St. Brigid's church tenants want charges laid against poster campaigners

Posters against the group setting up shop in the former St. Brigid's church in Lowertown will have to come down because they violate city bylaws, according to the head of Ottawa Bylaw and Regulatory Services.

The posters said, "St. Brigid's belongs to our community not to the convoy."

“Posters being glued and affixed to both public property and with respect to these garbage receptacles, electrical boxes, Canada post mailboxes as well as there were a couple posters that were unlawfully glued to the embassy property here," said William Komer, The ‘United People of Canada’ board of directors member. "We haven’t seen one lawfully posted whatsoever."

The posters point to a Horizon Ottawa petition calling for the city to step in and find another buyer or buy the property itself. The advocacy group says it is not them.

"Whoever is putting these posters up, as far as we know, is not associated with our organization," said board member Sam Hersh.

The group's petition has nearly 3,500 signatures.

"What we need there is a vital community space and to revitalize that space," said Hersh. "We’ve been door knocking out in Lowertown, we’ve been petitioning out around there and around 97 per cent of the people we speak to in the community are not supportive of the presence of this organization being there."

The United People of Canada says it is working with police to identify whoever put the posters up.

In his remarks to the Ottawa Police Services Board, interim Chief Steve Bell said the service will "continue to investigate reported incidents at that address and community safety concerns."