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“You didn’t sit down and talk to us. We didn’t have a conversation. All we want to do is serve the community.”
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Aug 21, 2022 • 43 minutes ago • 4 minute read Diane Nolan, director of The United People of Canada, speaks during Saturday’s press conference at the former St. Bridget’s Church. Photo by Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
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The United People of Canada confirmed on Sunday that it was still the legal lessee of St. Bridget’s Church, showing reporters dated copies of July and August bank statements for its rent and a copy of its public liability insurance 5 million dollars.
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But TUPOC director Will Komer said the owners of St. Brigid did not cash the rent checks they were given, which she said was a violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code. Instead, the group obtained bank drafts to prove they had the money to pay.
“They have refused to accept that check,” Komer said Sunday. “We’ve been making numerous attempts to get them this bank draft … but they haven’t answered the phone calls, they haven’t answered the texts, they haven’t answered the emails.”
Komer said TUPOC has also tried to contact the owner’s attorney and again got no response.
The dispute over possession of St Brigid’s heated up over the weekend after the property’s owners sent a bailiff with an eviction notice on Thursday night. The owners said TUPOC owed $10,000 in rent, didn’t have the required insurance and was making unauthorized changes to the heritage building.
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The bank drafts Komer showed Sunday were for $5,650 each and were dated July 15 and August 15.
Komer said the landlord’s refusal to accept them was “retaliatory” and “completely and severely illegal.” He said TUPOC has responded with trespass notices against the owners and their agents.
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Eviction breaks out in the “movement for freedom” church for alleged non-payment of rent
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‘They are not honoring the owner’s rights’: TUPOC supporters refuse to leave the old church
Santa Brigida is owned by four investors who bought the deconsecrated church in 2007 and turned it into an art center. Calls and texts to one of the owners, Patrick McDonald, were not returned Sunday.
Sunday’s TUPOC briefing followed another public meeting on Saturday that was streamed live on Facebook and was continually interrupted by hecklers.
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William Komer, right, director of The United People of Canada, spoke to a counter-protester during Saturday’s news conference. Photo by Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Speaking to a gathering of about 30 people, TUPOC’s Diane Nolan claimed an eviction notice was invalid and said the group deserved an apology for how it had been characterized.
“I called this press conference because I really think we deserve an apology,” said Nolan, one of TUPOC’s directors. “We deserve an apology for what the mayor has said, for what Sylvie Bigras (President of the Lowertown Community Association) and (City Councilman) Mathieu Fleury have said.”
All three have been critical of TUPOC and its plans for an “embassy” in St. Brigid’s, with Mayor Jim Watson describing the group as “kind of weird” in a radio interview.
“You didn’t sit down and talk to us,” Nolan said. “We have not had any conversation. All we want to do is serve the community.”
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Both weekend events drew protesters, and both times TUPOC called Ottawa police to intervene. On Sunday, protesters, some waving rainbow and Black Lives Matter flags, exchanged shouts outside the church with TUPOC supporters holding anti-vax and anti-Trudeau signs. An exasperated police sergeant explained that they took no sides in the tenancy dispute and were at his disposal only to keep the peace. There were no arrests.
TUPOC says it is not affiliated with February’s “Freedom Convoy” occupation and only wants to use the former church as a community space, but vehicles at the site on Sunday were decorated with the same anti-government flags and slogans that they saw during the February occupation of the city center. TUPOC supporters complained about masking and vaccine mandates during the “scandemia” and verbally harassed several journalists at Sunday’s event.
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Switch to full screen mode Image from gallery above
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Ottawa police across the street from the former St. Bridget’s Church in Lowertown, where members of The United People of Canada (TUPOC) have taken up residence. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON /POSTMEDIA
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A supporter of The United People of Canada (TUPOC), left, argues with a neighborhood resident outside the former St. Bridget’s Church in Lowertown. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON /POSTMEDIA
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People United Canada (TUPOC) director William Komer (red shirt) speaks with Ottawa police outside the former St. Bridget’s Church in Lowertown. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON /POSTMEDIA
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A supporter of The United People of Canada (TUPOC) prays on the steps of a former St. Bridget’s Church in Lowertown. Sunday, August 21, 2022. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON /POSTMEDIA
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People United Canada (TUPOC) director William Komer outside the former St. Brigid’s Church in Lowertown as Ottawa Police monitor nearby. Sunday, August 21, 2022. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON /POSTMEDIA
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A small sign that says LEAVE on the balcony of an apartment across from the former St. Bridget’s Church in Lowertown where The United People of Canada (TUPOC) has set up shop. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON /POSTMEDIA
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A supporter of The United People of Canada (TUPOC) is warning the media not to take photos near the former St. Bridget’s Church in Lowertown. Sunday, August 21, 2022. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON /POSTMEDIA
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Supporters of The United People of Canada (TUPOC) outside the former St. Bridget’s Church in Lowertown, Sunday, August 21, 2022. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON /POSTMEDIA
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A truck with freedom slogans parked at the former church in Lowertown, Sunday, August 21, 2022. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON/POSTMEDIA
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The director of the United People of Canada (TUPOC), William Komer, speaks outside the former St. Bridget’s Church in Lowertown. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON /POSTMEDIA
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The People United of Canada (TUPOC) was installing inflatable play structures at the former St. Bridget’s Church in Lowertown, Sunday, August 21, 2022. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON /POSTMEDIA
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The Director of the United People of Canada (TUPOC) William Komer speaks to members of the media in the basement of the former St. Brigid’s Church in Lowertown on Sunday, August 21, 2022. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON /POSTMEDIA
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United People of Canada (TUPOC) Directors William Komer and Diane Nolan speak to members of the media in the basement of the former St. Brigid’s Church in Lowertown on Sunday, August 21, 2022. Photo by ERROL MCGIHON / POSTMEDIA
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Asked specifically what the purpose of his group is, Komer said it is a young organization that was still defining its goals and objectives.
“We’re looking to include all people from all backgrounds, all beliefs, all religions, etc.,” he said. “We are a diverse intergenerational organization that is still developing. We’re looking to promote healing, strong communities and non-governmental community spaces.”
In his live broadcast Saturday, Nolan said he previously did street ministry among the homeless in Ottawa and loaded his speech with talk of God and Christian references. He called the rent dispute a “Red Sea Moment,” which is a problem that will be resolved by God’s intervention, and made references to “the seven mountains.”
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The Seven Mountain Mandate is a US-based conservative evangelical movement that seeks to assert Christian influence in seven aspects of life: family, religion, education, media, entertainment, business, and government.
A nearby resident, who said he went to church Saturday “to be a fly on the wall,” said he had been accosted by a TUPOC member because he was carrying a Pride Canada flag. “He told me to take my Pride flag and go home,” said the woman, Heather, who did not give her last name. Although other TUPOC members told her she was welcome under their flag, Heather said the initial hostility soured her and made her suspicious of TUPOC.
“It seems like it’s all smoke and mirrors,” he said. “They are not very good at articulating what their message is. They say they are not part of the ‘Freedom Convoy’ but can’t explain why so many cars in their parking lot have ‘Freedom Convoy’ messages on them.”
Erica Lackey, left, attended Saturday’s press conference to address her issues with her new neighbors from The United People of Canada.
The United People of Canada (TUPOC) held a press conference on Saturday in…