Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond
Turpel-Lafond in 2011
Born	February 1963 (age 62) Canada
Other names	Mary Ellen Elizabeth Turpel-Lafond
Alma mater	Carleton University York University
Occupation	Lawyer judge academic

Mary Ellen Elizabeth Turpel-Lafond, born in February 1963, is a Canadian lawyer and university professor. She has worked as a judge and as an advocate for children's rights.

Turpel-Lafond advised Indigenous leaders on legal and constitutional matters. This included working with Ovide Mercredi, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. She also helped with land claims cases. She taught at several universities, including Dalhousie University and the University of Toronto. She also served as a judge in Saskatchewan.

Time magazine recognized Turpel-Lafond as a "Global Leader of Tomorrow" in 1994. In 1999, Time named her one of the "Top 20 Canadian Leaders for the 21st Century." She was also British Columbia's first Representative for Children and Youth. In 2018, she became a professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She was later the first director of UBC's Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre.

In 2022, Turpel-Lafond faced questions about her Indigenous background. After this, she left her role at UBC. Many of her awards, including 11 honorary degrees and the Order of Canada, were taken back or given up. In 2024, the Law Society of British Columbia disciplined Turpel-Lafond. She admitted to professional misconduct. The Society's report said she had some Indigenous ancestry through DNA. However, it found no clear link to a specific Indigenous community.

Early Life and Education

Turpel-Lafond was born in February 1963. Her parents were William and Shirley Turpel. She has three older sisters. Turpel-Lafond has stated she grew up on the Norway House Cree Nation reserve in Manitoba. However, a 2022 report suggested she was likely born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Turpel-Lafond has shared that her family life was difficult when she was young. She has also used the name aki-kwe since 1989. She said an elder gave her this name in 1985.

Turpel-Lafond earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University in 1982. She received a law degree from Osgoode Hall at York University. In 1989, she got a diploma in international law from the University of Cambridge. She completed her doctorate of law from Harvard Law School in 1997.

In 2018, Turpel-Lafond stated she had a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from Cambridge. However, the University of Cambridge said her diploma was different from an LLM degree. Her 2018 resume also said she got her Harvard doctorate in 1990. But a 2022 report stated she received it in 1997.

Career Highlights

Academic Work

Before 2022, Turpel-Lafond was known as a highly successful First Nations scholar in Canada. She was a tenured law professor at Dalhousie University. She also taught law at the University of Notre Dame, the University of Toronto, and other universities.

From 1989 to 1996, Turpel-Lafond was an assistant professor at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University. She also held the position of Aboriginal Scholar at the University of Saskatchewan.

Legal Profession

Turpel-Lafond was a lawyer in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan. She appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada. She worked on land claims with the Indian Law Resource Center in Washington, DC. She also advised Indigenous leaders on legal and constitutional matters. During talks about the Charlottetown Accord, she advised Ovide Mercredi, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Turpel-Lafond and Mercredi co-wrote a book called In the Rapids: Navigating the Future of First Nations.

In 2013, Turpel-Lafond stated she had received the Queen's Counsel (QC) designation from Saskatchewan. However, both the Ministry of Justice and the Law Society of Saskatchewan have no record of this appointment.

As of February 2, 2024, the Law Society of British Columbia listed Turpel-Lafond as "non-practising." In 2024, the Law Society of British Columbia reported that Turpel-Lafond likely has recent Indigenous ancestry based on a DNA test. However, the Law Society also found she had misrepresented some of her academic and professional qualifications. They asked her to donate $10,000 to a group supporting Indigenous justice.

As a Judge

In 1998, Turpel-Lafond became a Provincial Court judge in Saskatchewan. At that time, she was believed to be the first Treaty Indian appointed to this role in Saskatchewan. In 2017, she was considered for a possible appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Children's Advocate

After being a judge for eight years, Turpel-Lafond became British Columbia's first Representative for Children and Youth. In this role, she wrote 93 reports and made 200 recommendations. In 2015, she asked the government to hire at least 250 social workers for Indigenous children. This was to provide services and protect vulnerable children. Turpel-Lafond left this position in 2016.

In 2017, Turpel-Lafond sued the province of British Columbia. She claimed the government broke a verbal agreement about her pension credits.

University of British Columbia Role

In 2018, Turpel-Lafond joined the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She became a professor and the first director of UBC's Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre. She resigned as director in June 2022 but continued as a professor.

On January 3, 2023, it was reported that Turpel-Lafond was no longer employed by UBC as of December 16, 2022. Her departure was controversial. She stated she "retired," but UBC did not confirm this. The Globe and Mail reported she was removed from her position due to evidence that her claims about her background were not true.

Law Society of British Columbia Findings

Turpel-Lafond became a member of the Law Society of British Columbia in 2018. An investigation in 2024 found she had committed professional misconduct. This related to misrepresentations when joining the society and during testimony in 2018. The report stated she wrongly claimed to have been called to the bar of New Brunswick. She also said she co-authored a book that was never published. She claimed an honorary degree from First Nations University of Canada, which was never given. She also stated she was a tenured professor at Dalhousie Law School for 15 years, but she was tenured for only two. The society disciplined Turpel-Lafond and ordered her to pay $10,000 to a non-profit group supporting Indigenous justice.

Ancestry and Upbringing Claims

Background of Claims

Turpel-Lafond has stated she is a Treaty Indian. She said she has "Cree, Scottish and English heritage." She claimed her father, William Turpel, was Cree. She said he spoke Cree and lived by Cree values. Turpel-Lafond asserted her father was informally adopted by a British couple.

CBC News Report

A 2022 CBC News report questioned Turpel-Lafond's claim of being a Treaty Indian. The report found differences between documents and her statements. CBC News stated that her father, William Turpel, was the biological child of a Canadian-British couple. A cousin and an aunt of Turpel-Lafond said they never knew her father to be adopted or Cree. Joe Keeper, a Cree man from Norway House, said he knew William Turpel to be white. He never heard anyone say William Turpel was Cree.

Turpel-Lafond also stated she was born and raised on the Norway House Cree Nation reserve. However, the 2022 CBC News report found no evidence for this. The report suggested she was likely born and raised in the Niagara Falls area. This was based on voter records, yearbooks, and statements from family members.

Public Reactions

After the CBC News report, the University of British Columbia first supported Turpel-Lafond. A university spokesperson said Indigenous ancestry was not required for her job. They stated her "identity is her own." Turpel-Lafond left the School of Law in 2023. The Globe and Mail reported she was removed due to evidence that her background claims were untrue.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip supported Turpel-Lafond. He called the accusations a "disgusting witch hunt." Other Indigenous groups also offered support.

The Indigenous Women's Collective criticized the university's response. They said university leaders were too quick to defend someone claiming Treaty Indian status without clear evidence.

Aly Bear, vice chief of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, first supported Turpel-Lafond but later withdrew her support. Cindy Blackstock, a professor and member of the Gitxsan First Nation, concluded that her father's birth certificate suggested no Indigenous identity.

In March 2023, Turpel-Lafond said it was freeing to be without her honors. She stated she had no emotional attachment to "titles, honours or accolades." She also said "Trial by media is rampant, can be unbalanced and cause harm."

DNA Testing

In 2024, a report from the Law Society of British Columbia suggested Turpel-Lafond likely has recent ancestors with Indigenous DNA. The results of this test have not been made public.

Honors and Awards

Honorary Degrees

Turpel-Lafond received 11 honorary degrees from Canadian universities. After the controversy about her ancestry claims, all these degrees were either taken back by the universities or given up by her.

Turpel-Lafond had stated she received an honorary doctorate from First Nations University of Canada in 2001. However, CBC reported that this university has never given an honorary degree.

Order of Canada

In December 2021, Turpel-Lafond was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. In September 2023, she was removed from the Order at her request. This happened after doubts about her Indigenous ancestry claims.

Personal Life

Turpel-Lafond lives in North Saanich, British Columbia. Her second husband is George Lafond, whom she married in 1995. He is a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. He was a former vice-chief and tribal chief. She has a son and three daughters, including a set of twins.

During her career, Turpel-Lafond was often described as a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. On October 12, 2022, Chief Kelly Wolfe of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation confirmed that "Mary-Ellen [Turpel-Lafond] is a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation and has been for nearly 30 years."

See also

• Pretendian