncanada.blogspot.com/…/chain-fast-for…
