Dr. Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond

Convocation D
Doctor of Laws, honoris causa

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, noted lawyer and legal scholar, broke new ground for Aboriginal women in this country: when she accepted a position at Dalhousie Law School, she became the first tenured law professor of Aboriginal heritage in Canada. She was also the first Aboriginal woman to serve as a provincial court judge in Saskatchewan. Currently, she is British Columbia’s first Representative for Children and Youth, an independent office of the legislature.

Dr. Turpel-Lafond holds a bachelor's degree from Carleton University, an LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School, a Master's in international law from the University of Cambridge, and doctorate of law from Harvard Law School.

She has also worked as a criminal law judge in youth and adult courts, leading her to develop partnerships to better serve the needs of young people in the justice system, particularly sexually exploited children and youth and children and youth with disabilities.

Prior to her judicial appointments, Dr Turpel-Lafond was a lawyer in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan and a tenured professor of law at Dalhousie University. She also taught law at the University of Toronto, the University of Notre Dame and other universities, and held the position of Aboriginal Scholar at the University of Saskatchewan. She has been a visiting professor at the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria law schools.

Dr. Turpel-Lafond’s efforts to advance the principles of equity, diversity and justice in the law exemplify Thompson Rivers University’s commitment to providing rural communities with better access to justice and legal advocacy through our School of Social Work and emerging Faculty of Law.