Canadian tycoon Rodney Baker, wife pose as motel workers to cut Covid-19 vaccine line after taking private jet
A Canadian casino tycoon and his actress wife allegedly posed as motel workers at a remote Yukon community in order to receive Covid-19 vaccines that were meant for the indigenous residents there. On January 21, 55-year-old Rodney Baker and his wife Ekaterina Baker, 32, are said to have chartered a private jet to Beaver Creek to get doses of the Moderna shot, according to the CBC. “Effectively what they did was they put our community and our isolation team at risk,” Yukon Community Services Minister John Streicker told the outlet Monday. “I’m pretty angry at the whole thing.”
The vaccine was being administered to the barely 100 residents of Beaver Creek, most of whom are reportedly members of the White River First Nation. Workers at the clinic noted how the wealthy couple had lied to them about where they lived and worked, Yukon News reported. The duo later raised suspicions when they asked for a ride to the airport after being inoculated. "And people were like, 'Well, why would you be going to the airport?'" Streicker recalled. "And so that's when the CEMA enforcement unit got called and said, 'Hey, who's this couple that may be flying back? You should check to see whether they really are here in the territory.'"
Clinic staff immediately summoned the authorities after it was confirmed that the Bakers weren't new employees at the motel. Law enforcement subsequently apprehended them at the airport, where they were preparing to fly back to Vancouver. “We just didn’t anticipate that anyone would go to this length to effectively deceive the team to get vaccinated, and I think we all felt pretty offended at the whole thing,” Streicker told the CBC. "But we will put in place additional procedures … I don't imagine that this is going to repeat itself."
As a result, the Bakers were slapped with two counts each under Yukon’s Civil Emergency Measures Act - failing to self-isolate and failing to follow a travel declaration. However, the maximum penalty for each is a fine of up to $1,150 and/or up to six months in jail, according to the New York Post.
The newspaper noted that Rodney Baker -- who reportedly made $10.6 million in 2019 as CEO of the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation -- resigned on Sunday. The GCGC reportedly owns a string of casinos across Canada and is being investigated for allegations of corruption and money-laundering since last year. According to the report, Rodney Baker married Russian-born actress Ekaterina in 2017. The couple's actions were condemned by the White River First Nation in a statement on Saturday.
“We are deeply concerned by the actions of individuals who put our elders and vulnerable people at risk to jump the line for selfish purposes,” Chief Angela Demit said in a statement, calling for harsher penalties. Demit noted how the community was selected to receive the vaccines due to "our remoteness, elderly and high-risk population, as well as limited access to health care.”
“While we understand many want to have a vaccination immediately, it is not appropriate to skirt the rules put in place and approach our community in this way," she added.