TUPOC board member Diane Nolan spoke to media and community members inside St. Brigid’s Church on Saturday afternoon, two days after a bailiff issued an eviction notice for the Freedom Convoy-affiliated group to leave. “It’s none of your business,” Nolan told a community member when asked about the eviction notice, which said the United People of Canada had five days to remove all items from the church. “I don’t really know what’s going to happen next, I’m just the director.” On Thursday, a bailiff with the bailiff service served a “Tenant Termination Notice” at St. Brigid’s on St. Patrick, which stated that the landlord had terminated The United People of Canada’s occupancy under the Commercial Leases Act. The notice said the tenants owed $10,000 in unpaid rent and failed to provide proof of $5 million in liability insurance. The bailiff also issued a second notice saying TUPOC is in violation of Ontario’s Heritage Act and failed to obtain the necessary permits for construction. “The United People of Canada is your neighbor. The United People of Canada represents you and they represent me,” Nolan said in trying to explain the group’s decision to try to move to Lowertown. “The problem was from the beginning, we looked at the cars and we looked at the people, when the call came we have to put St. Brigid and there is a lot of work to be done…. There was a compliance order for the owners to fix the building. That was given to us by the Regulation,” Nolan said. “When the call is made to get hands and feet on deck, whoever comes will come with a heart that wants to serve.” Ottawa’s Bylaws and Regulatory Services tells Newstalk 580 CFRA does not approve the construction plans and staff met with prospective buyers of the church on Aug. 15 to update them on a pending compliance order for the property that was issued in March.

It opens by bringing up a discussion with an unnamed councilor about vaccination. Says vaccination ‘is a bit of a problem’ She says her city councilor told her people should know what they’re talking about. — Colton Praill (@ColtonPraill) August 20, 2022 During Saturday afternoon’s media conference, Nolan discussed the Freedom Convoy in downtown Ottawa last winter, the mission of The United People of Canada and what she claims are “misconceptions” about the group and how the members want to help the community now and for the future. “TUPOC came to make a difference in the community, not to cause a stir,” Nolan said, adding that there is “a love for St. Brigid’s’. When a community member asked Nolan why TUPOC is trying to move into the neighborhood when residents don’t want them there, she said, “I feel like I’m being held.” “You know what, I don’t have an answer for this situation you have, because I don’t answer to all people.” Nolan also apologized to Mayor Jim Watson and others for comments to the media. “We deserve an apology for what was said by the Mayor, what was said by Sylvia Bigras without even coming, (Councilman) Mathieu Fleury and several other people,” Nolan said. “You haven’t sat down and talked, you haven’t talked. It’s the same old, same old, and all we want to do is serve the community.” Bigras, the president of the Lowertown Community Association, said the community is concerned about TUPOC’s ties to the Freedom Convoy. On Friday, Watson called the group “nuts” and urged church owners not to engage with the group. A woman holding a pride flag told CTV News Ottawa’s Colton Praill that a TUPOC member told her she was not welcome at St. Brigid during the media conference. Nolan later said that “everyone” is welcome in the church and this member is not speaking for TUPOC organizers.

Nolan says @TUPOC_CA deserves an apology from @JimWatsonOttawa and @MathieuFleury as well as the Lowertown Community Association. It says they are misaligned. He asked her to detail what TUPOC is and how they will achieve their goals. Nolan reiterates that they are helping the community — Colton Praill (@ColtonPraill) August 20, 2022 In July, The United People of Canada moved to St. Brigid’s Church, saying he planned to buy the church for his “Embassy”. At the front of the church were hung red banners. Documents obtained by CTV News show that the sale of St. Bridget’s Church to the United People of Canada has fallen through. The church was conditionally sold to the group on June 15, but as of August 12, property registration documents show the property was listed as “back on the market.” Nolan insisted that “the sale has not failed” and added that the eviction notice is “void”. “I would love (St. Brigid’s property owner) Mr. Patrick McDonald. I don’t know who he’s affected by, but he needs to come and talk to us because we’ve met our rent obligations and we’ve got security in place,” Nolan said. “We want to host community events, we want to be able to have fundraisers and global causes, but it’s all a distraction.” The United People of Canada website advertises a weekly community barbecue for Sunday. With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Colton Praill, Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Andrew Pinsent and CTV News’ Mackenzie Gray