Ke-Jia Chong's McGill University Bachelor of Civil Law and Bachelor of Laws Convocation Ceremony May 2014 (43)
Honorary Degree Doctorate of Laws - Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, BA (Carlton University) LLB (Osgoode Hall, York University), LLM (Cambridge University), SJD (Harvard University).
One of Canada's most distinguished jurists of aboriginal descant, Mary Ellen Turpet-Lafond is British Columbia's first Representative for Children and Youth, an independent office of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, with a mandate to advocate for children and youth and protect their rights. Appointed in 2006, Dr. Turpel-Lafond was the first person appointed to this position. She is currently on leave from the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan, where she was appointed in 1998, at the age of 35, the first Treaty Indian to be named to the bench in that Province.
A graduate of Carleton, Osgoode Hall, and Cambridge University, Judge Turoet-Lafond also holds a doctorate from Harvard Law School. Her contributions to public life in Canada are truly remarkable, and have been recognized through three honourary doctorates from sister Universities in Canada.
Prior to her judicial appointment, Dr. Turpel-Lafond was a leading legal academic, and an aboriginal rights lawyer, working on land claims with the Indian Law Resource Centre in Washington, D.C. and serving as a key legal and constitutional advisor to aboriginal leaders. Her commitment to the protection of children's rights, to Canada's aboriginal communities, and to access to justice, underlines the role of lawyers as leaders of political, institutional and social change.
Ke-Jia Chong's McGill University Bachelor of Civil Law and Bachelor of Laws Convocation Ceremony May 2014 (43)
Honorary Degree Doctorate of Laws - Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, BA (Carlton University) LLB (Osgoode Hall, York University), LLM (Cambridge University), SJD (Harvard University).
One of Canada's most distinguished jurists of aboriginal descant, Mary Ellen Turpet-Lafond is British Columbia's first Representative for Children and Youth, an independent office of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, with a mandate to advocate for children and youth and protect their rights. Appointed in 2006, Dr. Turpel-Lafond was the first person appointed to this position. She is currently on leave from the Provincial Court of Saskatchewan, where she was appointed in 1998, at the age of 35, the first Treaty Indian to be named to the bench in that Province.
A graduate of Carleton, Osgoode Hall, and Cambridge University, Judge Turoet-Lafond also holds a doctorate from Harvard Law School. Her contributions to public life in Canada are truly remarkable, and have been recognized through three honourary doctorates from sister Universities in Canada.
Prior to her judicial appointment, Dr. Turpel-Lafond was a leading legal academic, and an aboriginal rights lawyer, working on land claims with the Indian Law Resource Centre in Washington, D.C. and serving as a key legal and constitutional advisor to aboriginal leaders. Her commitment to the protection of children's rights, to Canada's aboriginal communities, and to access to justice, underlines the role of lawyers as leaders of political, institutional and social change.