OTTAWA — Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, a high-profile former judge whose claims to Indigenous identity have been discredited, is no longer a member of the Order of Canada.
A notice in Saturday’s Canada Gazette, the federal government’s official newspaper, said her appointment was terminated on Sept. 26 following her own request and the Governor General’s subsequent approval. She had been appointed in 2021.
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A social media post by the Indigenous Women’s Collective, which had called for her removal, thanks the Governor General for “correcting a wrong.”
Tracey Robinson, a member of the collective and a Treaty First Nations woman from Saskatchewan, said Turpel-Lafond’s removal sends a message that tangible consequences await those who engage in Indigenous identity theft.
The claims about Turpel-Lafond in a CBC investigation in October 2022 have already rippled through the academic and legal communities, but for everyday Canadians, the Order of Canada is significant, she said.
“We’re feeling a lot more optimistic today than we did a year ago,” she said.
“Now Indigenous people are feeling empowered where they know that there are processes in place … to ask for investigation, ask for accountability, ask for consequences,” Robinson said in an interview on Friday.
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The Indigenous Women’s Collective was aware that part of the process when someone’s appointment to the Order of Canada is under review involves approaching that person to offer an opportunity to step down, she added.
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Robinson said Turpel-Lafond’s removal could chart a course in the case of singer and activist Buffy Sainte-Marie, after a CBC investigation last week cast doubt on her claims of Cree heritage. The 82-year-old was named to the Order of Canada in 1997.
The public broadcaster found Sainte-Marie’s birth certificate, signed by an attending doctor and stating she was a white baby born in Stoneham, Mass., in 1941 to the white parents she has previously said adopted her. CBC said Sainte-Marie’s marriage certificate, a life insurance policy, the United States census and interviews with family members corroborate information on the birth certificate.
Sainte-Marie said in a statement released the day before CBC’s story ran that she doesn’t know who her birth parents are or where she’s from, but she is “a proud member of the Native community with deep roots in Canada.”
Robinson said the harms caused by Indigenous identify theft are almost impossible to distil.
“We can talk about the loss of opportunity, the stealing of space, all of that is harmful. But it also creates kind of like a ripple effect, it creates harm (among Indigenous people) at a psychological level as well.”
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After CBC’s investigation into Turpel-Lafond, she returned honorary degrees from several universities, including Simon Fraser University, Brock, and two Vancouver Island schools, while McGill, Carleton and the University of Regina have rescinded awards granted to her.
The former B.C. representative for children and youth previously told the public broadcaster that while she was growing up she didn’t question the biological parentage of her father, who she has said was Cree.
Turpel-Lafond had also served as the director of the Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre at the University of British Columbia, where she was a tenured law professor until late 2022.
She told The Canadian Press earlier this year that she was satisfied in her past work, identity and self-worth.
An emailed statement she sent last March said it was “liberating” to be freed of honours because it permits her to “focus on what really matters” in her life.
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EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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