Giselle Gerolami
Posted June 3, 2026
In Ottawa for a couple of months, I had the chance to attend the protest against CANSEC, an arms trade show, on May 28. I attended protests against ARMX, as it was then known, in the early 1990s. Unfortunately, the murder market not only continues as an annual event but has grown in size, as Mark Carney’s government dramatically increases military spending.
The focus of the protest has shifted in recent years from general opposition to militarism to exposing Canada’s role in funding Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Over seventy organizations endorsed the Shut Down CANSEC protest. The organizers’ demands included ending the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement, a two-way arms embargo, defunding the Canadian Association of Defense Security Industries, and ending criminalization of peaceful protests against genocide and occupation.
Hundreds gathered, and the cops were out in full force with riot gear. The police claimed that protesters had rocks. No rocks were thrown, but the police shoved protesters and attempted to kettle them. The protesters thwarted the kettling by evasive maneuvers, moving back and forth between the venue entrances. There were no arrests, unlike in 2025, when thirteen protesters were arrested and charged with mischief and assaulting the police.
Chants included “Shut down CANSEC!”, “Money for health and education, not for war and occupation,” “Not another nickel, not another dime! No more money for Israel’s crimes!” and “Cops, KKK, IOF — you’re all the same!” People entering the event were greeted with jeers and cries of “Shame!”, and “Baby killers!”
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