Kelowna RCMP investigating alleged racist rant by protester at vaccine clinic

Vancouver -

Police in Kelowna are investigating after a protester outside a COVID-19 vaccination clinic was recorded verbally abusing a security guard.

Video of the incident recorded by Carli Berry for Infonews.ca shows a man holding a sign and speaking angrily to the guard, who is wearing a turban. 

"Shut up," the man says in the video. "Go back to your country. You're not a Canadian."

He later tells the security guard to "go back to India."

"Beat it," he says. "You're disgusting."

Berry identifies the man insulting the security guard as Bruce Orydzuk, a Kelowna resident who was allegedly participating in an anti-vaccination protest outside of the vaccine clinic. Berry says Orydzuk began raising his voice while talking to her and that’s when his attention turned to the security guard.

“The security guard stood up for me, because Bruce was starting to get aggressive towards me in some of his questions.”

In a news release, Kelowna RCMP say they were called to the vaccine clinic on July 13, the date the video was recorded, for a complaint that protesters were "impeding access to the clinic."

"Officers attended, spoke with staff and dealt with the protesters," says Kelowna RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jocelyn Noseworthy, in the release.

"No arrests were made at that time."

The video quickly circulated online on Thursday, catching the attention of Premier John Horgan.

“This is vile, racist behaviour. If this is how you treat people, you are the problem,” the premier tweeted.

The encounter lasts approximately 90 seconds before the man walks off. Mohini Singh, a Kelowna city councillor, says the man’s racist remarks are not reflective of the city.

“How far is this person, or this group of people, doing to go before we say stop?”

Singh says she’s heard from Kelowna residents who commend the security guard for de-escalating the situation.

“The Indo-Canadian community here is very, very proud of him. Proud of the way he stood his ground, and proud of the way he didn’t lose his cool," Singh says.

Since becoming aware of the video, police have launched an investigation. They say the video shows "a protester yelling what appear to be racially motivated comments and accusations at a staff member who asked him to leave the property."

“We are now investigating this incident through the lens of the willful promotion of hatred under Section 319 of the Criminal Code,” Noseworthy says. “Racism has no place in our community, and I want to reassure the public that this matter is being given the full attention of our General Investigative Support Team in consultation with the Provincial Hate Crimes Unit.”

RCMP say they have identified the man in the video, but they're asking anyone who witnessed the incident and has not already spoken to them to get in touch by calling [phone]. 

Berry hopes her video continues to be shared and viewed across the country.

“I feel like as Canadians we sometimes like to pretend racism doesn’t exist. We shouldn’t be sweeping these things under the rug.”