A bailiff attended The United People of Canada's (TUPOC) headquarters on Wednesday, where they threatened to change the church’s locks and alleged that the organization wasn’t paying rent..“Yesterday, we had a bailiff come and try to throw around a piece of paper to say that we’re to go,” said Diane Nolan, one of the directors of TUPOC..“The bailiff came and the police came … the police were fine with us. We provided the insurance certificate, we provided all the information. The police are working on it right now.”.TUPOC defines itself as a "diverse, intergenerational fraternal organization" that aims to" build strong families and communities, solidifying a prosperous future for all Canadians." The not-for-profit organization has been in the process of buying St. Brigid's Church in Lower Town Ottawa since early 2022..While the organization claims to be open to all Canadians, the fact that several organizers have ties to the “Freedom Convoy” protests has caused anxiety and anger in the surrounding neighbourhoods..William Komer, another TUPOC director, said in a media release that the bailiff came to “unlawfully evict" the organization. He said the event happened because of rising tensions between TUPOC and its landlord, after the organization raised concerns about “breaches of the Ontario Human Rights Code by the property owners, including, but not limited to, what we understand to be unlawful reprisal against us for refusing to discriminate against people based on their creed.”.Komer said TUPOC then called police “who quickly came to our aid, and an unlawful eviction did not take place.” .Ottawa police said officers were called to the building at approximately 6:20 p.m. on Wednesday as part of a dispute between TUPOC and their landlord..After the interaction between TUPOC and the bailiff, several supporters put out a call social media for people to join them and guard against a possible return of the bailiff. TUPOC supporters then composed a "community watch," taking two-hour shifts to monitor the church's grounds..An Ottawa Police Service spokesperson said the interaction between TUPOC and the bailiff was a "a civil court matter and police were called to be present and keep the peace." There were no further incidents to report..“The United People of Canada have been, and remain to be, lawfully occupying The Embassy,” Komer wrote. “We are currently awaiting the results of the Ottawa Police Service investigation, and it is our understanding that charges may be laid against the property owners and/or their agent(s).
