Amnesty International Canada

Write for Rights for Teens | Byron Library in London
2025-01-18 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Toronto) | Byron Library, 1295 Commissioners Road West, London, Ontario, N6K 1C9, Canada
Write a Letter. Change a Life. Join the world’s largest human rights event. Write letters and sign petitions in support of people at risk of human rights abuses.

Write for Rights for Teens | Beacock Library in London
2025-01-23 17:00 - 19:00 | Beacock Library, 1280 Huron St., London, Ontario, N5Y 4M2, Canada

My Friend Omar Film Screening
2025-04-28 18:00 - 20:00 | St. Marys Public Library, 15 Church St. N, St.Marys, Ontario, N4X 1B4, Canada
ST. MARYS/LONDON/STRATFORD
The Amnesty International St. Marys/London/Stratford chapter is organizing a film screening of the documentary My Friend Omar at the St. Marys Public Library on Monday, April 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. to raise awareness of human rights abuses related to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
Free event, all are welcome!
Film synopsis: My Friend Omar: The struggles of a seasonal worker follows Quebecois-Chilean actor Christian de la Cortina, who, while preparing for his role as Sandro in “5e rang,” forms a friendship with Omar, a seasonal Guatemalan worker. This documentary unveils the persistent abuses in some Quebec farms, exposing the shortcomings of a system meant to protect foreign workers during the harvest seasons. It also highlights Omar’s solidarity and fight for justice, representing the voice of often invisible workers.
WATCH THE TRAILER

For more information, contact activism@amnesty.ca.

Resilience, Resistance, Hope: An Evening with Agnès Callamard, Secretary General, Amnesty International
2025-05-05 18:00 - 20:00 | AllSaints Event Space, 330 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6P9, Canada
Just one week after Canada’s federal election, global human rights leaders are coming to Ottawa to ask: What role will Canada play in defending human rights—and how will we respond to rising repression, even from our closest allies?
On Monday, May 5th at 6:00 PM, you’re invited to join us for a powerful evening at our Ottawa office featuring Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
🎤 What: “Resilience, Resistance, Hope: An Evening with Agnès Callamard, Secretary General, Amnesty International”
📅 When: Monday, May 5, 2025 at 6:00 PM
📍 Where: AllSaints Event Space, 330 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa
✨ Details: A charcuterie-style menu will be served, including halal and vegan options, along with a cash bar for alcoholic beverages
Join Amnesty Canada’s Secretary General, Ketty Nivyabandi (moderator) and Agnès Callamard for a timely panel discussion on the global state of human rights with:

Paul O’Brien, Executive Director, Amnesty USA
Ana Piquer, Americas Director, Amnesty International
Edith Olivares Ferreto, Executive Director, Amnesty Mexico

This is an exclusive opportunity to connect with global and regional human rights leaders as they reflect on the urgency of defending rights during these chaotic and uncertain times—and how Canada must rise to meet this moment.
To confirm your spot, RSVP now. Please do not register if you do not plan to attend.
We look forward to sharing this powerful evening with you.

A Conversation with Ketty Nivyabandi
2025-05-09 14:00 - 15:00 | British Columbia
You are invited to an online conversation with Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General for Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section.
Be sure to register here in advance!
Ketty oversees Amnesty Canada’s domestic and international human rights mandate and is its lead representative.
A global human rights activist and advocate, Ketty holds in-depth expertise and lived experience in forced displacement, at-risk human rights defenders, civic space in conflict and political transitions, and the global intersections of gender, race, and human rights. Before seeking asylum in Canada in 2015, she braved police violence as the lead organizer of women’s peaceful protests for democratic change in her country, Burundi.
In her previous roles, Ketty has led research, advocacy, and communications strategies with women peace activists in several conflict and post-conflict countries, including Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, Myanmar, Uganda, and Guatemala. Her work is rooted in people power, public accountability, and a feminist, decolonial approach to human rights.
Ketty studied international relations and is a former journalist and published poet. She lives in Ottawa with her two teenage daughters.

My Friend Omar Film Screening
2025-07-09 18:30 - 20:00 | Amnesty International Toronto, 1992 Yonge Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1Z7, Canada
Amnesty International invites you to a film screening of the documentary My Friend Omar at our Toronto office on Wednesday, July 9, at 6:30 p.m. to raise awareness of human rights abuses related to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
Free event, all are welcome!
Film synopsis: My Friend Omar: The struggles of a seasonal worker follows Quebecois-Chilean actor Christian de la Cortina, who, while preparing for his role as Sandro in “5e rang,” forms a friendship with Omar, a seasonal Guatemalan worker. This documentary unveils the persistent abuses in some Quebec farms, exposing the shortcomings of a system meant to protect foreign workers during the harvest seasons. It also highlights Omar’s solidarity and fight for justice, representing the voice of often invisible workers.
The design of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) exposes labourers from the Global South to shocking abuse and discrimination, Amnesty International charges in a new report. ‘Canada has destroyed me’: Labour exploitation of migrant workers in Canada [PDF] criticizes the structure of the TFWP, which allows employers to hire migrant workers, primarily for low-paid jobs, across various sectors, including agriculture, food processing, the care system, construction and hospitality. TFWP work permits tie workers to a single employer who controls both their migration status and labour conditions.
Learn more about Amnesty’s report: https://amnesty.ca/features/temporary-foreign-workers-report/
WATCH FILM TRAILER

For more information, contact activism@amnesty.ca.
