On a cold late January morning, three planes landed on the lone runway of a remote community in northern Canada.
The first two were carrying members of a Yukon Territory Department of Health mobile team who were there to give Covid-19 vaccines to Beaver Creek residents. The small settlement of about 100 inhabitants had been prioritized because of its older population, many of whom belong to the White River First Nation.
The third plane, a bush plane, was unexpected.
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On board were casino executive Rod Baker and his wife, actor Ekaterina Baker, who had broken his quarantine and had flown to Beaver Creek for the sole purpose of receiving doses of the Modern vaccine.
For the next few hours, the couple traveled to the city, pretended to be employees of the local motel, received their shots and then escaped as quickly as they had arrived.
As Canada struggles with vaccine shortages and delays, the Bakers ’deception has been dismissed with contempt and disbelief. The incident, in which a wealthy white couple received treatment aimed at the most vulnerable members of an indigenous community, has put the focus on the strong class and race divisions that spread across the country.
“They saw the most vulnerable people in the community in full display and continued to get the shot,” said Janet Vander Meer of White Nation First Nation. “That’s what disgusts me.”
When their plane crashed in Beaver Creek, the Bakers told airport staff they were heading north to Dawson City, but that the fog had forced them to land. They waited in Beaver Creek until the weather improved, they said.
“Officially they deceived officials when they landed in Whitehorse [the territorial capital] and he fooled people when they got to the vaccination clinic, ”said Dave Sharp, owner of Tintina Air, whose company was tricked into blowing up the Bakers. “They were telling different things to different people.”
While the pilot waited, the couple took a walk to the main drag of the city: a handful of hotels, gas stations and a tourist information center, surrounded by black fir trees and rolling boreal forest.
“It simply came to our notice then. And so the day of the vaccination had to be a little light at the end of the tunnel for the people, “said Vander Meer, who worked with territorial officials to help set up the vaccination event.” The visit to the clinic and the vaccine was a reason to celebrate. “
Since early January, the Yukon government has used two mobile vaccination teams to target vulnerable and hard-to-reach areas such as Beaver Creek. The teams – Balto and Togo – are named after two famous sled dogs, making a gesture with the harsh conditions of the region.
It’s unclear how the Bakers learned of the team’s visit to Beaver Creek, nearly 3,000 km (1,900 miles) from their luxury condo in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia.
As head of the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, which manages racetracks and casinos across the country, Rod Baker made a profit of $ 45.9 million ($ 35.7 million) in stock options exercised over the past 13 years. months, according to Globe and Mail. He resigned after being charged by Yukon officials. Ekaterina has appeared in several films, including Chick Fight and Fatman.
After Bakers allegedly requested a trip to the airport, members of the vaccination team became suspicious. Calls to local motels confirmed they were not employees either. The team contacted Yukon police officers.
In Beaver Creek, where neighbors learned of the couple’s plot from local journalists, not the government, the immediate response was panic: thanks to their isolation, the community had not seen any confirmed case of the virus, but age and pre- existing health conditions made its population firmly in the most vulnerable demographic population in Covid-19.
“I’ve never seen anyone want to charter in Beaver Creek,” said Quanah Giuseppe VanderMeer, another member of the White Nation First Nation. “I’ve lived there most of my life and it scared me to feel like they could sneak in like that.”
Janet Vander Meer, who had spent months working on vaccine delivery logistics, went home and cried.
“I felt like I had disappointed my community,” he said. “The mental toll these people caused on me and my family, making me feel like I was doing something wrong, this is not acceptable. It’s something I’m still dealing with. “
Janet Vander Meeer is still furious to think that before receiving their own vaccines, the Bakers would have seen both her mother, who is in palliative care and moving with a walker, and a Beaver Creek resident of 88 years waiting in line. for the vaccine.
“You’d think right now that one of them would say,‘ Okay, love, let’s get back to our rental plane. ’But no, they got shot,” he said.
News of the Bakers ’trip reached the world at large when local newspapers reported that the couple had been fined for violating the blocking rules. And when the size of the fine (C $ 2,300 ($ 1,800)) was compared to the couple’s wealth, the outrage only grew.
“There is nothing but non-Canadian to go to another jurisdiction to jump the line because you have the means to do so,” British Columbia Prime Minister John Horgan told reporters.
Last week, Yukon officials announced that the tickets had been withheld and the Bakers were summoned to appear in court, where they will face charges for not isolating themselves for 14 days and failing to act in a manner consistent with their statements upon arrival in the Yukon. If convicted, they could face up to six months in prison. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is also investigating. The Bakers have not commented publicly since the charges were filed.
In addition to outrage over the Bakers ’behavior, the saga has highlighted the deep-rooted racial inequities in the Canadian health care system: many remote indigenous communities do not have sufficient resources to care for residents and are especially vulnerable to external infection during the pandemic.
“We know this is a system that has failed Indigenous peoples … and has treated Indigenous peoples as second-class citizens,” Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller told a conference on racism in the health care system. last week.
Janet Vander Meer said her efforts were kept focused on the safety of White River, and making sure nothing like that happened.
“I don’t care what they were doing or thinking when they came here. I don’t have time for that, “he said.” Right now, I need to focus on preparing the community to get the second dose of the vaccine safely. Because that’s what matters most. “