A Kelowna man who made national news during the height of the pandemic for a racist tirade against a security guard working at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic is scheduled for two trials next summer.
Bruce Orydzuk, 60, was one of the more vocal anti-vaccine, anti-mask protesters in the Central Okanagan, appearing front and centre at a number of rallies and events, most notably on July 13, 2021, at a vaccine clinic on Springfield Road in Kelowna when he was caught on video yelling at a security guard to back to his country, among other things.
For that, in April, he was charged with one count of “causing a disturbance” under the Criminal Code, and the BC Prosecution Service said he is now scheduled for a three-day trial on that matter, starting July 4, 2023.
In addition to that episode, Orydzuk also was charged with “uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm” after he verbally attacked a Global TV reporter in August 2021 at a different anti-vaccine gathering.
A representative from the BC Prosecution Service said that matter is set for trial on Aug. 1, 2023, in Kelowna. Again, three days are set aside for the trial.
Another Kelowna resident, Linda Jackson, 56, is facing charges for protests and actions related to pandemic-related precautions.
In April, she was charged with one count of “disturbing order or solemnity of a meeting,” after she had allegedly disrupted an informal Remembrance Day ceremony at Kelowna’s Cenotaph in November 2021. Her next appearance in court is Dec. 23. A trial has yet to be scheduled.