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“The nature of who has been tasked and what role is not something we are disclosing. Our private security force is private,” TUPOC Director William Komer said. “But the public should be aware that it is simply a legal security force.”
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August 10, 2022 • 12 hours ago • Read 5 minutes • 8 comments Police received four complaints from The United People of Canada related to “a disturbance, online defamation and two incidents of theft,” Bell said in a note to the Police Services Board. . Photo by Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
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The Ottawa Police Service has confirmed that officers visited the former St. Brigid responding to community concerns about potential new owners and their intention to commission a “major private security force”.
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Police made two “proactive” visits to the former Catholic church, first on July 15 and again on Sunday, to speak with directors of The United People of Canada (TUPOC), a group that has met with discomfort on the part of some members of the community about the perception. links to “Freedom Convoy”.
Interim Police Chief Steve Bell sent a memo to the Police Services Board acknowledging the “significant public concern raised in relation to the purchase of the former St. Bridget’s Church in Lowertown” in recent weeks.
Officers “have been proactively engaging with the new occupants of the church,” Bell said, and at the latest meeting on Sunday, “discussed recent reports of trespassing and theft on the property and TUPOC’s plan to create a private security force.”
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In a recent post on TUPOC’s Facebook page, the group claims it “deputized the first member of our private security force” to guard the property called “The Embassy”.
Citizens have expressed their concern about the connections between TUPOC supporters and the “Freedom Convoy” protest. Group directors include William Komer, Diane Nolan and Kimberley Ward.
Komer previously told this newspaper that he was in Ottawa for the protest because, “as a documentary filmmaker, I was covering what was going on there from an investigative perspective.”
Nolan frequently posted about his attendance at the “Freedom Convoy” on Facebook, encouraging viewers of a live video to head downtown on the day police moved in to clear the protesters. “I don’t know if they’ll know what to do when there’s so many people here, boys,” he said, later observing, “This is a protest for our freedom. They’ll thank us later, they haven’t got it yet.”
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Ward has said she served as counsel to Dwayne Lich, husband of convoy organizer Tamara Lich, who was released from prison for a second time last month after a Superior Court judge found errors in the decision to overturn the his bond
The pinned post on Dwayne Lich’s Facebook profile page is a link to the TUPOC website, and he’s been posting about the organization there since late March.
Komer said in an earlier interview with this newspaper that Tamara Lich is not involved with TUPOC “in any way” and that “we welcome the support of all people of all backgrounds, beliefs, religions and creeds.”
Komer also said that Dwayne Lich “is a supporter of our diverse and inclusive, intergenerational, interracial and interfaith social enterprise organization, led by women and minorities, and its mission to restore and adaptively reuse the surplus and underutilized institutional property in vibrant and inclusive community spaces”.
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File photo: The United People of Canada organization is in the process of purchasing and renovating the historic St. Brigid’s Church. William Komer, a member of the organization’s board of directors, headquarters inside the church. Photo by Ashley Fraser/Postmedia
Now, Komer has confirmed in a telephone interview that the group is deploying a “significant” security force in response to what he said were incidents of theft, vandalism and death threats.
“We are developing a private security force to protect our legally occupied property, to protect our members and participants in various community events and conversations,” Komer said.
“We’ve had a lot of criminal activity against us… There’s been egging, some of our poles were broken, there’s been banner theft, flag theft. We got death threats,” Komer said.
He cited a recent incident at a community barbecue where an attendee became “increasingly belligerent” when asked to leave, then continued to “shout obscenities” at the group from the sidewalk.
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“There has not been a satisfactory response (from Ottawa police) and that has been a primary consideration in developing a major private security force,” he said.
Police received four complaints from TUPOC related to “one disturbance, online defamation and two theft incidents,” Bell said in the memo.
Police visited the property and “discussed the rules and legalities of private security with the occupants,” Bell said. “The officers were advised that the security provided is to have someone with a security license guarding the property 24 hours a day.”
Sylvie Bigras, president of the Lowertown Community Association, said numerous residents became concerned about the group after their links and sympathies with the convoy “became pretty clear”.
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“The affiliation has raised concern in the community and a lot of people are concerned,” Bigras said. “Lowertown is already a fragile neighborhood.”
Bigras said the notion of a private security force is “ridiculous” for the 130-year-old church with such a beloved history in the community.
“St. Brigid’s Church has been there for over 100 years and hosted many, many community events and services and all kinds of activities…the Irish Society turned it into a beautiful arts and cultural center and hosted all kinds of activities, a bar, performances and numerous events. .
“There was never any talk of hiring a private security force,” Bigras said. “What makes a person say, ‘Why does your group need this?'”
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Bigras said the “actions and messages” associated with TUPOC are “like reopening a wound” in the community.
“When you have convoy trucks parked on your property, it’s not a reassuring sight for people, it causes a lot of difficult times for people,” Bigras said.
Komer acknowledged that police spoke to TUPOC about rumors that the group was “developing a militia to patrol the streets or something like that,” he said. “This is not what we are doing. We explained our plan to them and the officers agreed that everything was completely legal and went on their way.”
Komer declined to define how “big” a force the group is planning.
“The nature of who has been tasked and what role is not something we are disclosing. Our private security force is private,” Komer said. “But the public should be aware that it is simply a legal security force.”
Private security agencies are regulated by the province, and agencies “must employ licensed security guards who are trained to be familiar … (with) relevant laws and regulations,” according to the Ministry of the Attorney General.
A spokesman for the ministry said on Wednesday that the Attorney General “has not had any contact with the (TUPOC) group.”
With files from Taylor Blewett and Bruce Deachman
ahelmer@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/helmera
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