Former judge with disputed Cree heritage likely has Indigenous DNA: report

OTTAWA — A DNA test shows a former judge and Order of Canada recipient accused of falsely claiming to be Cree “most likely” has Indigenous heritage, a report from the Law Society of British Columbia revealed Thursday.

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond previously served as B.C.’s representative for children and youth, and was well known as a lawyer on Indigenous rights.

Her Indigenous identity was the subject of a 2022 CBC News investigation, which called into question her heritage, including claims her father was Cree. It also found Turpel-Laford misrepresented her credentials.

The law society confirmed Thursday she did misrepresent certain credentials, and ordered her to pay $10,000 to a non-profit organization that supports Indigenous justice.

But as part of its investigation, the law society says an independent geneticist found Turpel-Lafond most likely has very recent ancestors with substantial Indigenous DNA.

The DNA test and geneticist’s analysis were provided to the law society by Turpel-Lafond.

Turpel-Lafond said she never should have had to prove her Indigenous identity and the allegations have done tremendous harm to her and her family.

“I am grateful to have this matter behind me. I was raised by a Cree father and Scottish mother,” she said in a statement Thursday.

“I look forward to moving ahead and will continue to support justice for Indigenous Peoples and peace among all peoples as this aligns with my values and my professional work.”

After CBC’s investigation into Turpel-Lafond, she was removed from the Order of Canada at her own request.

She also returned honorary degrees from several universities, including Simon Fraser, Brock, and two Vancouver Island schools. McGill, Carleton and the University of Regina rescinded awards they previously granted to her.

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.

Her lawyer, David Wotherspoon, said in a statement that the 18-month law society investigation reflects what Turpel-Lafond has always said: “She is Indigenous by birth.”

He said people owe Turpel-Lafond an apology, and that she is the victim of a campaign to discredit her and her work through false allegations.

“Can you imagine how crippling it would be to have the foundation of who you are destroyed on false assertions? It is appalling how quickly people jumped in to vilify someone whose life’s work was dedicated to protecting children, most often Indigenous children.”

Turpel-Lafond told the law society she believed her father is Cree from Norway House, Manitoba.

She told the law society that she believes her Indigenous identity should be determined by the “laws, customs, practices and traditions of Indigenous Peoples,” the report states.

Nevertheless, the law society reports that she voluntarily took a DNA test. The results indicate “genomic markers known to be disproportionately present in Indigenous populations are present.”

The results were provided to McGill University geneticist Simon Gravel for review, though he is not named in the report.

In an interview Thursday, Gravel said it is not up to him to define who is and isn’t Indigenous, but that he was asked to comment on the reliability of the test done by Nebula Genomics.

“It’s not an ancestor from like five generations ago,” Gravel said of the results. It’s more likely to be a parent or grandparent who passed down Indigenous genes, he said.

“It would be recent ancestors.”

He could not ascertain whether the Indigenous genes came from the paternal or maternal line.

An important caveat, he said, is that he did not collect the DNA himself and he must assume that the DNA actually came from Turpel-Lafond.

The law society found several examples of “mischaracterizations” in Turpel-Lafond’s application to join the society in 2018 that she knew, or ought to have known, were false or inaccurate.

For example, her application said she joined the Nova Scotia bar in 1990 when in fact she was called in 1991. She said she joined the Saskatchewan bar in 1992 but wasn’t actually called until 1994.

She also said she was a tenured professor at Dalhousie Law School for 15 years when she was only tenured for two.

“The lawyer acknowledges that lawyers have a duty to be accurate and truthful, and that she ought to have taken greater care to provide accurate information in her application for admission to the Law Society,” the report says.

“The lawyer is remorseful and has admitted her misconduct.”

The report also includes letters of support, including from Alberta lawyer and respected Indigenous leader Wilton Littlechild.

“I admire her expertise gained from true efforts, hard work and experience. Her foundation of Indigenous ways and wisdom from Elders serves her well to make things better for all our relations,” Littlechild said in the letter.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2024.

Alessia Passafiume, The Canadian Press