University of Regina has rescinded Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond's honorary doctorate

The University of Regina says it has revoked the honorary doctor of laws degree it bestowed on Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond in 2003.  

Last fall, CBC published a story casting doubt on Turpel-Lafond's claim to Indigenous ancestry. In the wake of that story, a group called the Indigenous Women's Collective and others across the country called on all universities that had granted her honorary doctorates, to revoke them.  

The U of R said on Friday the university's senate passed a motion to rescind her degree. 

In a public statement, the university explained the decision. 

"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 statement says. 

The university says it made the decision following consultation and a review of evidence published by the media related to her ancestry claims and "a number of other stated credentials and academic achievements have been shown to be untrue." 

Turpel-Lafond has been granted honorary degrees from eleven Canadian universities. All of them have said they are weighing calls from the Indigenous Women's Collective to revoke those honours. 

In recent weeks, Turpel-Lafond has voluntarily returned honorary degrees to Vancouver Island University and Royal Roads University. 

The U of R's decision marks the first time a university has rescinded a degree. The university says it notified Turpel-Lafond of its decision last week. 

In a statement, the Indigenous Women's Collective praised the U of R's "decisive action."

"We applaud the University of Regina for their courage and commitment to upholding academic integrity, denouncing Indigenous identity fraud, and conducting itself in the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation," the statement said. 

The group said the decisions of VIU and RRU to accept the voluntary return of the awards was a mistake because it "did not uphold academic integrity by making Ms. Turpel-Lafond accountable for her actions." 

The group urged the other eight universities that have committed to review this matter "to stay the course, complete the investigations, refuse the return of their awards, and make their decision to revoke or not, based on their investigations and processes." 

The group is now calling on Canada's Governor General to revoke the Order of Canada that was granted to Turpel-Lafond in December 2021. 

"In light of Ms. Turpel-Lafond's ongoing refusal to provide reasonable explanations for refuted claims to indigeneity, we call upon the Governor General of Canada to denounce Indigenous identity theft and terminate the Order of Canada awarded to Ms. Turpel-Lafond," the statement says.