Prominent scholar and former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond has been dropped from the Order of Canada.
In a notice in Saturday’s Canada Gazette, Rideau Hall announced that, in response to Turpel-Lafond’s own request, her membership in the Order of Canada has been terminated. That request was subsequently approved by Governor General Mary Simon through an ordinance signed on Sept. 26, 2023.
The termination takes effect Saturday.
Turpel-Lafond was plunged into controversy in October 2022 after an investigation by CBC News raised questions about her claims to indigenous ancestry.
Responding by text to CBC News, Turpel-Lafond said she returned the Order of Canada to avoid harassment.
“I returned it because I don’t want to be harassed by people who seem to make it their thing to kick others down,” she wrote. “Life is too precious to give haters a seat at my table.”
When the Governor General announced Turpel-Lafond’s appointment to the Order of Canada in December 2021, the news release said she was being honored “for her ongoing commitment to improving the child welfare system and supports for Indigenous people in British Columbia.”
Turpel-Lafond was also awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
On Friday, those two honours were still listed in Rideau Hall’s honours database, but the Order of Canada was not.
Officials at Rideau Hall provided little additional detail about the process that led to the honour being terminated.
“As indicated in the Gazette, the appointment of Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond to the Order of Canada was terminated as a result of her individual request,” wrote Gabrielle Boaknin Savard in an e-mail. “We have no additional information to provide as the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General does not comment on termination requests.”
Natalie Babin Dufresne, director of communications at Rideau Hall, said they don’t have any information regarding the Jubilee medals.
“Commemorative medals can be cancelled if a person’s conduct is not in line with the eligibility criteria,” she wrote. “Please note that commemorative medals were distributed by partner organizations that were identified to nominate individuals from their community or their organization. Each partner established their own selection process to nominate individuals for this medal.”
The termination of Turpel-Lafond’s appointment to the Order of Canada is the latest in a series of similar cancellations — many of them at Turpel-Lafond’s own request.
In February, the University of Regina rescinded the honorary doctorate it had awarded her.
“While the university recognizes that Turpel-Lafond has been a strong advocate for Indigenous rights and child welfare, her accomplishments are outweighed by the harm inflicted upon Indigenous academics, peoples and communities when non-Indigenous people misrepresent their Indigenous ancestry,” the university said in a media statement.
In March, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association rescinded the Reg Robson award it gave Turpel-Lafond in 2020. In a statement, it said the association had believed in her “public representations regarding her professional accomplishments, as well as her Indigenous ancestry.”
“Information has since come to BCCLA’s attention that demonstrates, in our view, that Dr. Turpel-Lafond falsified her claims to Cree ancestry,” the association wrote. “Furthermore, certain professional and academic accomplishments claimed by Dr. Turpel-Lafond have been disproven or called into question, all of which, in our view, erode her professional integrity.”
Turpel-Lafond has voluntarily returned honorary degrees she received from a number of universities, including Vancouver Island University, Royal Roads, Brock University and St. Thomas University in Fredericton.
Tracey Robinson of the Indigenous Women’s Collective, which has called for Turpel-Lafond’s honours to be stripped, welcomed the news that her Order of Canada was being terminated.
“It’s precedent-setting,” she said in a phone interview from Duck Lake, Saskatchewan. “It sends a message that this type of conduct is not going to be tolerated or considered acceptable in any way.”
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — New Zealand won the Women’s T20 World Cup for the first time, beating South Africa by 32 runs on Sunday after a standout performance from Amelia Kerr with bat and ball.
South Africa’s chase was held to 126-9 in 20 overs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in reply to New Zealand’s 158-5 in the final of the 18-day tournament.
South Africa was also seeking to become a first-time champion.
After South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt won the toss and opted to bowl, Kerr top scored for New Zealand with a 38-ball 43. Brooke Halliday hit 38 runs in 28 deliveries and opener Suzie Bates scored 32 in 31. Nonkululeko Mlaba took 2-31 in four overs for South Africa.
South Africa made a strong start to its chase, reaching 51-1 in 6.5 overs but never really threatened afterward, reaching the halfway stage of its innings at 64-3.
Wolvaardt top scored for South Africa with a 27-ball 33.
Kerr took 3-24 in her four overs, including Wolvaardt’s wicket.
This was South Africa’s second straight final appearance in the tournament. Losing to Australia by 19 runs, it had finished runners-up in its home tournament in 2023, its best result in the tournament.
New Zealand, meanwhile, reached the tournament final for the first time since 2010. In the first two editions – 2009 and 2010 – it had lost to England by six wickets in London, and to Australia by three runs in Barbados.
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday canceled his trip to Russia for a BRICS summit after an accident at home that left him with a cut in the neck, his office said.
The 78-year-old leader was scheduled to attend a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies in the city of Kazan from Tuesday to Thursday this week.
Hospital Sirio Libanês in Sao Paulo said in a statement that the leftist leader was instructed not to take long distance trips, but can keep his other activities. Doctors Roberto Kalil and Ana Heleno Germoglio said they will regularly check on Lula’s recovery.
Brazil’s presidency said in a separate statement that Lula will take part in the summit by videoconference and will continue his work in capital Brasilia this week. It did not disclose details about what caused the president’s injury.
