Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond speaks out after award revoked over heritage
Posted March 9, 2023 7:20 pm.
Former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond says she is satisfied in her “past work, identity and self-worth” after the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association stripped her of an award because it believed she falsified her claims of Indigenous identity.
In her most expansive remarks since questions surfaced about her heritage, Turpel-Lafond says it’s “liberating” to be freed of honours.
She says in an email she has “no emotional attachment to titles,” but she’s surprised that the association rescinded the 2020 Reg Robson Award without “basic fairness,” such as allowing her an opportunity to be heard.
The former law professor and B.C. representative for children and youth, whose claim of Cree heritage was questioned by a CBC report last October, says “trial by media is rampant,” and it’s how “wrongful convictions and injustice” happen.
She held several honourary degrees from universities across the country, many of which have now been rescinded.
