Alleged queue jumping `despicable'

COVID VACCINES

VANCOUVER • Public condemnation grew Tuesday of a Vancouver couple accused of flying to a remote Yukon community to get a COVID-19 vaccine, with British Columbia's solicitor general calling their alleged actions “despicable.”

Mike Farnworth criticized former Great Canadian Gaming Corp. CEO Rodney Baker and his wife Ekaterina Baker, who have been issued tickets under the territory's Emergency Measures Act and face fines of up to $1,000.

“Frankly, I think what we saw yesterday of individuals flying to Yukon was probably one of the most despicable things that I've seen in a long time. It shows a complete lack of any sort of ethical or moral compass,” Farnworth said at a news conference on a separate matter.

“As we've also seen, they have paid a pretty high price, losing a $10-million-a-year job, as they should.”

Tickets filed in a Whitehorse court show the 55-year-old man and his 32-year-old wife were each charged with one count of failing to self-isolate for 14 days and one count of failing to act in a manner consistent with their declarations upon arriving in Yukon.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

Ekaterina Baker did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An attempt was made to speak to Rodney Baker through a request to Great Canadian Gaming after he couldn't be reached.

An information circular published by Great Canadian Gaming in March 2020 says Baker earned about $6.7 million in 2019.

The company owns more than 20 casinos in B.C., Ontario, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Baker became president in 2010 and CEO the following year.

Spokesman Chuck Keeling said Monday the company does not comment on personnel matters, but it complies with guidelines from public health authorities in all jurisdictions.

Ekaterina Baker is an actress who had small roles this year in Chick Fight and Fatman, which starred Mel Gibson as a rowdy, unorthodox Santa Claus, according to her IMDB Pro page.

Yukon Community Services Minister John Streicker said last week the couple allegedly chartered a plane to Beaver Creek, posed as visiting workers and received the COVID-19 vaccine at a mobile clinic. Streicker said he was outraged and members of White River First Nation in Beaver Creek felt violated.

The community was prioritized to receive vaccine because of its remoteness, elderly population and limited access to health care, said White River Chief Angela Demit.

Kevin Rodrigues, a medical ethicist with the University Health Network at Toronto General Hospital, said using “financial muscle” to go elsewhere to be immunized undermines difficult decisions over who should be prioritized for a vaccine when supplies are limited.