Rodney Baker, CEO of Great Canadian Gaming, has resigned on allegations that he and his wife traveled from Vancouver to the Yukon to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Yukon officials have confirmed to Black Press Media that Baker, 55, and Ekaterina Baker, 32, received a ticket in Whitehorse on January 21 and were charged. The couple apparently traveled from Vancouver to Whitehorse before chartering a private plane to Beaver Creek.
While there, the couple allegedly visited a vaccination clinic set up to deliver doses of the Moderna vaccine to the isolated community of around 100 people, including members of the White River First Nation.
They allegedly lied to officials at the clinic, whose portfolio includes overseeing the province’s Civil Emergency Measures Act, according to John Streicker, minister for community services in the Yukon.
At the clinic, the couple allegedly claimed to be workers at a local motel, he said.
People who live and work in the area do not need a Yukon ID to be vaccinated. The government previously announced that health cards from other jurisdictions would be accepted if people were resident in the area. Anyone entering the Yukon from outside the province must self-isolate for 14 days.
The couple apparently aroused suspicions at the clinic because a tip was reported to the province’s COVID enforcement team after receiving the shot.
Officials found the couple at the airport preparing to leave Whitehorse and filed charges.
Both the Yukon government and the White River First Nation leadership have expressed anger at the program.
“We are deeply concerned about the actions of individuals who put our elders and vulnerable people at risk of crossing the line for selfish reasons,” Chief Angela Demit said in a statement.
Streicker said they are endangering the community by breaking quarantine, ignoring the statement they signed upon arrival and traveling to the remote community. He also questioned the logic of their deception, wondering how they thought they would get the second dose.
He said the government reported the incident to the RCMP.
The couple received two fines, one for failure to isolate and one for failure to comply with a signed statement, each totaling $ 1,150.
Rodney Baker was the CEO of Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, a major owner of casinos and racetracks across Canada. He resigned on Monday (January 25th). His total annual compensation in 2019 was $ 10.6 million, according to the company’s public finance documents.
In a statement emailed to Black Press Media, company spokesman Chuck Keeling said they would not speak on human resources matters, but that “Great Canadian takes health and safety protocols extremely seriously and our company strictly follows all health and safety guidelines in any jurisdiction in which we operate. “
Ekaterina Baker is an actress who recently had roles in the 2020 Christmas film Fatman and the 2020 comedy Chick Fight.
In a post on March 23, 2020 on her Instagram account, Ekaterina said: “I’m staying at home to be part of the solution. Everyone, stay home. It’s the right thing, ”added that her father has diabetes and is susceptible to the virus.
Contact Haley Ritchie at haley.ritchie@yukon-news.com
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