Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond no longer employed at UBC | 24CA News
High-profile lawyer Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond and B.C.’s former consultant for kids and youth is not employed by the University of British Columbia.
The college received’t say why it lower ties with the previous choose, solely that as of Dec. 16 she is not a professor on the Allard School of Law.
Turpel-Lafond served as director of the UBC Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre till June.
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Her historical past got here below the microscope final fall after a collection of stories by the CBC raised questions on each her claims of Indigenous ancestry and her claims of educational accomplishments.
Global News has requested remark from Turpel-Lafond.
In a press release posted to her Twitter account in October, she maintained she was “of Cree, Scottish & English heritage & hold the name aki-kwe & am an active member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation. My credentials have been vetted at the highest levels of our country.”
Kelly Wolfe, chief of Muskeg Lake Cree Nation additionally confirmed that Turpel-Lafond had been a member of the nation for near 30 years, stating she was a member of one in every of its kinship familes.
At the time, UBC issued a press release to the Globe and Mail supporting Turpel-Lafond, and stating that “Indigenous identity was not a criterion” for the place she held on the college.
The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs additionally issued a press release of assist on the time and calling her “a fierce, ethical, and groundbreaking advocate for Indigenous peoples for decades.”
“She has demonstrated time and again her commitment to human rights, justice, and reconciliation, including in her role as the Representative for Children and Youth and her investigation into systemic racism in the health care system,” it added.
Turpel-Lafond has been a high-profile public determine in B.C. and throughout Canada for many years in areas of Indigenous human rights and constitutional regulation.
In 2020, she authored the report In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health Care.
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