Kelowna anti-vaccine protesters charged after Remembrance Day, vaccine clinic disruptions

Charges have been laid against two anti-vaccine protesters in Kelowna after two high-profile incidents last year, including one in which a Remembrance Day ceremony was disrupted.

Video of the Nov. 11 incident showed a woman standing in front of a microphone at the cenotaph in Kelowna’s City Park, as members of the public shouted that she and others were being disrespectful.

“It is not about you. Leave now,” a man in a medal-clad jacket is heard in the video saying to the speaker. One witness told CityNews he saw veterans storming out and screaming, adding some were crying.

Read more: Outrage in Kelowna after anti-vaxxers disrupt Remembrance Day event

A criminal charge of “Disturbing Certain Meetings” has been approved against Linda Jackson, a 56-year-old woman from Kelowna.

In another incident last year, a security guard at one of Kelowna’s COVID-19 vaccine clinics was subject to a racist tirade. Video footage of the July 13 incident showed a man holding a sign reading: “You are about to take part in a medical experiment with uninformed consequences, do you have informed consent on injury and death numbers?”

The guard calmly explained he is protecting the property and the people who are attending their appointments. When the security guard told the man to leave someone alone, the protester responded by shouting at him to “Shut up.”

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• Kelowna councillor ‘disgusted’ by racist tirade against COVID-19 vaccine site security guard

• ‘It’s just not right’: Kelowna security guard subjected to racist tirade at COVID-19 clinic speaks out

The guard is Sikh and wears a turban, and the rest of the video shows him explaining his job while having insults hurled at him.

“You are not a Canadian. You are disgusting. Go back to your country. Beat it. You don’t know Canadian laws. Get out of my face, you don’t know anything. We don’t want you here.” The man shouted these racist comments several times.

(Image credit: InfoTel)

The Provincial Hate Crimes Unit was involved in the investigation.

On April 7, a criminal charge of causing a disturbance was approved against Bruce Orydzuk. The 60-year-old man also lives in Kelowna.

“There is no tolerance for hate! We committed from the onset to complete thorough investigations into these separate incidents,” said Insp. Adam MacIntosh, operations officer for the Kelowna RCMP. “We support a person’s right to protest but it is not absolute. I want to thank the hard work of our investigators to bring these cases before the BC Prosecution Services and the courts.”

With files from Tarnjit Parmar and Lisa Steacy