National Post (National Edition)
CEO resigns after flying to Yukon vaccine clinic
The chief executive of Great Canadian Gaming Corp. has resigned as an officer and director of the company after he and his wife were identified as the couple charged with breaking pandemic rules and jumping the queue to get COVID-19 vaccinations.
Rod Baker, 55, and his actress wife, Ekaterina, 32, were ticketed and charged under Yukon's Civil Emergency Measures Act in Whitehorse on Jan. 21 after travelling to Yukon from their home in Vancouver, according to a report in the Yukon News. Rather than isolating, as required, they appear to have chartered a plane to the small community of Beaver Creek where they received vaccinations, the publication said, describing the community as isolated, with around 100 people including members of the White River First Nation.
Beaver Creek was chosen as a priority community to receive doses of COVID-19 vaccine because it's a remote border community.
Yukon Community Services Minister John Streicker told The Canadian Press he's outraged a couple travelled to the most westerly community in Canada, near the border with Alaska, to get the shots. He did not identify the couple.
Streicker said he heard Thursday night the couple arrived in Yukon last Tuesday and declared they would follow the territory's mandatory two-week self-isolation protocol but instead travelled to Beaver Creek.
He said they were charged for failure to self-isolate and failure to behave in a manner consistent with their declaration upon arrival.
Streicker said the couple allegedly presented themselves as visiting workers, misleading staff at the mobile vaccination clinic in Beaver Creek.
Territorial enforcement officers received a call about the couple, who were later intercepted at the Whitehorse airport trying to leave Yukon, he said.
The maximum fine under the emergency measures act is $500, and up to six months in jail. The RCMP have been notified, he said.
Ekaterina Baker is an actress best known for her roles as Veronica in Chick Fight and as Oksana in the award winning short film Oksana and Viktor.
Ontario-based Great Canadian Gaming, which operates 26 casino, gaming, entertainment and hotels in Ontario, B.C., New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, issued a short statement Monday in which it said Baker had resigned, effective Jan. 24. Terrance Doyle, president of strategic growth and chief compliance officer, has been appointed interim CEO.
Spokesman Chuck Keeling said “Baker … is no longer affiliated in any way with the company.”
He said it is company policy not to discuss personnel matters but added the board of directors “has no tolerance for actions that run counter to the company's objectives and values.” These include taking health and safety “extremely seriously” and strictly following all directives and guidance issued by public health authorities in each jurisdiction in which the firm operates, he said.
“Any such actions whatsoever that … do not comply with GCGC's strict compliance policies in regards to travel, and ensure that the company and its employees follow all health guidance and directions, will not be tolerated,” said Keeling.
Great Canadian, founded in 1982, struck a deal last year to be acquired by New Yorkbased fund manager Apollo Global Management Inc., but the initial price was criticized by large institutional investors including CI Financial and Burgundy Asset Management, who argued the offer significantly undervalued the gaming assets.
The bid was ultimately sweetened and accepted, and Great Canadian Gaming's shares are due to be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange if all remaining regulatory and closing conditions are met.