Government casting ad requesting 'Caucasian' actors deemed racist by some Yukoners

A casting call for a new government tourism ad has beencalled racist by someYukoners.

The ad was posted on social media, seeking actors for an upcoming winter tourism adfeaturingthe northern lights, snowshoeing, ice fishing and other traditional winter activities.

It sought three actors for featured roles,in the ad, specifying they be "friendly," "contemplative" and "in decent shape physically."

It also required that two of theactors be "Caucasian" which garnered some criticism on social media over the weekend.

An 'oversight'

"That was a bit of an oversight, and it's unfortunate that happened," PierreGermain, the director of tourism with the territory's department of tourism and culture told SandiColeman, host of A New Day on CBC Radio.

He said the department valuesdiversity and inclusiveness, and said the post "wasn't reflective of those values."

Germainsaida contractor was responsible for the ad.

He said the department didn't review the language before it was posted, buthassince spokento the contractor, who reissued the casting callMonday, withoutan ethnic preference for the featured roles.

New Approach

Germaindidn't specify which market the ad is intended for, but said the department considers Canada, the United States and German-speaking Europe its "primary markets."

Tourism Yukon has previously referred to China as a"Holy Grail" emerging market for the territory as well.

• Chinese market dubbed the 'holy grail' of tourism for Yukon

He said demographic information isn'tthe government's primary focus in its tourism ads.

"The way that we target them is different than the general demographics that were used in the past, like age and educational status and income and ethnicity," saidGermain. "We're focusing more now on this concept of market segmentation and it's a way for us to target visitors based on their travel behaviours rather than on their demographics."

Germainsaid the roles in itslatest ad areintended forYukoners ideally ones with the ability to display "strong facial expressions without words."

He said they'll be playing tourists.

"We want them to be out there experiencing Yukon, and pretending they're a visitor," he said.

He said the ad is being filmed over the next week, and should be viewable online, and possibly on televisionnext year.