How Do We Fight Hate in Ottawa? Upstander Training

Recent violent hate-motivated attacks have shocked the city of Ottawa over the last 11 Months:

An elderly woman was stabbed in a grocery store for being Jewish (August 27, 2025)

A young woman was assaulted on a bus for being Muslim (August 12, 2025)

A man was beaten, slashed, and had a pitbull siced on him at transit station for being Black (November 16, 2024)

A community member was almost murdered walking downtown for being Asian (November 17, 2024)

The reality is that HATE in Ottawa is an ongoing part of the city's history which workshop facilitator Chelby Daigle has lived through for decades.

Back in 1993, Chelby lived through "Heritage Days" when White Nationalists converged on Ottawa, renting out a local Boys and Girls Club, and actively trying to recruit members from local Ottawa Community Housing neighbourhoods. This all culminated in a violent riot on Parliament Hill. This is an important part of Ottawa's history that directly connects to the events we are seeing today.

Over 30 years later, our city is even more vulnerable to hate than ever before.

In order to fight hate today, we need to understand that it is not a problem that will just be solved by politicians, police, or funds for community organizations.

Ordinary people in Ottawa need to move from being Bystanders to Upstanders, taking responsibility for understanding why people hate, standing up against it, and protecting our neighbours from it.

Chelby Daigle is offering Upstander Training for Ottawa residents who want to play a role in the fight against hate in our city.

In this training participants will learn:

i. What is an Upstander?

ii. What Roles Do They Play In Our Community?

iii. Which Communities Are Currently Being The Most Targeted for Hate According To the Ottawa Police & Why

iv. A Brief History of Hate Against Ottawa's Jewish, Muslim, Black, LGBTQ+, & Asian Communities

v. What Role Does Mental Illness, Economic Uncertainty, and Political Polarization Play In the Rise of Hate?

vi. What Next?

vii. Resources

If you are unable to attend this session but would like Chelby to facilitate an Upstander Session in your community reach out at chelby.daigle@gmail.com

Thank you to Collaburo Co-Working and Event Space for providing the space for this event.

Please note, original funding for Chelby Daigle's Upstander Train the Trainer Training was provided through United Way and the City of Ottawa. 

However, Chelby has embedded her lived experience as someone who has lived in Ottawa for over 40 years and has actively fought hate and discrimination in the city since the late 1990s to make this session more true to her lived experience and the reality of Ottawa today.