Ontario Superior Court Justice Sally Gomery granted an application Friday by the owners of the St. Brigid’s in Lowertown to evict The United People of Canada from the property. The owner, Patrick McDonald, sought the court order to evict the group, saying they had failed to make $100,000 in payments as part of a conditional sale of the church, owed $10,000 in rent and breached heritage rules. Gomery’s decision sided with the owner. “TUPOC has materially breached the agreement by failing to pay deposits of $100,000 on August 10, 2022, despite two extensions of the deadline granted by the applicants,” he wrote. Gomery also ruled that TUPOC must pay $53,000 in costs to the property owners within 30 days. William Comer, the group’s president, said Friday afternoon that the group plans to appeal the decision, but plans to pack up and leave the church. “We are waiting for the order to be finalised, but we understand that it was against us and we have to leave,” he said. “We know they’re asking, I believe, to get out right away, so we’re getting out as fast as we can. “We will appeal the decision.” Members of the group have long insisted that the eviction notice served on them was invalid and said they will not vacate the property. But on Friday afternoon they could be seen collecting a vehicle in the church parking lot. Mayor Jim Watson called the judge’s decision “excellent news” for Lowertown residents. “They’ve put up with a lot of nonsense and immaturity, people shooting water guns at them and spitting on people,” he told CTV News. “I hope these wimps who have basically camped out there for weeks respect the judge’s decision, pay the court costs and get out of town.” The decision is earlier than expected—Gomery told the court on Monday that she won’t make a decision until after Sept. 27. The church of St. Brigid was conditionally sold to The United People of Canada on June 15, with the group planning to convert the historic property into an “embassy.” Documents obtained by CTV News show the sale fell through and the property has been back on the market since Aug. 12. McDonald’s lawyer told reporters on September 2 that until last Monday’s hearing, there would be two reasons why TUPOC should be evicted: their inability to pay rent, as well as the end of the 30-day waiting period after the termination of the group purchase agreement. Despite the eviction notice, The United People of Canada continues to host events at the church. A Facebook post invited people to attend the weekly Sunday “Community BBQ”. Lawyer Saron Gebresellassi, representing the United People of Canada, argued earlier this week that the group had an oral agreement with McDonald’s and wanted out of the deal because of media reports of the events at the property. McDonald denied that there was a verbal agreement with TUPOC during the confrontation. The judge sided with McDonald’s version of events. The church, located 1.3 kilometers from Parliament Hill, has been on the market since July 2021 and was priced at $5.95 million. – with files from Jeremie Charron, CTV News Ottawa
